Epes Winthrop Sargent (1872–1938) was an American vaudeville critic, who wrote under the pen-name Chicot. He is considered "one of vaudeville's most influential critics and commentators''.
He was born in
Nassau, Bahamas
Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of the Bahamas. With a population of 274,400 as of 2016, or just over 70% of the entire population of the Bahamas, Nassau is commonly defined as a primate city, dwarfing all other towns in the country. ...
on August 21, 1872; he came to the United States in 1878 with his parents. He first worked as a critic for the New York paper, the, ''
Daily Mercury
The ''Daily Mercury'' is an online newspaper which serves the Mackay region in Queensland, Australia. Print edition was later revived with a publication on Friday only.
The newspaper is printed by Mackay Printing and Publishing and is owne ...
''.;
[Anthony Slide, ''Encyclopedia of Vaudeville. 1995. p.453] in the 1890s, he joined the ''
New York Morning Telegraph
''The Morning Telegraph'' (1839 – April 10, 1972) (sometimes referred to as the ''New York Morning Telegraph'') was a New York City broadsheet newspaper owned by Moe Annenberg's Cecelia Corporation. It was first published as the '' Sunday ...
''.
He claimed to have "criticized the first motion picture offered in a theatre. This was at Keith’s Union Square Theater in 1896, and at that moment he became a film fan."
[Epes W. Sargent, "Flimflamming the Film Fans, '']Woman's Home Companion
''Woman's Home Companion'' was an American monthly magazine, published from 1873 to 1957. It was highly successful, climbing to a circulation peak of more than four million during the 1930s and 1940s. The magazine, headquartered in Springfield, O ...
'', November 1924. The quote and other information comes from the editor's introduction to the article, but was obviously supplied by Sargent.
In 1905, when ''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' began publication, he joined them as their first reviewer. Although he did not work continuously for them, he wrote for them until his death in Brooklyn, New York on Dec. 6, 1938.
In 1911, he became a staff writer for ''
The Moving Picture World
The ''Moving Picture World'' was an influential early trade journal for the American film industry, from 1907 to 1927. An industry powerhouse at its height, ''Moving Picture World'' frequently reiterated its independence from the film studios.
I ...
''. They serialized his ''Technique of the Photoplay'', which was soon published as a book.
References
External links
*
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sargent, Epes Winthrop
American music critics
People from Nassau, Bahamas
1872 births
1938 deaths