Hidden History of Montgomery County, Indiana by Jodie Steelman Wilson

Author:Jodie Steelman Wilson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Arcadia Publishing Inc.
Published: 2012-11-27T05:00:00+00:00

Comedian Ferris Hartman in 1909, the year he was described as a “brave pioneer” by Los Angeles Times reporter Julian Johnson. University of Washington Libraries, Special Collections, UW29886.

In a January 28, 1922 interview with the Evening News of San Jose, California, Ferris Hartman described his career: “I thought pictures were only a temporary craze—a fad—so I organized a company and went out to the Orient for a year…When we came back pictures were going stronger than ever, so I joined the procession and have been directing screen shows ever since.” Hartman produced or directed more than a dozen short films between 1917 and 1921. While Hartman experienced success in the film industry, he made it clear that he longed for his past as a live performer at the Tivoli. In the interview, Hartman openly reminisced about the stars of yesteryear and discussed reopening the destroyed opera house. He wistfully remarked, “Those were the happy days.”

Although he was nostalgic, Hartman expressed his pleasure at being viewed realistically in modern productions. “I’m glad to see that the form of light musical entertainment is changing from absurdity to realism. It is now possible for a musical comedian to be a human being, wear honest-to-life clothes and express some semblance of sanity in his lines,” he noted in the Los Angeles Times on October 31, 1909. As he adapted to changing trends, forty-seven-year-old Hartman maintained the respect of his peers and critics. The Los Angeles Times reporter described Hartman in strong terms:

Mr. Hartman is a brave pioneer, and absolutely the only unselfish man I ever knew to embark on musical-comedy seas. Hartman is a fanatic, if you like—at any rate, a man obsessed by one idea: to maintain his company, to hold it, to devote everything but his living to that company, to keep it in shape for the eventual big city that is now marching down the corridor of the future right in our direction…Hartman’s company is distinctive and original. It is unique. It is Hartman.

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