Benjamin S. Mears

[3] He first achieved wide recognition as an actor when he joined the 1902 national tour of William W. Young's Ben-Hur in the role of Sanballat; a work produced by Klaw & Erlanger.[2] In 1906 Mears created the leading role of Philadelphia lawyer Tom Wilson in composer Lee Orean Smith's musical Around the Clock.[4] A successful road musical, the cast was headed by the Scottish comedian Billie Ritchie, and toured the United States and Europe for several years.[4] Mears returned to Broadway in 1913 in Carina Jordan's play Rachel at the Knickerbocker Theatre.[1] With the playwright Hugh Stanislaus Stange he co-authored the 1918 play Seventeen and the book for the 1918 musical You Know Me Al!
CincinnatiCliffside Park, New JerseyvaudevilleBooth Tarkington1916 novel of the same nameHugh Stanislaus StangeCincinnati OhioWilliam W. YoungBen-HurKlaw & ErlangerBroadwayNew York TheatreLee Orean SmithAround the ClockBillie RitchieAmerican TheatreKnickerbocker TheatreBooth TheatreThe New York TimesBillboardRowman & Littlefield PublishersScarecrow PressEdinburgh University Press