Edward Le Roy Rice

{{Short description |American minstrel performers and producer, writer (1871–1938)}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Edward LeRoy Rice

| image = File:Edward Le Roy Rice (1871-1938) in 1911.png

| caption = Rice in 1911

| birth_name =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1871|8|24}}

| birth_place = Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1938|12|1|1871|8|24}}

| death_place = Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S.

| death_cause =

| other_names =

| known_for =

| education =

| occupation =

| spouse = Emma Rodenberger

| parents = William Henry Rice (1844–1907)

| relatives = }}

Edward LeRoy Rice (August 24, 1871 – December 1, 1938) was an American performer in and producer of minstrel shows. He was the leading authority on the history of minstrel shows.{{cite news |title=What Price Glory |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1924/11/16/archives/what-price-glory-again-lured-by-the-prospect-of-acquiring-some-new.html |quote=Edward Le Roy Rice, authority on minstrels and minstrel history |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=2016-07-22 }} He also bought and sold theatrical memorabilia.{{cite web |url=http://findingaids.princeton.edu/collections/TC062 |title=Edward Le Roy Rice papers |access-date=2015-03-26 |publisher=Princeton University }}

Biography

He was born in Manhattan, New York City, on August 24, 1871, as the second son of William Henry Rice (1844–1907), a minstrel performer.{{cite encyclopedia |author=Franz, Kathleen; Smulyan, Susan |encyclopedia =Major Problems in American Popular Culture |title=Edward LeRoy Rice Remembers Minstrelsy |year=2011 |page=31 |isbn =978-0-618-47481-3 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oKdalT-JurQC&pg=PA31 }}{{cite book |author= Koenig, Karl |author-link=Karl Koenig |title=Jazz in Print (1859–1929) |year=2002 |page=392 |publisher= Pendragon Press |isbn=978-1-57647-024-4 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sol334hPuRoC&pg=PA392 }} He first performed on stage in Morristown, New Jersey, on July 18, 1890.

He married Emma Rodenberger in Brooklyn, New York City, on November 30, 1899.

Starting in 1907, he wrote a column, "Man in the Bleachers", which ran in the New York Evening World for five weeks.

His book Monarchs of Minstrelsy was published in 1911.{{cite book |author=Rice, Edward Le Roy |title=Monarchs of Minstrelsy |year=1911 |publisher=New York City, N.Y., Kenny Publishing Company | url=https://archive.org/details/monarchsminstre01ricegoog}} He wrote a syndicated column for Press Publishing called "Anecdotes of Old-Time Actors, by 1913.{{cite news |title=Anecdotes of Old-Time Actors |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1144&dat=19131210&id=BSMbAAAAIBAJ&sjid=9EkEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6435,2692187&hl=en |newspaper=The Pittsburgh Press |date=December 10, 1913 }}

He died on December 1, 1938, in Manhattan. He was buried at Calvary Cemetery in Woodside, New York.

His archive is housed at Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey.

Quote

"Let me begin by saying that I am not a "Monarch of Minstrelsy," not even ... I can remember, as a youngster even before my school days began, my father asking me if I wanted to be a minstrel."

External links

[http://www.gettyimages.com/pictures/minstrel-group-of-edward-le-roy-rice-performing-at-the-news-photo-515579126 Edward Le Roy Rice performers at the Whitehouse] at Getty Images