David Belasco

Part I of Essay
was born in San Fransisco, California, on July 25,1853. Hisparents had come to California from London in the gold rush. Belasco grew upin San Fransisco and Victoria, British Columbia. His early education in a RomanCatholic monastery influenced his simple mode of dress an ....

Part II of Essay
.... City, where he spent most of his life. For several years he was the stage manager of the Madison Square Theater, for which he wrote plays, Achieving popularity with May Blossom (1884), a Civil War love story. It was followed by Lord Chumbley (1888), a domestic drama featuring a comic Englishmen. In 1893, written with Franklyn Fyles, was The Girl I Left Behind Me, a popular Indian melodrama. In 1895, Belasco had his first smash hit as a playwright , director, and independent manager. His Civil War melodrama, The Heart of Maryland, b ....