Tom McIntosh (1840–1904) was an African-American comedian who starred in many colored minstrel shows in the US from the 1870s to the 1900s. He was considered one of the funniest performers in this genre.

Early career

Tom McIntosh was born in Lexington, Kentucky in 1840. He became an exhibition drummer, singer and comedian, singer. He teamed with the female impersonator Willis Ganze. McIntosh performed on some of the main entertainment circuits in America, notably with

Charles Callender Charles Callender was the owner of blackface minstrel troupes that featured African American performers. Although a tavern owner by trade, he entered show business in 1872 when he purchased Sam Hague's Slave Troupe of Georgia Minstrels. Renaming ...

's Georgia Minstrels. He played with

Charles Hicks Charles Barney Hicks (? – 1902) was an American advance man, manager, performer, and owner of blackface minstrel troupes composed of African-American performers. Hicks himself was a minstrel performer who could sing and play challenging roles su ...

and

Billy Kersands Billy Kersands (c. 1842 in Baton Rouge, Louisianaa – 30 June 1915 in Artesia, New Mexico) was an African-American comedian and dancer. He was the most popular black comedian of his day, best known for his work in blackface minstrelsy. In addit ...

in the ''Original Georgia Minstrels'' in the 1870s and 1880s. In 1881 McIntosh took his comic drumming act to England with Haverly's Genuine Colored Minstrels. The proprietor of this troupe was

J. H. Haverly Christopher Haverly (1837–1901), better known as J. H. Haverly or John H. "Jack" Haverly, was an American theatre manager and promoter of blackface minstrel shows. During the 1870s and 1880s, he created an entertainment empire centered on his m ...

, who had combined Callender's Minstrels with his United Mastodon Minstrels. The resulting 100-person show was often called the Black One Hundred. It was formed in Chicago, toured most of the large cities in the US, and in 1881–82 made a successful tour of Europe. The Callender company was then taken over by

Charles Frohman Charles Frohman (July 15, 1856 – May 7, 1915) was an American theater manager and producer, who discovered and promoted many stars of the American stage. Notably, he produced ''Peter Pan'', both in London and the US, the latter production ...

, who built it into a huge company that toured in the US from 1882 to 1884 under names such as Callender's Colossal Consolidated Colored Minstrels. The company again toured Europe with Haverly's Minstrels in 1884. McIntosh became part owner of McIntosh and Sawyer's ''Colored Callender Minstrels'', and one of the leading black showmen in America. His wife, Hattie McIntosh (c. 1860 – 1919) first performed with the ''Colored Callender Minstrels'' in 1884.

1890s

McIntosh was the star of Cleveland's Colored Minstrels in 1890–91, which made a successful tour of the Pacific coast in 1890 and performed at the Bush Street Theatre in San Francisco. In the early 1890s Tom and Hattie McIntosh put together ''Mr. and Mrs. McIntosh in the King of Bavaria'', a vaudeville act.

Sam T. Jack Sam T. Jack (31 December 1852 – 1899), a burlesque impresario, was a pioneer of the African-American vaudeville industry in the US with his ''Creole Burlesque Show''. He was also known for staging increasingly risqué shows in Chicago, where youn ...

's ''The Creole Show'' was an innovative cross between a minstrel show and vaudeville. It opened in

Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...

, on 4 August 1890, and traveled to Boston, Brooklyn and Manhattan. The show opened in Chicago in 1891 in Jack's Opera House, and toured on Jack's circuit. Tom and Hattie McIntosh joined the show for the 1893–94 season. Tom and Hattie McIntosh were both in the original ''Octoroons'' show, produced by John William Isham in 1895. 1899 poster of Mme

The Black Patti Troubabours opened on 7 September 1896 in Boston, Massachusetts. The show included a mix of comedy and other traditional minstrel show material with selections of opera music sung by Madame

Sissieretta Jones Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones (January 5, 1868 or 1869 – June 24, 1933) was an American soprano. She sometimes was called "The Black Patti" in reference to Italian opera singer Adelina Patti. Jones' repertoire included grand opera, light o ...

. It played to mixed white and black audiences. Tom McIntosh was the leading comedian for the first season tour. The McIntoshes then again joined Isham's Octoroons Company on tour. An article in the 3 July 1897 ''Indianapolis Freeman'' said of this show "... ''The Blackville Derby'', an amused traversty upon the race track, serves to introduce a number of comedians, chief among the fun makers being Tom McIntosh, who is genuinely funny." In 1899 McIntosh was the star of ''A Hot Old Time in Dixie''. The cast included

Gussie Davis Gussie Lord Davis (December 3, 1863 – October 18, 1899) was an American songwriter born in Dayton, Ohio. Davis was one of America's earliest successful African-American music artists, the first black songwriter to become famous on Tin Pan Alley ...

and

Sherman H. Dudley Sherman Houston Dudley (1872 – March 1, 1940) was an African-American vaudeville performer and theatre entrepreneur. He gained notability in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century as an individual performer, a composer of ragtime songs, ...

. That year Tom and Hattie McIntosh toured England and Canada with ''Graham's Southern Speciality Company''.

Last years

McIntosh toured in 1900 with Rusco & Holland's ''Big Minstrel Festival''. He opened in 1902 as head of ''Johnson's Operatic Cake Walker and Museum Co.'' in Springfield, Illinois. In 1903 he played with Tom Brown's Troubadours before joining the ''Smart Set Company''. The Smart Set Company, managed by

Gus Hill Gus Hill (22 February 1858 – 20 April 1937) was an American vaudeville performer who juggled Indian clubs. He later became a burlesque and vaudeville entrepreneur. Hill was one of the founders of the Columbia Amusement Company, an association of ...

, staged vaudeville-style shows with comedy sketches, songs, dances and specialty acts. McIntosh succeeded

Ernest Hogan Ernest Hogan (born Ernest Reuben Crowdus; 1865 – May 20, 1909) was the first African-American entertainer to produce and star in a Broadway show (''The Oyster Man'' in 1907) and helped to popularize the musical genre of ragtime. A native of Bo ...

as leading man of the Smart Set, and would be succeeded by

. The Smart Set Company also starred

Billy McClain William C. McClain (12 October 1866 – 19 January 1950) was an African-American acrobat, comedian and actor who starred in minstrel shows before World War I. He wrote, produced and directed several major stage and outdoor extravaganzas, and wro ...

. McIntosh played Mr. Bullion in the Smart Set's ''Southern Enchantment''. He received a poor review for his performance on 21 September 1903 in Hartford, Connecticut. The show moved south and played in

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, around the end of October 1903 to a mainly colored audience. Here his reception was better. A reviewer said, "Tom McIntosh, that well-known colored comedian... is easily one of the best comedians on the stage, and regular critics say that he is a regular fun-maker, in other words, does not entirely depend on "horse play," etc. He made a good impression here, and the large audience of colored people expressed pleasure with his efforts." A review of the Smart Set performance in March 1904 in the Park Theatre, Indianapolis, was even more positive: Tom McIntosh died of a stroke in 1904 while traveling with the Smart Set Company.

References

;Citations ;Sources * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:McIntosh, Tom 1840 births 1904 deaths African-American cultural history Vaudeville performers Male actors from Kentucky