Edward M. Favor

Biography

From WikipediaEdward Addison Favor (August 29, 1856 – January 10, 1936),who was billed as Edward M. Favor or Ed. M. Favor, was an American vaudevillecomedian, singer, musical theatre performer and pioneer recording artist, whowas one of the most popular stars of the late nineteenth and early twentiethcenturies.He was born in New York, the son of Franklin Cushman Favorand his wife Lydia, née Lowe. Suggestions that the family name was originally LeFevrehave been discounted.He began working in vaudeville as a light comedian in about1876, and in or before 1877 married Edith Sinclair (1857-1942), who had been asuccessful child actress. Billed as Favor and Sinclair, the couple workedtogether as a duo and in musical comedies. In 1887 they appeared together asmembers of the Edith Sinclair Comedy Company in A Box of Cash, in which heplayed an Irish-American character. Despite the popularity of his Irish characterroles, there is no evidence that he had any Irish ancestry. In 1893 he and hiswife appeared on Broadway in Edward E. Rice's long-running burlesque 1492 Up ToDate.He made one of his first recordings in 1893, of "TheCommodore Song", taken from his previous show, Ship Ahoy. Among his otherearly successes were "Say Au Revoir, But Not Goodbye" (NorthAmerican, 1894), "Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)" (Edison, 1894),and "My Best Girl's A New Yorker" (Columbia, 1895). By the late 1890sFavor recorded for most of the major recording companies, in between hisvaudeville commitments. In 1899, he was one of the first to record on theZonophone label, and in 1900 recorded for the first time for Victor Records. Hecontinued to appear on stage and, in 1900, was described in Broadway magazineas "one of the best light comedians on the stage" and, with his wife,as "one of the big attractions in vaudeville."He continued to make successful recordings for the nextdecade, sung in his "Irish-American piping tenor".[3] These includedcomic numbers for Edison, Columbia and other companies, such as "HamletWas A Melancholy Dane", "Who Threw The Overalls In Mrs. Murphy'sChowder?" (1901), "On a Sunday Afternoon" (1902), "Bedelia(The Irish Coon Song Serenade)" (1903), "I Think I Hear A WoodpeckerKnocking At My Family Tree", and "Pocahontas" (1906). He alsomade recordings with his wife, Steve Porter, and the American Quartet.He made his final recordings for Victor in 1911, and forEdison in 1914 when he recorded "On The 7:28" and "IndoorSports".Favor continued to appear in theatrical shows through the1920s and into the early 1930s. In 1933 he appeared in the Broadway productionsof John Ferguson and Merton of the Movies, and in 1934 in America - Very Early.He died at the age of 79 in Brooklyn in 1936.