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Al. H. Wilson (né Alphonse or Alfonso H. Wilson; 3 March 1868 Buffalo, New York – 6 Mar 1936 Manhattan, New York) was an American stage actor, comedian, singer, monologist, songwriter, theater stock company director, and playwright. For a long period, he was a German dialect comedian.[1]

Career

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After several stints in the 1890s as an apprentice for a printer in Buffalo, Wilson engaged the managerial services of Sidney R. Ellis (né Sidney Robert Ellis; 1857–1924) and launched his stage career, full-time. In 1906, he became known is "Metz Wilson," from his performances in Metz in the Alps, which featured Wilson singing and yodeling. Critics lauded him in that role, with his German accent, as a worth successor to J.K. Emmett (né Joseph Kline Emmet; 1841–1891),[2] an acclaimed and wealthy vaudevillian actor from Albany, New York, known for his yodeling[3] and stage roles as a German immigrant.

Ellis, for more than ten years, wrote plays for Wilson, produced them, and traveled with the shows. The plays included:

  1. A Prince of Tatters
  2. Metz in Ireland
  3. When Old New York Was Dutch
  4. The Watch on the Rhine

Productions

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  • Glorianna
(musical comedy)
Starring Fritzi Scheff
Catherine Chisholm Cushing (it) (libretto)
Rudolf Friml (music)
February 17, 1920, Jefferson Theater, Coffeyville, Kansas
Al. H. Wilson is in the supporting cast

Selected discography

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  • "In Tyrol"
Recorded January 26, 1906 (unconfirmed)
Al. H. Wilson (composer)
Sidney R. Ellis (lyricist)
Al. H. Wilson (vocalist, tenor)
Label 16096
Label 4620
Victor 16096, B-3047/1 (1906)
Reissue: Pearl GEMM CD 9052[4]
OCLC 122900219
OCLC 64550543
OCLC 478027372
OCLC 874925544
  • "Whispering Breezes"
From A Prince In Tatters
Recorded November 6, 1907
audio on YouTube
Victor 5322

Family

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Wilson was the brother of actress Lizzie Wilson, who traveled for a season with her brother in the celebrated production of Metz of the Alps. Like her brother, she became knows as a German dialect comedienne.

References

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Notes

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Inline citations
  1. ^ Who's who in Music and Drama (entry: "Wilson, Al. H."), Dixie Hines (né George Wilmer Hines, Jr.; 1872–1928), Harry Prescott Hanaford (1863–1925) (eds.), H.P. Hanaford (publisher) (1914), pg. 325; OCLC 5345361, 21786350
  2. ^ "Metz In The Alps," The Courier (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania), August 24, 1906, pg. 3
  3. ^ Yodeling and Meaning in American Music, by Timothy Elbert Wise, PhD (born 1953) (of the University of Salford), University Press of Mississippi (2007); OCLC 939911227
  4. ^ "Discography of American Historical Recordings," s.v. "Victor matrix B-3047. In Tyrol / Al H. Wilson" (retrieved December 9, 2016)