Leland Powers School
The Leland Powers School, also known as the Leland Powers School of Communication, Leland Powers School of Radio, Theatre, and Television, Leland Powers Theatre School, the Leland Powers School of Expression, Leland Powers School of the Spoken Word, and originally called the Leland Powers School of Elocution, was originally located on Massachusetts Avenue in the South End. A purpose-built building on Evans Way, behind the Museum of Fine Arts was constructed in 1914. This building was taken by eminent domain in the 1970s.
Leland Powers School
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- Leland Powers School
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In this article
Overview
Overview
The school moved three more times - 2001 Beacon Street, Cleveland Circle, 10 Charlesgate East in the Back Bay, and 70 Brookline Avenue, adjacent Fenway Park before it closed in 1979. Speaker and author Leland Powers founded the school in 1904. The school educated several notable speakers and authors of the early 20th century, including drama educator T. Earl Pardoe, actress Reta Shaw, and journalist Wendall Woodbury.
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Leland Powers School • Established — 1904 • Closed — 1979 • Type — Private • President — Leland Powers • City — Boston • State — Massachusetts • Country — United States • Former Names — School of Elocution (1879-1943)
History
History
Leland T. Powers founded the school after teaching with the Redpath Lyceum Bureau, a Chautauqua circuit business. While working for the bureau, Powers was assigned as a reader during chautauquas, and as a coach to other readers. Powers also edited scripts for usage, focusing on readability and performance. During this time Powers was an associate of Carl Sandburg. In 1904, Powers' school cost $200 for a semester's tuition. Joining his wife and more than a dozen staff members in teaching 140 students annually. The School was credited with being on the leading edge of technology when in 1944 it started broadcasting a show called The Great American Home on local station WIXG. Leland Powers School closed on April 27, 1979, due to financial problems.
Graduates
Graduates
• Annette Carell, actress • Fay Davis, actress • Jeff Donnell, actress • Mary Freeman Byrne, author • Rod Fritz, newscaster, Boston (WBZ and WRKO) and New York (Fox) (as per this excerpt from the WRKO article) • Ernest Holmes, religious leader • Don Gillis, sportscaster • Neil MacNevin (Tom Evans), radio/tv announcer (see Creature Double Feature) • J T Nichols, playwright (Porktown, Taming the Savages, Jesus & the Pirates, etc.) • Palmer Payne, newscaster, NYC at WCBS (880 AM)) • Lee W. Quimby, politician • Glynn Ross, opera impresario • Bob Wilson, sportscaster
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1- Ernest HolmesAuthor
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Licensing
Text attribution
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The biographical narrative on this page is based on the Wikipedia article Leland Powers School, revision 1362441330 (EN edition), by its contributors. VALÉORINE has edited that text and built its own documentary record around it. The reused material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0, and this page's reuse of it is offered under the same licence. Everything else on this page — the chronology, the holdings, the evidence, the plates and the connections — is VALÉORINE's own record. Sources and licences.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Hesperides. (2007) A Handbook of American Private Schools. Read Books. p 236.
- 2.Tibbetts, M.M. (1954) Random recollections: Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Leland Powers School, 1904-1954. Boston: Leland Powers School.
- 3.Tapia, J.E. (1997) Circuit chautauqua: From rural education to popular entertainment in early twentieth century America. McFarland. p 66.
- 4.Tuttle, Marguerite. (1952) A Guide to education for professional careers. p 36.
- 5.75-year-old Leland Powers closing today. The Boston Globe. 19. 1979-04-27.
- 6.Annette Erlanger, Actress, Is Wed. The Montclair Times. 14. September 3, 1953.
- 7.Times, Wireless To the New York. FAY DAVIS IS DEAD; NOTED ACTRESS, 72; Star in Many Shakespearean Plays in London Appeared Here for Charles Frohman Captivated English Audiences Toured in This Country. The New York Times. 1945-02-27. 0362-4331.
- 8.Glynn Ross Interview with Bruce Duffie . . . . . . . . . www.bruceduffie.com.
- 9.Tom McAuliffe – Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
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