The STAGE DOOR CANTEEN provided American servicemen stationed or passing through Cleveland during WORLD WAR II with refreshment, entertainment, and hospitality on
STARR, EDWIN (born Charles Edwin Hatcher) (21 January 21, 1942 – 2 April 2, 2003), was an internationally renowned African-American singer, whose musical career spanned more than four decades and multiple genres of popular music..
The STATE THEATER, 1519 EUCLID AVE., opened on 5 Feb. 1921. Designed for Vaudeville and movie shows by architect Thos. Lamb, the State was the flagship theater of Marcus Loew's Ohio Theatres. It was built by the Fleishman Constr. Co. of New York at a cost of $2 million. Described as Italian Renaissance, the State actually combined Roman, Greek, and European Baroque designs.
The STILLMAN THEATER was among the most elaborate motion-picture houses in the U.S. It was conceived by Emanuel Mandelbaum, owner of the Knickerbocker Theater at East 83rd and EUCLID AVE., who wanted to open a downtown theater showing silent films instead of featuring vaudeville performances.
STINCHCOMB, WILLIAM ALBERT (5 June 1878-17 Jan. 1959), father of the CLEVELAND METROPARKS SYSTEM, was born in Cleveland, to William and Julia Stinchcomb. He was educated in CLEVELAND PUBLIC SCHOOLS, and in 1895 began as a surveyor for the city engineer.
STRASSMEYER, MARY A. (5 Aug. 1929-20 April 1998) was a PLAIN DEALER reporter who wrote the widely read column, "Mary, Mary" and covered Cleveland's high society for 32 years. She was born in the OLD BROOKLYN section of Cleveland to Catherine A. (Mullally) and Frederick H. Strassmeyer, a furniture salesman.
SUPERMAN, the popular comic book superhero, was created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster in 1933 while both attended GLENVILLE High School. Their creation became known worldwide, inspired numerous imitation superheroes, and brought fortune to many, but Siegel and Shuster enjoyed none of that fortune between 1949-75.
TAMBO TAMBO (c. 1863-24 Feb. 1884) was an Australian aborigine whose misplaced, mummified remains were returned to his homeland for burial 109 years after his death with a traveling circus troupe in Cleveland. His real name was Dianarah or Wangong, according to Australian anthropologist Roslyn Poignant, and he was probably kidnapped from Queensland in 1883 by Robert A. Cunningham, an agent for P.T. Barnum.
The TAVERN CLUB, on the southwest corner of E. 36th St. and Prospect Ave., is one of Cleveland's oldest private social organizations. It was founded in 1892-93 by a group of young men, primarily from the UNION CLUB, who wanted a meeting place "uptown" surrounded by open spaces.
TEBELAK, JOHN MICHAEL (17 Sept. 1949-2 Apr. 1985), composer of the musical Godspell, was born in Berea to John and Genevieve Tebelak. At age 9 he was active in the Berea Summer Theater. A choirboy at TRINITY CATHEDRAL, he was fascinated with the pageantry and drama of religion. At 21, he directed productions of Macbeth and Cabaret.
The PONI-TAILS, (1956 - 1960) were an all-female American pop band that was active from 1956 until 1960. Its members included Toni Cistone, Patti McCabe, Karen Topinka and LaVerne Novak. The Poni-Tails are best known for their top 10 hit song “Born Too Late” released in 1958.
THE RASPBERRIES (1970 - 1975 and 2004 - 2007) were an influential American pop and boy band active from 1970 until 1975 then active again between 2004 through 2009.
The Raspberries formed in the early 1970s when Eric Carmen and Jim Bonfanti envisioned a band that would emulate music legends of the 1960s such as The Beatles and The Who.
THEATRICAL GRILL was a memorable dining and entertainment venue located on SHORT VINCENT.
TOWN HALL OF CLEVELAND, a subscription lecture series, was founded by Mrs. Wm. C. (Alice Katherine Newton) Wallin when she came to Cleveland from Detroit with her husband in 1930. Mrs. Wallin, a former newspaperwoman and participant in Detroit Town Hall, started the Town Hall of Cleveland (the 4th city in the country to have a Town Hall) as "courses designed for intelligent thinking." Dr.
TRI-STATE MOTION PICTURE COMPANY was an important Cleveland-based motion picture studio in the 1930s. Tri-State specialized in making SPONSORED FILMS. Theatrical films are movies made for showing in theaters to paying customers.
TURK, F. JEROME (20 May 1923 - 6 Dec. 2011). Born in Cleveland and raised in EUCLID, Jerome “Jerry” Turk was a writer, radio and TV director, and producer.
The UNION CLUB OF CLEVELAND, located at E. 12th St. and Euclid Ave., is a private organization composed of many of the city's industrialists, businessmen, and professional citizens. One of the oldest social organizations in Cleveland, it was incorporated on 25 Sept. 1872 as the Union Club of Cleveland.
The UNIVERSITY CLUB, 3813 Euclid Ave., located in a restored historic Cleveland mansion on "Millionaires Row," is a social club for business and professional men and women. In 1896-97, Drs. Chas. Harris, Samuel Ball Platner, and Abraham Lincoln Fuller, professors at Adelbert College, organized the original Univ. Club as an invitational social club, with membership limited to men having a college degree.
VADNAL, FRANK L. (24 July 1921-29 May 1995) belonged to a family quartet which became a leading exponent of Cleveland-style polka music (see POLKAS). The native Clevelander, son of Anthony and Anna Kappus Vadnal, was a graduate of Collinwood High School.
VAUDEVILLE was for many years the major entertainment business in Cleveland. It was essentially, "variety theater" and it was the dominant form of entertainment in the nation before cinema, radio, and television. In 1900 there were more than 2,000 vaudeville houses in the US. The industry employed tens of thousands of performers, and the only events people attended more frequently were school and church.
WADE PARK, which joins the southern end of ROCKEFELLER PARK at E. 105th and extends south of EUCLID AVE. along East Blvd., encompassing much of UNIV. CIRCLE, was originally the private estate of JEPTHA H.
WASHINGTON RESERVATION (originally Washington Park), at East 49th Street and Washington Park Boulevard, straddles the boundary of NEWBURGH HEIGHTS and the City of Cleveland. It was bought by the city in 1899 after a local amusement park was closed down.
The WATER ST. THEATER, reputedly the city's first theater intended exclusively for dramatic productions, was built by John S. Potter in 1848. Located on Water St. (W. 9th St. after 1905), it seated more than 1,000 and included 2 tiers of boxes and 4 private boxes. The theater was destroyed by fire in 1850, and the site at 1273 W. 9th St. was redeveloped as the Seaman's Hotel and, later, the Showboat Theater.
WATKlNS, SAMUEL "SAMMY" (ca. 1904-26 July 1969) was a well-known dance orchestra leader and songwriter in Cleveland whose style, quality, and good taste brought pleasure to Greater Clevelanders for over 40 years.
WEBSTER, FREDDIE (8 June 1916-1 April 1947) was an influential jazz trumpeter from Cleveland, Ohio. Although his legacy has been largely forgotten by the general public, jazz historians and fans acknowledge his influence on the American jazz scene. During his lifetime, Webster was an influential jazz artist who worked with other well-known artists of the time period, such as Dizzy Gillespie and Miles Davis.
