The Tik-Tok Man of Oz

Tuesday, May 6, 2025

Reviewed by The Baum Bugle

Reviewer Atticus Gannaway recently had nice things to say about All Wound Up in the Winter 2024 issue of The Baum Bugle, the journal of The International Wizard of Oz Club. Gannaway's discussion of various aspects of the book makes a review of some length--which makes sense, since the book's long, too--but the following choice bits summarize the reviewer's overall opinion:

All Wound Up is the indispensable Oz reference work we didn’t know we needed. . . . Shanower has now plumbed the depths of this musical’s history with the same remarkable thoroughness and tenacity he brings to all his projects. . . . The biggest surprise of All Wound Up was the perspective I gained on the significance of [The] Tik-Tok Man [of Oz], in terms of both Baum’s career and how it affected him personally. . . . Shanower is to be commended for both the yeoman’s work involved in such deep research and his careful analysis of his findings.

I appreciate Gannaway's considered opinion, since I respect the Oz and Baum research he's done. In the spirit of full disclosure, I point out that I've known Gannaway for years. He contributed to the Kickstarter campaign that raised money for the 2014 production of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Also, I thanked Gannaway in the acknowledgements of All Wound Up, since he contributed several images to the book and helped my research by providing me with access to some Tik-Tok Man of Oz theatrical programs in his collection.

He also roller skates much better than I do.

Friday, April 18, 2025

Meet the Clock Girl Chorus

Here's another delightful photograph I turned up after All Wound Up was published. Three members of the Clock Girl Chorus pose to have their photo taken. The publication date of the photo is April 7, 1913, while the show played in Los Angeles, California, at the end of its first week of production.

The Clock Girls supported James Morton as Tik-Tok while he sang the musical number "The Clockwork Man" in Act One of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Their costumes were supplied by Orange of New York.

Such a nice clear photo makes identifying these women easier than usual in chorus photos. That sure looks like Willie Mai Smoller on the left, the longest surviving member of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz cast. And I'm pretty certain Gene Ward is on the right. Ward later helped introduce the Woozy toy produced by the Oz Toy Manufacturing Company. Neither Smoller nor Ward were credited during the initial Los Angeles run as members of the Clock Girl Chorus, but here they are. I'm not sure of the central woman's identity, but I'll take a guess and say that's Gladys Munson, who was credited as a Clock Girl.

Wednesday, March 26, 2025

Work, Lads, Work

The Metal Monarch, Ruggedo, played by Eugene Cowles, on right (stage left), commands his Metal Imps in song. Flash, played by Ethel Pierce, stands center. The chorus of Metal Imps hammers at musical anvils all around the stage. The Metal Imp at left front (downstage right) looks like Fay Hartley to me.

This photograph of the Act II opening musical number, "Work, Lads, Work," of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz is unique in showing the original cast in a full stage setting from March 1913 in Los Angeles. I know of no other full stage photographs from this show before July 1913, when the White Studio took photos of the Chicago production. Other full stage photos must have been taken before opening night, but none survives to my knowledge.

Compared with later July 1913 photographs of this scene, (for instance, the upper right photo on page 148 of All Wound Up) the set of the Metal Monarch's underground throne room seems to be the same, though costuming and make-up show some differences.

I was delighted to find this photo recently in the Los Angeles Daily Tribune for April 1, 1913, the day after the show opened.

Thursday, February 6, 2025

Vera Doria Poetry

In 1913, singer Vera Doria originated the role of Ozma in L. Frank Baum's stage musical The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Later, she appeared in motion pictures, often in features starring Constance Talmadge. Doria spent many years in Shanghai, China, before returning to the United States in 1932. She published poetry, some of it in a religious vein.

I've published some of Doria's poems on this blog, here. You can learn more about Doria in All Wound Up, my book about The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, here.

The following poem by Doria, published in the magazine Southern Farmer in 1932 (and reprinted in the Lowndes Signal, Fort Deposit, Alabama, 20 October 1932, p. 5), starts out as if it's another religious one, but the ending may be a surprise. The publication credit lists Doria's married name, Vera Eyton Wavell, though by the time of publication, she was a widow.

FRIEND

Loyal and lovely,
Tenderly blind,
Splendidly selfless,
Willing and kind,
Wistfully eager,
Swift to comply,
Loving and guarding
And ready to die.

Oh, blessed companion,
Oh, friend for all time,
Oh, servitor gracious,
And soul pure and fine!
Supremely I trust you
And render your love,
My true-hearted comrade,
My beautiful dog.

I'd like the poem better if the last line actually rhymed.

Wednesday, January 22, 2025

New Review on Readers' Favorite

Randy B. Lichtman's five star review of All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz graces the Readers' Favorite website. Here it is:

Did you know that many years before the Marvel Universe, there was a Universe of Oz, started by author Frank Baum? Baum wrote many Oz books and turned them into films, stage plays, and musicals. In bringing his creations to the early screen and stage, he was the producer/director and sometimes actor who helped create some of the special effects for the works on stage. One of the musicals he wrote was The Tik-Tok Man of Oz which he co-created with American composer and music director, Louis F. Gottschalk in 1913. The musical was later revived by Eric Shanower for a convention of Oz enthusiasts in 2014, after which he wrote All Wound Up—The Making of the Tik-Tok Man of Oz: The Complete Story of the Spectacular Stage Musical.

