Winfield Blake

Winfield S. Blake (July 4, 1868 – April 12, 1932) was an American actor, comedian, bass singer, lyricist, playwright, theatre director, producer, talent manager, and costume designer whose career spanned from 1889 into the early 1920s. Born in Pennsylvania, he was the son of Isaac E. Blake, a prominent oil industry figure who founded the Continental Oil Company in 1875, an enterprise later renamed Conoco and eventually incorporated into ConocoPhillips. By the time of the 1880 census, the Blake family had relocated to San Francisco, California, having previously resided in Denver, Colorado, where Isaac Blake served as president of the Continental Oil Company and also founded the Nevada Southern Railway.

Blake launched his performance career in November 1889 with a concert debut at the Tivoli Opera House in San Francisco, appearing as a featured soloist in a program of Giuseppe Verdi's music. He sang the trio "Te sol, te sol quest'anima" from Verdi's Attila alongside soprano Belle Thorne and tenor Edgar Temple. He continued performing in the San Francisco area, including a January 1890 concert at Irving Hall where he sang works by Cassius Clement Stearns and Gustav Graben-Hoffmann. By 1894 he had established himself as a professional bass and actor in Los Angeles, serving as a soloist at churches including Unity Church and Simpson's Tabernacle, and giving recitals at Blanchard Hall. That year he performed the role of Colonel Calverley in a semi-professional production of Gilbert and Sullivan's Patience, sang the bass solo in Handel's Messiah with the Los Angeles Oratorio Society under conductor F. A. Bacon, and appeared at the Los Angeles Theater in T. W. Robertson's play Caste as Captain George D'Alroy. His stage work in Los Angeles also included Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore, Poo-Bah in The Mikado, and Ralph, the Chief of Outlaws, in Humphrey John Stewart's Robin Hood. In January 1895 he directed a musical pantomime staged as a charity fundraiser for homeless youth in Los Angeles and composed the song "Brother's Lullaby" for the production.

By mid-1895 Blake had joined the Pyke Opera Company for a national tour that carried him through Wyoming, Utah, and Victoria, British Columbia, performing roles including Boleslas in Francis Chassaigne's Falka, Dick Deadeye in H.M.S. Pinafore, and Poo-Bah in The Mikado. He subsequently performed with the Dunbar Opera Company in Colorado, Nebraska, and Wyoming before moving into burlesque and musical theatre work in Chicago, Washington D.C., and St. Louis. In early 1896 he toured with Lilly Clay's burlesque troupe, and in April 1896 starred in Joseph Hart's musical A Gay Old Boy in Washington D.C.

Blake's Broadway career grew out of his association with the comic opera troupe of Jefferson De Angelis, with whom he created leading roles in three original light operas composed by Julian Edwards. These works were The Wedding Day, The Jolly Musketeer, and The Princess Chic, each of which he performed in Broadway runs as well as on national tours between 1896 and 1901. His verified Broadway credits include The Princess Pat and The Wedding Day, with his Broadway appearances occurring between 1897 and 1900. During this same period Blake became a prominent national advocate for the establishment of American music conservatories, opera companies, and orchestras at a time when such institutions were scarce in the United States. He played a central role in founding The American Patriotic Music League in 1897 and served as the organization's secretary, working out of its offices at Carnegie Hall between touring engagements.

In 1902 Blake married the actress Maude Amber, and the two formed the comedy duo Blake and Amber. Together they performed in musical comedies and burlesques, wrote original comedic sketches and musical entertainments, and also performed material by other writers. From 1902 to 1904 they were active in vaudeville at Fischer's Theatre in San Francisco, where they frequently performed alongside Kolb and Dill and Barney Bernard. In 1904 Blake, Amber, Kolb, Dill, and Bernard undertook a tour to Hawaii, South Africa, and Australia. Blake and Amber remained in Australia in 1905 as members of John F. Sheridan's theatre troupe, then toured Asia in 1906 with the magician Howard Thurston before spending five years performing in British music halls. Following an international tour in 1910–1911, the couple gave their final performances in England at the London Hippodrome in October 1911.

Blake and Amber returned to the United States in December 1911 and resumed vaudeville work in America. After 1914 their stage appearances declined as they shifted their focus to operating a theatrical booking agency. Blake also worked as a theatrical director, producer, and costume designer in San Francisco and was a performing member of the Bohemian Club. He and Amber co-authored musical theatre works staged in San Francisco by the San Francisco Press Club. By 1924 the couple had ceased performing entirely and were running a costume company in San Francisco alongside their talent management business. Blake died in San Francisco on April 12, 1932, at the age of 63.