SAM HARRIS

Sam H. Harris, theatrical manager, was born on the lower part of Manhattan in New York in 1872. He commenced to earn his own living at the age of eleven, and was employed in various mercantile pursuits up to the time he was seventeen years old, when he became manager of a large steam laundry. He then became interested in the pugilistic destinies of Terry McGovern, the featherweight fighter whose many victories won for both of them fame and money, It was while interested in the management of McGovern that Mr. Harris bought a half-interest in" The Gay Morning Glories," a burlesque organization in which McGovern was a star attraction. He afterward starred the pugilist in a melodrama called "The Bowery After Dark." The success of that tour encouraged Mr. Harris to invest largely in melodramatic attractions of the better class, and the firm of Sullivan, Harris & Woods was the outcome. This firm produced many melodramas on a large scale, the most successful being" The Fatal Wedding."

While on a pleasure trip Mr, Harris became acquainted with George M. Cohan, The two became firm friends and, shortly afterward, business associates. The firm of Cohan & Harris was formed, and these successful plays from the pen of Mr. Cohan have been presented: "Little Johnny Jones," "Forty-five Minutes from Broadway," "George Washington, Jr.,"' a new edition of "The Governor's Son," "Popularity," "Fifty Miles from Boston, " " The Honeymooners, " and " The Talk of New York,"