Biography
Born on 22 October 1865 in Auburn, New York, and passing away on 24 November 1929 in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, Hitchcock began his career performing on stage before expanding into producing. Early Broadway credits encompassed The Beggar Student in 1898, Three Little Lambs the following year, The Burgomaster in 1900, Vienna Life in 1901, King Dodo in 1902, The Yankee Consul in 1905, The Yankee Tourist in 1907, and The Mascot in 1909. That same year he joined George M. Cohan’s The Man Who Owns Broadway, delivering the composer’s title number along with “On A Hundred Different Ships” and “Why They Made Him King.” Subsequent stage appearances included The Red Widow in 1911, The Beauty Shop in 1914, and Betty in 1916, the last featuring music by Paul Rubens, lyrics by Adrian Ross and Rubens, and a book by Frederick Lonsdale and Gladys Unger.
In 1917 he both performed in and co-produced Hitchy-Koo with E. Ray Goetz; Goetz supplied the score and shared book and lyric duties with Harry Grattan and Glen MacDonough. Another joint venture with Goetz that year, Words And Music, was staged under the direction of Leon Errol. The 1918 season brought Follow The Girl plus a fresh Hitchy-Koo edition whose music came from Raymond Hubbell and whose book was written by Hubbell and MacDonough. Hitchcock both appeared in and produced the 1919 Hitchy-Koo, which featured Cole Porter’s songs, among them the comparatively obscure numbers “When Black Sallie Sings Pagliacci,” “When I Had A Uniform On,” “I’ve Got Somebody Waiting,” “Song Of The Sun,” “I’m An Anaesthetic Dancer,” and “My Cosy Little Corner In The Ritz.” The 1920 edition, mounted at the New Amsterdam Theatre, carried music by Jerome Kern and a book and lyrics by MacDonough and Anne Caldwell.
He took a leading role in the 1921 Ziegfeld Follies, whose cast also included star Fanny Brice and W.C. Fields. Additional revue work followed in Pinwheel in 1922 and Hassard Short’s Ritz Revue in 1924, while straight plays accounted for The Sap in 1924 and The Beaux Stratagem in 1928. His handful of screen appearances were almost entirely silent films.
In 1917 he both performed in and co-produced Hitchy-Koo with E. Ray Goetz; Goetz supplied the score and shared book and lyric duties with Harry Grattan and Glen MacDonough. Another joint venture with Goetz that year, Words And Music, was staged under the direction of Leon Errol. The 1918 season brought Follow The Girl plus a fresh Hitchy-Koo edition whose music came from Raymond Hubbell and whose book was written by Hubbell and MacDonough. Hitchcock both appeared in and produced the 1919 Hitchy-Koo, which featured Cole Porter’s songs, among them the comparatively obscure numbers “When Black Sallie Sings Pagliacci,” “When I Had A Uniform On,” “I’ve Got Somebody Waiting,” “Song Of The Sun,” “I’m An Anaesthetic Dancer,” and “My Cosy Little Corner In The Ritz.” The 1920 edition, mounted at the New Amsterdam Theatre, carried music by Jerome Kern and a book and lyrics by MacDonough and Anne Caldwell.
He took a leading role in the 1921 Ziegfeld Follies, whose cast also included star Fanny Brice and W.C. Fields. Additional revue work followed in Pinwheel in 1922 and Hassard Short’s Ritz Revue in 1924, while straight plays accounted for The Sap in 1924 and The Beaux Stratagem in 1928. His handful of screen appearances were almost entirely silent films.