Joseph Ponsford Bickerton Jr. (15 July 1878 – 20 August 1936) was an attorney and theatrical producer.

Early years and education

Joseph P. Bickerton Jr. was the son of Joseph Ponsford Bickerton, a salesman, and Emma P. Jaques. Joseph Junior studied at Princeton University, but had to leave for financial reasons during his freshman year. He became a lawyer after working in law offices without having attended law school. Bickerton managed the career of actor

Charley Grapewin Charles Ellsworth Grapewin (December 20, 1869 – February 2, 1956) was an American vaudeville and circus performer, a writer, and a stage and film actor. He worked in over 100 motion pictures during the silent and sound eras, most notably port ...

, on tour with a play called "Above the Limit". The play closed, leaving Bickerton with a full set of scenery on his hands. He thereupon sat down and wrote a play to fit the scenery, entitled "The House on the Bluff," which was profitable. With the proceeds, he organized the Jungle Film Corporation in 1910 and bought the African hunt motion pictures which

Paul J. Rainey Paul James Rainey (September 18, 1877 – September 18, 1923) was an American businessman, philanthropist, hunter, and photographer. Biography Paul James Rainey was born September 18, 1877, in Cleveland, Ohio, the fifth of Eleanor Beatty (née ...

, a wealthy explorer, had made during a pleasure expedition. These films were the first motion pictures to be produced at regular theater prices and were successful in the U.S. and abroad.

Attorney and producer

Among Bickerton's clients were Florenz Ziegfeld,

David Belasco David Belasco (July 25, 1853 – May 14, 1931) was an American theatrical producer, impresario, director, and playwright. He was the first writer to adapt the short story ''Madame Butterfly'' for the stage. He launched the theatrical career of ...

Elmer Rice Elmer Rice (born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein, September 28, 1892 – May 8, 1967) was an American playwright. He is best known for his plays ''The Adding Machine'' (1923) and his Pulitzer Prize-winning drama of New York tenement life, '' Street Sce ...

George Abbott George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theatre producer, director, playwright, screenwriter, film director and producer whose career spanned eight decades. Early years Abbott was born in Forestville, New Yo ...

Philip Dunning Philip Hart Dunning (December 11, 1889 – July 20, 1968) was a playwright and theatrical producer. Early years and education Dunning, one of six children, was the son of John M. Dunn, an electrochemist, and Mary Dunn. Theater and films Dun ...

Sidney Kingsley Sidney Kingsley (22 October 1906 – 20 March 1995) was an American dramatist. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play '' Men in White'' in 1934. Life and career Kingsley was born Sidney Kirschner in New York. He studied at ...

and

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

. Bickerton was the producer of the musical

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

and Rice's play

Counsellor at Law ''Counsellor at Law'' is a 1933 American pre-Code drama film directed by William Wyler. The screenplay by Elmer Rice is based on his 1931 Broadway play of the same title. Plot The story focuses on several days in a critical juncture in the lif ...

. Bickerton also produced

The Vortex ''The Vortex'' is a play in three acts by the English writer and actor Noël Coward. The play depicts the sexual vanity of a rich, ageing beauty, her troubled relationship with her adult son, and drug abuse in British society circles after the ...

, Noël Coward's debut on Broadway. As a producer, Bickerton seldom allowed his name to appear.

Arbitrator

Bickerton enjoyed the confidence of producers, actors and playwrights to such a degree that they brought him their disputes to arbitrate. Bickerton devised the minimum basic agreement in 1926, which ended the struggle over the screen sale of stage plays at a time when the playwrights were talking of a strike against the producers. Thereafter Bickerton was elected and re-elected during the last ten years of his life to be the arbiter of any further disputes between members of the Dramatists Guild of America and the producing managers. The sales of all their stage shows to Hollywood from 1926 until Bickerton's death passed through his hands.

Death

Bickerton died in 1936.

Family

Bickerton's wife, Lois Tabor, had been an actress for

and a model for artist

Howard Chandler Christy Howard Chandler Christy (January 10, 1872 – March 3, 1952) was an American artist and illustrator. Famous for the "Christy Girl" – a colorful and illustrious successor to the "Gibson Girl" – Christy is also widely known for his ico ...

.MISS LOIS TABER (sic) A BRIDE.; Former Actress Is Wedded to Joseph P. Bickerton Jr., a Lawyer. ''New York Times'' Jan 16, 1910

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bickerton, Joseph P. Jr. 1878 births 1936 deaths American theatre managers and producers American entertainment industry businesspeople Princeton University alumni New York (state) lawyers