The book is complete with history, photos, and behind-the-scenes information about the musical, but also provides a brief biography of Frank Baum and a very extensive biography of composer Louis F. Gottschalk. It is extremely well-researched and told in a very entertaining fashion, containing many fun stories including the challenges of the mechanics behind Hank the Mule (and the actor behind it). The book takes you into the era in which Baum lived, the challenges of bringing his piece to the stage, and includes the script of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz (based on two surviving scripts). The author has done a remarkable job of bringing together a thorough history of the original production and the challenges of producing a revival today. If you enjoy reading behind-the-scenes production books and/or are a Wizard of Oz enthusiast, All Wound Up—The Making of the Tik-Tok Man of Oz by Eric Shanower is an enjoyable read.

Sounds super, doesn't it? If you want your own copy of All Wound Up, click here for the link.

Thursday, January 9, 2025

Hank Skips Out

Hank the Mule proved to be one of the biggest attractions of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Well-known Canadian animal impersonator Fred Woodward (real name: Frederick James Warrington, Jr.), clothed in the furs of the celebrated mule, loved to make children in the audience laugh with joy. But offstage, Fred’s relationships with his own children lacked such benevolence.

His first known child presents a sad example. After nearly five and a half years of marriage, Fred's first wife Emily divorced him on February 5, 1906. About time—Fred had deserted Emily for the New York stage nearly three years previously. A primary reason for Fred’s desertion, Emily said, was that “he got another girl in trouble and had to get away in a hurry, I guess.”

Who was that other girl? Emily Warrington claimed the girl lived on Third Street in Detroit, Michigan. I haven’t found any other clues to her identity. But in birth records from Wayne County, Michigan, I found a possible trace of the child she bore. Is this Fred’s first offspring?

Birth record in question. Click to enlarge.

On April 4, 1902, a child with the surname of Warrington was born in Detriot. The surname of the parents, both Canadian, is also Warrington, suggesting that the mother was Fred’s first wife Emily. But Emily was pregnant at the time of this birth, so I strongly doubt this child is hers.

The child’s gender and skin color are unrecorded. Also unrecorded is the possibility that it was “illegitimate.” Other births recorded on the same page bear the notation “Ill” (illegitimate), but not this birth. If this child’s mother hid her own real name, she likely would have withheld the child's illegitimate status.

Did the child survive? Nearly five months later, Fred's wife Emily gave birth to his second child, a daughter Ethel, but weeks after being born, Ethel died of starvation. Could Fred's first child have died quickly, too? Or did it grow up to have offspring of its own? Does Hank the Mule have unidentified descendants living today?

Read all about Fred Woodward's life, career, and his problematic relationships with his other children in All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. Here's the link to buy a copy.

Notes

Hector Alliot, “For Children’s Joy; Gentle Art of Beast Portrayal,” Los Angeles (CA) Times, 8 April 1913, III 1. “Canada, Ontario, Marriages, 1869-1927,” FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KZBC-F51 : Sun Mar 10 23:39:53 UTC 2024), Entry for Fred J Warrington and Fred Warrington, 23 Oct 1900. “Likes Tin Woodman,” Detroit (MI) Free Press, 6 February 1906, 10. "Wayne, Michigan, United States records," images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HT-6QYS-GS?view=index : Jan 10, 2025), image 73 of 432; Michigan. Department of Vital Records; Film Number/Image Group Number: 004208780.

Friday, December 13, 2024

You Big Fat Slob

Lenore Peters and Hazel Davis perform "Cricket Dance," 1915.

Last month I discussed Lenore Peters, chorus girl with The Tik-Tok Man of Oz in 1913-14. Lenore Peters was good friends with Hazel Davis, also a chorus girl in The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. They auditioned for the show together, joined the chorus together, and traveled North America with the show until Davis left The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, as Peters explains in her autobiography, Looking Back While Surging Forward:

“One of the girls in the show, Hazel Davis, left us in Chicago to spend some time in New York with her Aunt Lutie. While there, she took lessons from a highly recommended ballet teacher named Madame Zain. Everybody ‘took’ from Mme. Zain. When Hazel came home to San Francisco she regaled us with imitations of her teacher.

“The first day, she said, while trying hard to please at the barre, the teacher remarked aloud to the pianist, ‘She ain’t no backbender, Miss Steiner.’ When coaching Hazel in a dance accompanied by a beat and a song, she would say—you won’t believe this—‘One, two, bend your knees, you big fat slob.’ . . . And after performing in a series of difficult steps ending with an elaborate gesture, she’d say, ‘You ask for applause.’ Then with a different gesture, ‘You don’t get it.’ . . . Quite a character, no?”

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