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Everett Stewart aka Stuart the Male Patti (died January, 1937) achieved
international fame as the "Male Patti," and began his professional career as a
singer with McIntyre and Heath's Minstrels in Springfield, MO, in the Fall of
1887. Queer Places:
Orpheum Theatre, 1192 Market St, San Francisco, CA 94102
Everett Stewart aka Stuart the Male Patti (died January, 1937) achieved
international fame as the "Male Patti," and began his professional career as a
singer with McIntyre and Heath's Minstrels in Springfield, MO, in the Fall of
1887.
Stuart was born Everett Stewart in Dallas, Texas, of an Italian mother and Scotch father.
"Tom" Heath sauntered into the Post office at Wichita, Kansas one morning, and inquired if there was any mail for McIntyre and Heath's Minstrels. "Yes, indeed, there are lots of letters for the minstrel boys," said a real gentlemanly voice behind the window. Heath hired him on the spot and a few days later, Stuart "blacked up" for the first time in his life. He made his professional debut in Chicago in 1888. Later, Stuart took his operatic voice and lavish gowns throughout the music halls of Europe from 1899 to 1908. It was certainly a coincidence that the boy who had previously answered inquiries daily concerning missing letters, should have as his signature song, "The Letter That Never Came."
Stuart was dubbed "the male Patti" by Alan Dale, who was in a frolic some mood after hearing him sing at Koster & Bial's in New York.
Stuart also began an engagement at Emerson's Minstrels in San Francisco, August 6, 1888. And thus it was that the mail clerk became the "Mail Patti." And that is the story of "Stuart."
Stuart was a headliner on the opening bill of the San Francisco Orpheum in 1894, according to Walter Trevellyan, and remained there for eight consecutive weeks. After his Orpheum engagement, he was starred in the role of Queen Isabella in Rice's musical extravaganza, "1492", for nine consecutive seasons, and then spent 17 years in Europe headlining in the principal musical halls. On his return to the United States, Alexander Pantages signed him for his circuit, and his last appearance was in Joe Laurie's "Old Timers Act" in New York in 1932.
He was on the stage at that time with such stage luminaries of the gay 1890s as Corinne, Josephine Sabel, Lizzie Wilson and Barney Girard, the originator of the cake walk.
Stuat died in the Los Angeles County Hospital in January 1937, penniless and friendless. Richard Harlow, Everett "Stuart" Stewart, Charles Heywood, are all mentioned in Isidore Witmark's book, "They All Sang."
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