Herbert "Bert" Heron (October 26, 1883 – January 7, 1968) was an American writer, actor, and poet. Heron is best known for founding the

Forest Theater The Forest Theater is an historic amphitheater in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. Founded in 1910, it is one of the oldest outdoor theaters west of the Rockies. Actor/director Herbert Heron is generally cited as the founder and driving force, an ...

in 1910. He was the former mayor of

Carmel-by-the-Sea, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...

for two terms in the 1920s. He lived in Carmel for 62 years.

Early life

Heron was born, as Herbert Heron Peet, on September 9, 1868, in

Englewood, New Jersey Englewood is a city in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, which at the 2020 United States census had a population of 29,308. Englewood was incorporated as a city by an act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 17, 1899, from por ...

. His parents were Gilead Smith Peet (1847-1885) and Jeannie Spring (1843-1921). He came from a background of writers and dramatists. On July 17, 1911, he changed his name to Herbert Heron in Superior Court because he wrote and was known under that name.

Career

Herbert Heron in Romeo and Juliet (1912)

Heron grew up in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and attended

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

but left to go on the stage. He joined the Belasco Stock Company, the Crawley-Meatayer Company, and the Morosco Stock Company in southern California. This experience taught him how to be a

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

actor. He performed in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

and went to

Frank Coppa Frank Coppa Sr. (born September 11, 1941) is a Sicilian-American gangster in the Bonanno crime family who was a close friend of Joseph Massino and Frank Lino and made large sums of money in stock fraud schemes. In 2002, Coppa became the first Bona ...

's restaurant, known among

Bohemians Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

in San Francisco. At Coppa's, he met

George Sterling George Sterling (December 1, 1869 – November 17, 1926) was an American writer based in the San Francisco, California Bay Area and Carmel-by-the-Sea. He was considered a prominent poet and playwright and proponent of Bohemianism during the f ...

, who invited him down to the art colony at

in 1908. There, he met

James Franklin Devendorf James Franklin Devendorf (April 6, 1856–October 9, 1934), was a pioneer real estate development, real estate developer and philanthropist. Devendorf and attorney Frank Hubbard Powers (1864-1921), founded the Carmel Development Company in 1902. ...

, co-founder of the

Carmel Development Company The Carmel Development Company was a real-estate development company that operated in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California from 1902 to 1965. It was developed by James Franklin Devendorf and Frank Hubbard Powers. Powers provided the capital and did th ...

, who sold him a lot to build a house where he lived with his wife and daughter. His wife was Sara Opal Piontkowski Heron Search, the daughter of a Polish

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

, whom he married in 1905. In 1910, Heron approached Devendorf again to purchase another lot. This time it was in an area surrounded by oaks and pines, for an outdoor (open air) theater. Heron wanted to stage plays starring Carmel residents. At that time there were only three hundred residents. By February 1910, construction began on what would be called the

with a platform stage and wooded benches. Devendorf paid the expenses knowing it would be good for Carmel.. There was no electricity at the theater, so Heron used

calcium Calcium is a chemical element with the symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to ...

floodlights that were brought by covered wagon from Monterey to light the stage. Herbert Heron in Hamlet (1926)

On July 9, 1910, Heron put on the first of the annual theatrical productions at the Forest Theater. It was ''David,'' a biblical drama by Constance Lindsay Skinner under the direction of Garnet Holme of UC Berkeley. Heron was in the title role as David and writer

Alice MacGowan Alice L. MacGowan (December 10, 1858 – March 10, 1947) was an American writer. Early years She was born in Perrysburg, Ohio, the daughter of John Encil MacGowan and Malvina Marie Johnson. The family moved to Chattanooga, Tennessee, where her ...

as Astar. The play was reviewed in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, and was reported that over 1,000 theatergoers attended the production. The second play was the ''Twelfth Night,'' on July 3rd and 4th, 1911. Heron played the character Feste. He was part of the cultural circle that included

Jack London John Griffith Chaney (January 12, 1876 – November 22, 1916), better known as Jack London, was an American novelist, journalist and activist. A pioneer of commercial fiction and American magazines, he was one of the first American authors to ...

, George Sterling, James Hopper, and

Mary Hunter Austin Mary Hunter Austin (September 9, 1868 – August 13, 1934) was an American writer. One of the early nature writers of the American Southwest, her classic '' The Land of Little Rain'' (1903) describes the fauna, flora, and people – as well as e ...

, and

Sinclair Lewis Harry Sinclair Lewis (February 7, 1885 – January 10, 1951) was an American writer and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States (and the first from the Americas) to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, which was ...

In 1918, Heron opened the first Seven Arts bookstore, selling books, art materials, poetry, and antiques near the Forest Theater. In 1923, Heron commissioned Michael J. Murphy to build the Seven Arts Shop for he and Helena Conger at a new located on Ocean Avenue and Monte Verde Street, next to

Edward G. Kuster Edward Gerhard Kuster (August 15, 1878 – September 1961) was a musician and attorney from Los Angeles for twenty-one years before coming to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California in 1921. He became involved in theater and establish his own theatre and s ...

's Carmel Weavers Studio. In 1925, he hired architect Albert B. Coats and builder Percy Parkes to build the Tudor Revival style building called the Seven Arts Building, located on Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Street. The building is now the Carmel Bay Company. The building accommodated several art organizations, including the

Carmel Art Association The Carmel Art Association (CAA) is a Not-for-profit arts organization and Art museum, gallery located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The CAA is Carmel's oldest gallery. It features the work of many local artists living on the Monterey Peninsu ...

, and the studio of photographer

Edward Weston Edward Henry Weston (March 24, 1886 – January 1, 1958) was a 20th-century American photographer. He has been called "one of the most innovative and influential American photographers..." and "one of the masters of 20th century photography." ...

. In the late 1920s, Heron, concerned about Carmel being commercialized, he entered city politics. He was elected to city council and served twice as mayor of Carmel. He was on Carmel's first planning commission. In 1960, Heron finished his 50th year with the Forest Theater with his play, ''Pharaoh.'' By 1963, the theater had shown over 140 plays.

Plays

Other plays included:

Death

Heron died on January 7, 1968, in

, at age 84. Funeral services were private and held in the Little Chapel By the Sea in

Pacific Grove, California Pacific Grove is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, in the United States. The population at the 2020 census was 15,090. Pacific Grove is located between Point Pinos and Monterey. Pacific Grove has numerous Victorian-era houses, so ...

References

External links

Herbert Heron Interview by George Robinson

Downtown Conservation District Historic Property Survey

Herbert Heron's 1903 Diary
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heron, Herbert 1883 births 1968 deaths People from Englewood, New Jersey Writers from California People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California