Celebrating the vintage hit stage show created by L. Frank Baum and Louis F. Gottschalk
The forty minute interview is free to watch on Youtube. Here's the link.
And if you haven't read the book yet, here's the link to order it from the publisher, Hungry Tiger Press. All copies ordered directly from the publisher come autographed by me.
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| Click to enlarge. |
What does this have to do with The Tik-Tok Man of Oz? Well, the woman in the center--fifth from either side--is Evelyn Helen Des Roches Harris, who was in the Follies during the 1915 and 1916 theatrical seasons. As Evelyn Des Roches, she earlier appeared in the chorus of the original 1913 production of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. You can compare a photograph of her on page 140 of All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz.
The other women are, from left to right: Annabelle Whitford Buchan, Frances Stewart Nolton, Marie Vernon Lotz, Ethel Calahan, (Evelyn Des Roches), Leona Porter Roberts, Naomi Dale Coe, Ray Price, and Betty York Herriott.
Copyright © 2023 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.
One of my aims for the book All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz was to flesh out the lives of the people connected with the original 1913-14 production. So I wrote capsule biographies for many of them, drawing my info from primary sources whenever I could. This proved relatively easy for the principal actors. Less easy to find information about were the members of the chorus. Backstage workers turned out to be even harder.
One figure I wished I'd learned more about was the wardrobe mistress of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, Mrs. L. H. Coulter. My initial attempts at researching her produced virtually nothing. I couldn't even determine her full name. But since then, I've uncovered much of the tapestry of her life, while kicking myself for not finding it before publication. I knew while writing the book that this sort of thing would happen--new information would come to light after the book was out there for everyone to read. Fortunately, this weblog exists. I can present new findings here. So, this post presents the capsule biography of Mrs. Coulter that I wish the book contained.
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| Mrs. Lucia Hays "Mother" Coulter |
“‘Tik-Tok’s’ Mother,” Inter Ocean (Chicago, IL), 27 July 1913; “Kaiser Exposed,” Windsor (MO) Review, 20 June 1918, 4; “There’s Romance in Job of Wardrobe Mistress, Too,” Daily News (New York, NY), 24 February 1929, 65; Dan Thomas, “Hollywood Day By Day,” Los Angeles (CA) Evening Post-Record, 22 September 1934, 8; Marion Nevin, “‘Mother’ Coulter Ill, Stars Ask After Her,” Evening Vanguard (Venice, CA), 3 December 1935, 1; Marion Nevin, “Popular Wardrobe Head Welcomed Back on Job,” Evening Vanguard (Venice, CA), 17 February 1936, 1; “Death Threatens Studio Veteran,” Los Angeles (CA) Times, 20 October 1936, II 2; Eleanor Barnes, “‘Mother,’” Illustrated Daily News (Los Angeles, CA), 21 October 1936, 18, 20; “Mrs. Coulter Dies Today of Heart Attack,” Evening Vanguard (Venice, CA), 24 October 1936, 1; “Mother Coulter of M.-G.-M. Dies After Heart Attack,” Los Angeles (CA) Times, 25 October 1936, II 2.
Copyright © 2023 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.
Hank the Mule, the character L. Frank Baum created for The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, lived far beyond the run of the show. Fred Woodward (real name Frederick James Warrington, Jr.), the animal impersonator who played the role for the entire ten-month production of the 1913-14 musical, continued performing as Hank the Mule around the world for the next thirty-five years.
In 1926, Hank the Mule appeared on the entertainment bill of London, England's Piccadilly nightclub. Part of Hank's Piccadilly performance survives on film, and you can watch it here. Fred Woodward plays Hank the Mule. Woodward's fourth wife, Nina Marie Newman Walby Warrington, is his assistant.
The recording includes all the acts on the bill, not just Hank alone, so if you want to watch only Hank's portion, set the progress bar to 3:41, the beginning of Hank's act, and click the "play" button.
Without music and color, the recording can't completely recreate Hank the Mule's performance. But Woodward's act provides a taste of what The Tik-Tok Man of Oz looked like. Despite Woodward's obvious skill, I find it hard to comprehend how a man capering in an animal suit drew cheers and applause from audiences, but Woodward's glowing reviews as Hank the Mule and his decades-long career prove his enduring appeal.
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| Hank the Mule, played by Fred Woodward, watches himself with his stage partner and wife Nina. |
Copyright © 2023 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.
First is All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz. This hefty softcover volume of 440 full-color pages contains the complete history of the show with a generous load of images and photographs. It also includes L. Frank Baum's complete 1913 script for The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, Baum's earlier complete scenario titled The Rainbow's Daughter, a full biography of composer Louis F. Gottschalk, an account of Hank the Mule's career across the world, and more. You can purchase the book by clicking here.
Next is The Tik-Tok Man of Oz Performance Script. This 114 page volume features the script I synthesized from Baum's surviving materials to create a version that can be performed today. The words are L. Frank Baum's in this two-act musical play for nine principal roles, three minor roles, and a chorus, in a running time of about 2 hours. You can purchase the script by clicking here
The third book is The Tik-Tok Man of Oz Piano-Vocal Score. Its 194 pages hold 26 core musical numbers by Gottschalk/Baum and Schertzinger/Morosco, originally written for the show. Also included are 2 optional numbers by Cowles/Wulschner and Waters/West, interpolated into the 1913 production. The music is arranged for piano. You can purchase the score by clicking here.
All three volumes are offered as a set with a $10 discount of the total price. Click here for the complete set.
