An American theatrical producer, Charles Frohman (1860-1915) saw the theater make its transition from stock companies to the star system. Primarily a pillar of "show business" rather than an artistic theatrical innovator, Frohman illuminated the theater with a bright gallery of stars under his personal management.

Charles Frohman was born on June 17, 1860 in Sandusky, Ohio, the son of a traveling peddlar. Frohman loved the theater from boyhood, when as an eight-year-old he hawked souvenir programs for a local production of The Black Crook, America's first musical show. From there he worked his way up through virtually every level of press agentry and theatrical management.

Leaving Ohio at age 12, he went to New York City and worked successively for two newspapers, the Tribune and the Daily Graphic. His love for the theater brought him to night work selling tickets at Hooley's Theater in Brooklyn. By 1877 he was an advance...