Baker Stock Company

The Baker Stock Company was a theater group based in Portland, Oregon, United States, active from 1901 through 1923. The company was established by businessman George Luis Baker,[1] who served as its manager from 1901 to 1915.[2]

History
Advertisement promoting opening of the Baker Theatre in The Oregonian, February 1902

The Baker Stock Company was founded by businessman George Luis Baker in 1901. Its anchor theater, the Baker Theatre, opened in 1902.[3] This location, later known as the Playhouse Theatre, among other names, became a vaudeville house and eventually a cinema; the Baker Stock Company anchor theatre relocated several times during its existence.[3]

Historian Gordon B. Dodds notes that the Baker Stock Company was "among the best in the nation" of its kind, and produced theatrical productions for several weeks of each year.[2] Dodds further notes:

"The appeal was to middle-class professional persons and white-collar workers: housewives attended the Wednesday matinees, family groups the weekend performances, and older couples the evening plays. Baker's customers were those whose taste ran between the vaudeville that appealed to the working classes and the touring productions of the East with the latest plays and stars, who often did not work very hard for the provincial audiences."[2]

Among the company's notable actors included local child performers Mayo Methot[4] and Rhea Mitchell;[5] Josephine Dillon;[6] Herbert Heyes,[7] and John Gilbert, who performed with the company as a guitarist.[8]

After the company's dissolution in 1923, it was announced by George Baker in the spring of 1926[9] that a merger was planned with the Forrest Taylor Stock Company, as well as the erecting of a new theater on Portland's west side for an estimated $400,000.[10] With this new facility, the company planned to provide theatrical productions throughout the year.[10] The merger, however, never came to fruition.

Notable players
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References
  1. Chandler, J.D.; Griffin-Kennedy, Theresa (2016). Murder and Scandal in Prohibition Portland: Sex, Vice & Misdeeds in Mayor Baker's Reign. Stroud, Gloucestershire: The History Press. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-467-11953-5.
  2. Dodds, Gordon B. (1977). Oregon: A History. New York: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-393-33436-4.
  3. Lacher, Gary; Stone, Steve (2009). Theatres of Portland. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing. p. 26. ISBN 978-0-738-57147-8.
  4. "Mayo Methot of the Baker Players, cast this week as a tomboy". The Oregon Daily Journal. Portland, Oregon. May 14, 1920. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Another Portland Miss Has Made Her Mark". The Oregon Daily Journal. Portland, Oregon. June 18, 1922. p. 42 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. Brownice, Earl C. (November 5, 1922). "Rialto Yield of News Notes". The Oregon Daily Journal. Portland, Oregon. p. 49 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. "Herbert Heyes Comes Back To Old Playground". The Oregon Daily Journal. Portland, Oregon. August 20, 1922. p. 41 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Tickled a Mean Guitar". The Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. September 10, 1923. p. 6 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Baker Players Return". Statesman Journal. Salem, Oregon. March 12, 1926. p. 2 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Theater at Portland to Provide Plays All Year Round, Planned". Albany Democrat-Herald. Albany, Oregon. March 12, 1926. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Verna Felton Is New 'Star' At Baker". The Oregon Daily Journal. Portland, Oregon. August 31, 1919. p. 36 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Portland Actor Hits Fast Pace in Movie Debut". The Oregon Daily Journal. Portland, Oregon. May 14, 1922. p. 43 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Selmer Jackson". The Oregon Daily Journal. Portland, Oregon. May 24, 1922. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Davis' Public Record Is Good". The Coos Bay Times. Marshfield, Oregon. July 9, 1924. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. Wollstein, Hans J. (1994). Strangers in Hollywood: The History of Scandinavian Actors in American Films from 1910 to World War II. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-810-82938-1.
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