Whether you want to act, sing, or just read about Tik-Tok the copper clockwork man of Oz, here's your chance.
Copyright © 2023 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.
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| Vera Doria, 1932 |
After a short motion picture career and a couple marriages, Doria moved to Shanghai, China, about 1921. She returned to the USA in 1932 from living more than a decade in Shanghai. Doria, now known as Veronica Eyton Wavell, no longer an actress, wrote poetry.
Much of her poetry reflects her strong affinity for spirituality, in particular the Christian religion, though her subject matter varied widely. For instance, during World War II, she composed verses in support of the Allied cause. The following examples show her range.
ENGLAND CAN TAKE IT
In this great New World we’ve heard the call
And the Sons of Freedom are working all;
In plant and factory and full workshop
We’re building a whirring, soaring crop
Of wings that laugh at the Tyrant’s claim
And engines that sing the Tyrant’s shame,
Of fighting ships for the mighty deep,
And ships for cargoes the farmers reap.
England can take it when England must,
Almighty God will reward her trust;
St. George will slay the Dragon again,
And Michael will heal old England’s pain,
The blazing love of the Empire’s sons,
Civilians, and women, behind the guns,
By grace, and a service whose limit’s the sky
Will keep the old flag proud and high.
Lend me your shield, St. Michael,
And give me the valiant word;
For the battle begins, Great Angel:
St. Michael, lend me your sword.
Gird me with holy armour,
The Tempter is on the field;
Breathe strength into me, Contender;
St. Michael, I must not yield.
Hear me celestial soldier,
Who led the angelic host;
O bring me power from the Father,
The Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Oh I long for a home of my own,
A garden and home of my own!
For I’ve been
To tropical countries and green,
To lands where the sun hardly ever is seen,
And I dream
Of a simple small home of my own
On that side of the world which my forebears have known,
Where the flesh of my flesh and the bone of my bone
Were born and were cradled and nourished and grown,
And were part of that race whose first watchword was “home.”
Oh I long for a home of my own!
But I’m reaping the harvest I’ve sown,
And I’ve seen
That the lure which first led me to roam
Brought results of a kind that could never atone
For the dream
Unfulfilled, and the magical tone
Of youth’s song, which has changed to a gray minor drone
In the chant of the wanderer who wanders alone,
Who loves every blossom and even each stone
Of the homeland that’s calling him, calling him home.
Sources: “England Can Take It,” Los Angeles (CA) Times, 7 February 1941, II 4; “Prayer to St. Michael,” Los Angeles (CA) Times, 1 August 1947, 6; “Homesick,” Los Angeles (CA) Times, 15 June 1942, II 4.
Copyright © 2023 Eric Shanower, All rights reserved.
My new book detailing the history of the stage musical The Tik-Tok Man of Oz was delayed in late April/early May because I ran across new research that was too good not to include. So I revised the book and added 32 new pages.
But good news, at last, All Wound Up is due for release at the end of this month.
All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz presents 440 full-color pages bursting with photos and images about the 1913 musical written by Oz-creator L. Frank Baum and composed by Broadway and Hollywood composer Louis F. Gottschalk.
I produced a revival of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz in 2014 at Winkie Con 50 in San Diego, CA. I wrote a long article for the convention program book on the history of the show. That article was the basis for the book, but I greatly expanded on the information I originally wrote (as well as correcting my mistakes). I've been working on the book intensively for the past several years, researching and collecting long-forgotten details of the show and the people involved in it.
The book offers a wealth of treasures, including these features:
In conjunction with All Wound Up: the Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, my script for The Tik-Tok Man of Oz and my reconstructed piano-vocal score for the show will also be published. From Baum's and Gottschalk's surviving materials, I prepared these for the 2014 revival, although I subsequently revised a few bits in preparation for publication. For almost ten years now, I've wanted to make this performable version of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz available for others to produce. At last, that plan approaches fruition.Hungry Tiger Press will release all three books in late July 2023. I'll announce publication and a link to order the books. Look for those here!
Copyright © 2023 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.
All Wound Up includes what remains of L. Frank Baum's original 1913 script for The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, which survives unfortunately incomplete, published for the very first time. Also published for the first time is The Rainbow's Daughter; or, The Love Magnet, Baum's 1909 scenario--fortunately complete--for what eventually became The Tik-Tok Man of Oz on stage.
Louis F. Gottschalk, composer of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, has never had a full-length biography published before. So I've included a short one in All Wound Up, covering Gottschalk's career on Broadway before The Tik-Tok Man of Oz and his career as a composer of motion picture scores afterward.
All Wound Up includes the story of Hank the Mule. Fred Woodward, who played Hank the Mule in The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, filled roles created by L. Frank Baum for most of his career. Woodward appeared as both the Cowardly Lion and the Frolicsome Heifer in the original stage production of The Wizard of Oz. After playing Hank the Mule in The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, Woodward appeared in all the Oz Film Manufacturing Company movies, then went on to play Hank the Mule for several decades around the world. And Woodward wasn't the only one to play Hank. A second Hank played throughout the USA and developed a couple surprising ties to the 1939 MGM motion picture version of The Wizard of Oz.
In full color, All Wound Up: The Making of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz will be published about the end of April by Hungry Tiger Press. Also available will be brand new performing versions of the script and score of The Tik-Tok Man of Oz, based on my reconstructions for the 2014 revival. I'll post here to announce when all three books are available.
Copyright © 2023 Eric Shanower. All rights reserved.
