The, worst theater fire in American history occurred on 30 December 1903. Chicago's Iroquois Theatre had mounted a holiday matinee, Mr. Bluebeard, starring comedian Eddie Foy. A capacity audience of eight hundred, mainly families with youngsters, was enjoying the show when the stage curtain caught fire. Foy remained onstage and encouraged the orchestra to continue playing in an attempt to quell the panic that was rising. Despite Foy's efforts, more than six hundred people, half of them children, died in the blaze. The theater had been owned by Klaw and Erlanger, a Theater Syndicate subsidiary, and newspapers across the country denounced the theater trust's safety standards; new public fire regulations were the result.