Draft:Peter A. Higgins

Peter A. Higgins (born September 26, 1899) was an American singer and actor. Higgins was known as Pittsburgh's Irish Tenor and performed on Vaudeville, Broadway, Radio and Early Film and Television.

Early life Peter was born in Pittsburgh, Pa on September 26, 1899. The second of eight children of Peter Higgins and Mary Ann Reddington.[1]

Performance Career Peter performed on vaudeville and on early KDKA radio broadcasts then was signed to a national contract in the late 1920s.[2]

Vaudeville: The Indiana Theatre Vaudeville June 26-27, 1925. Peter Higgins "America's Youngest Irish Tenor" assisted by Wally Poyntz at the Piano. Indiana Evening Gazette (Indiana, PA)

New Orpheum June 7, 1926, Peter Higgins, "America's Youngest Irish Tenor" with Frank Dixon. Ethel Barrymore was the headliner. Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California).

Cheat Lake Supper Club February 18, 1950 for two nights. Morning Herald (Uniontown, Pennsylvania)

American Legion Post 51 August 29, 1953. Evening Standard (Uniontown, Pennsylvania)

Radio: Peter performs with the Pittsburgh Quartet on KDKA September 9, 1922. Source: National Museum of Broadcasting radio log.[3]

Peter performs accompanied by future wife, Aileen Murray, on KDKA at 7:20pm 1923. Source: National Museum of Broadcasting radio log.[3]

Peter Higgins headlines the RKO Palace Stage and is a weekly feature on the RKO Radio Hour.[4]

Peter was an early performer of Hebrew music on national radio.[5] Additional Source: Miami Daily News March 30, 1934.

Broadway: Peter performed as the radical poet[6] in Free For All in 1931 at the Manhattan Theatre [7]

Film: Peter performed in at least three movies The Painted Angel (1929), Vaudeville Days(1934) and Playing for Fun (1926)[8]

Television: Peter performed on the Dumont Television network, channel 3.

Death: Peter died in Erie, PA in 1994.[9]

References

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  1. ^ "Peter A Higgens", United States census, 1900; Pittsburgh Ward 25, Allegheny, Pennsylvania; roll 1363, page 5, line 2, enumeration district 0281.
  2. ^ "Article clipped from The Pittsburgh Press". Newspapers.com. April 8, 1931.
  3. ^ a b "NATIONAL MUSEUM OF BROADCASTING". NATIONAL MUSEUM OF BROADCASTING.
  4. ^ "Article clipped from Democrat and Chronicle". Newspapers.com. September 15, 1930.
  5. ^ Markovits, Andrei S.; Garner, Kenneth (November 1, 2016). "Hillel at Michigan, 1926/27-1945: Struggles of Jewish Identity in a Pivotal Era". Maize Books. doi:10.3998/mpub.9719362 – via quod.lib.umich.edu.
  6. ^ "Free for All (Broadway, Ed Sullivan Theatre, 1931) | Playbill".
  7. ^ "Free For All – Broadway Musical – Original | IBDB".
  8. ^ "Peter Higgins - Biography". IMDb.
  9. ^ "Obituary for Peter A. HIGGINS Sr". Newspapers.com. November 4, 1994.