May Beegle (October 23, 1882 – December 8, 1943) was an American theatrical manager, publicist, concert promoter, and agent, known as the "dean of Pittsburgh impresarios."

Early life

Alice May Beegle was born in

Bedford, Pennsylvania Bedford is a borough and spa town in and the county seat of Bedford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is located west of Harrisburg, the state capital, and east of Pittsburgh. Bedford's population was 2,861 at the 2020 census. His ...

, the daughter of Thomas Paul Beegle Sr. and Margaret Keyser Beegle. She studied piano as a girl.

Career

Beegle began working as a secretary at the Pittsburgh Orchestra. She founded the Pittsburgh Orchestra Association and the Pittsburgh Friends of Music Society. She organized the Ellis Concert Series and the Sewickley Concerts before starting her own booking agency in 1923. The May Beegle concert series began in 1921 with English singer

Florence Easton Florence Easton (25 October 1882 – 13 August 1955) was a popular English dramatic soprano in the early 20th century. She was one of the most versatile singers of all time. She sang more than 100 parts, covering a wide range of styles and ...

, and brought performing artists from

Enrico Caruso Enrico Caruso (, , ; 25 February 1873 – 2 August 1921) was an Italian operatic first lyrical tenor then dramatic tenor. He sang to great acclaim at the major opera houses of Europe and the Americas, appearing in a wide variety of roles (74) ...

and

Anna Pavlova Anna Pavlovna Pavlova ( , rus, Анна Павловна Павлова ), born Anna Matveyevna Pavlova ( rus, Анна Матвеевна Павлова; – 23 January 1931), was a Russian prima ballerina of the late 19th and the early 20th ...

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to the v ...

and

Marian Anderson Marian Anderson (February 27, 1897April 8, 1993) was an American contralto. She performed a wide range of music, from opera to Spiritual (music), spirituals. Anderson performed with renowned orchestras in major concert and recital venues throu ...

to the city over the next three decades. She also promoted orchestra concerts for children, reaching thousands of students in the Pittsburgh area. She was active in the National Concert Managers' Association, and was known as the "dean of Pittsburgh impresarios." "Through May Beegle," noted a 1922 report, "Pittsburgh is promised an unusually brilliant season of orchestral and recital attractions." During World War I she and her sister Helena Viola Beegle worked with the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

in Pittsburgh. She was a member of the Business and Professional Women's Club of Allegheny County, and of the Women's Press Club. Beegle was sued in 1929 by Italian opera singer

Pasquale Amato Pasquale Amato (21 March 1878 – 12 August 1942) was an Italian operatic baritone. Amato enjoyed an international reputation but attained the peak of his fame in New York City, where he sang with the Metropolitan Opera from 1908 until 1921. E ...

, after she referred to him as a "has-been."

Personal life

Beegle lived with her sister Helena in Pittsburgh. May Beegle died in 1943, aged 61 years (according to her death certificate; the ''New York Times'' and ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' obituaries gave her age as 56). Her brother Thomas P. Beegle continued her concert series until his death in 1946, and then his son Bill Beegle ran the May Beegle Concerts series, through 1954. The

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is the public library system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its main branch is located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and it has 19 branch locations throughout the city. Like hundreds of other Carn ...

holds a collection of programs from the May Beegle Concerts.

References

External links

*
A 1941 photograph of May Beegle
from

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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Beegle, May 1882 births 1943 deaths People from Bedford, Pennsylvania American women in World War I American arts administrators Women arts administrators