Mr. Harrington

Jonathan Harrington (1809-1881) was a ventriloquist and magician based out of Boston, one of the first native Yankees to take up those professions. Inspired by an 1821 performance in Boston by French vent Mr. Charles, Harrington taught himself the necessary skills and by age 17 was beginning to perform publicly (although his parents insisted he also work in a hardware store).  His career lasted over 50 years, and he frequently toured at least as far as Philadelphia. P.T. Barnum produced some of his shows, and at one point he vied with Moses Kimball for the disposition of the New England Museum.  In his later years he was affectionately known as “Mr. Harrington” and he was much beloved for his annual Fourth of July  free shows in Boston Public Garden. He died in 1881 after contracting pneumonia following a performance in Maine.

To find out more about the variety artspast and present, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold. And don’t missChain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, to be released by Bear Manor Media in 2013.