Edward Paycen Churchill (27 June 1877, Chicago — 14 December 1920, New York City) was an American theatre impresario, theatre manager, and talent agent. The founder of several theaters in the Mid-West during the early 20th century, Churchill played an instrumental role in the development of the Western Vaudeville Managers' Association (WVMA); serving as the WVMA's general manager. With the backing of financier E. H. Harriman, he owned and operated the Lake Contrary Amusement Park in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Life and career

Born in Chicago, Edward Paycen Churchill was the son of George F. Churchill and Lizzie M. Churchill (née Addy). In his youth he worked as an usher in theaters in Chicago before moving to

Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...

where he became the head of the newly developed

sheet music Sheet music is a handwritten or printed form of musical notation that uses List of musical symbols, musical symbols to indicate the pitches, rhythms, or chord (music), chords of a song or instrumental Musical composition, musical piece. Like ...

department of the George B. Peck Dry Goods Company. He soon after started a side business of his own, working as a talent agent in Kansas City. Not satisfied with serving as a booking agent for theaters owned by others, Churchill decided to pursue a business operating his own entertainment venues. He built his first theatre, the Lyric Theatre, in

St. Joseph, Missouri St. Joseph is a city in and the county seat of Buchanan County, Missouri. Small parts of St. Joseph extend into Andrew County. Located on the Missouri River, it is the principal city of the St. Joseph Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includ ...

. He then partnered with the financier E. H. Harriman to build the Lake Contrary Amusement Park in St. Joseph and theaters in

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...

Kalamazoo, Michigan Kalamazoo ( ) is a city in the southwest region of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Kalamazoo County. At the 2010 census, Kalamazoo had a population of 74,262. Kalamazoo is the major city of the Kalamazoo-Portage Metropolit ...

and

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

. He opened offices in Chicago where he worked as a booking agent; not only for his theaters but for other

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

venues. He forged several partnerships, which preceded the formation of the Western Vaudeville Managers' Association (WVMA). Eventually, he merged his organization into the WVMA, at which point he became the WVMA's general manager. Churchill died on 14 December 1920 in New York City. He is the father of actress Marguerite Churchill.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Churchill, Edward Paycen 1877 births 1920 deaths American talent agents American theatre managers and producers Impresarios