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Deagon, Arthur

CTE photo

Actor/singer and a fascinating figure of Canadian and American theatre history, born c. 1873 probably in Ayr, Waterloo, Ontario, died in Boston, 1927.

He was the son of Scots-Irish parents Hiram and Elizabeth and used his upbringing to great effect in his career (as an "ethnic" character actor and as a storyteller). In an interview, he claimed to have sung in the church choir and studied singing in Rochester, New York, and have worked in the lumber camps and mines of Michigan and as a professional wrestler before launching his career as "The Cowboy Singer" at age 20. From the start he was a highly physical performer (despite his huge size), and a singer of the first order.

Personal mythologizing or not, newspapers from across the United States and Canada were noticing him as early as 1898. One of his earliest reviews (provenance unknown) called him a new Irish star, "the sweetest of all singing comedians," in a production of Dion O'Dare. Tours were already taking him back and forth across the border including to cities in New Jersey, to Saratoga, New York, and to the Toronto Opera House.

Photo of Arthur Deagon from the sheet music for Underneath the Cotton Moon
Photo of Arthur Deagon from the sheet music for "Underneath the Cotton Moon" (1913), a favourite song of the artist (photo courtesy of Richard A. Reublin)

In 1898 he married another member of his troupe Grace Sawin (aka Grace Swain and Gracie Gray), a "French dancer" who, in the wedding announcement, was described as "a sweet little blonde with womanly ways and talents..."

Now an established character star, he went on to play in vaudeville musicals, comedy and melodramas like The Highwayman (1899), King Dodo (1900), The Belle (1901) and the smash sensation The Time, The Place and the Girl (1907) which toured America and Canada.

He recreated his career (c. 1912) as a monologist, telling stories of his life before and during his career. He appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies productions from 1909 to 1914. In 1913, he toured to Great Britain with Come Over Here.

In 1922 he appeared in the George M. Cohan musical Little Nellie Kelly, and in the 1924 Arthur Hammerstein production of the Oscar Hammerstein II/Rudolf Friml sensation Rose-Marie (which also toured to Great Britain with its so-called "All-American cast" in an all-Canadian story about Mounties.)

Typical caricature of Arthur Deagon, from the New York Evening World
Typical caricature of Arthur Deagon, from the New York Evening World, c 1922 (courtesy of the Deagon Family archive)

Established as a favourite of New York audiences, Cohan cast him again in his Merry Malones. Deagan, still incorporating cartwheels into his performances, died during rehearsals of the play, in Boston.

He had two children, Arthur Jr. and Dora, whom Deagon and his wife often brought into performances.

Information provided by the Deagon family. Additional information provided by Richard A. Reublin.

Last updated 2020-06-11