It was with the latter company that their famous “Georgia Minstrels” was first produced at the Gayety Theatre, Brooklyn, N. Y., in August, 1894.
McIntyre and Heath played vaudeville until 1906, when they starred in the “Ham Tree,” a big musical production written, around the talents of these famous funsters. They continued with that play for three seasons. In 1909 they appeared with “In Hayti,” another pretentious musical offering, in which they, of course, played black-face parts.
James McIntyre began his professional career at Chicago in the Fall of 1868, at Pete Kerwin’s, doing a song and dance in black-face; this particular song was called “My Name Was Little Ned.”
The following year he went with Katie Putnam’s Company, where he played Willie in “East Lynne,” and did a double clog with Peter Lester it is now, but at that time, Peter Johnson. McIntyre and Johnson played engagements with McKenzie’s Circus and Burton and Ridgway’s Minstrels and a return to Katie Putnam’s Company.
The Minstrels closed at Indianapolis, Ind., in the Winter of 1871, and Mr. McIntyre met Billy Fleming, and they decided to become pedestrians; they “pedestered” from Indianapolis to Terre Haute, giving performances at the various school houses en route.
Evansville, Ind., was the next objective point, after which Mr. Fleming became enamoured with Mr. McIntyre’s professional attire, and without permission from the latter young man, took them for his own.
* * * Mr. McIntyre’s next engagement was in a livery stable in Henderson, Ky., where he remained two months, during which time he organized an amateur minstrel company from local talent available; they played four nights, the receipts of which were donated to McIntyre to get him a new wardrobe, and a ticket to Louisville.
Several of Henderson, Ky’s. most prominent future citizens blacked up in that memorable year of 1871, among whom were Jeff. Davis, Harry Gilligan, Newton Shaw, John Reichert, Jr., and “Killis” Callender; and when thirty-seven years later McIntyre and Heath returned to play an engagement in the thrifty Blue Grass City, many of those “minstrels of ’71” responded to Mr. McIntyre’s invitation to a banquet, and pleasant recollections were recalled.
Mr. McIntyre subsequently formed a partnership with Mike Butler, and as McIntyre and Butler worked for several months; subsequently William Carroll, (afterwards one of the Miaco Brothers), and Mr. McIntyre were partners.
In the Spring of 1874 he again joined Butler and continued with him until he met Mr. Heath.