Colony Members
The Actors' Colony
Near the turn of the twentieth century, as the last vestiges of Muskegon’s lumbering era faded from the horizon, a community that catered to theatrical entertainers was started by C.S. "Pop" Ford. Lying in the shadow of a massive dune known as Pigeon Hill in a portion of the city of Muskegon known as Bluffton, Ford found a captive market in the actors who performed at the summer show house at nearby Lake Michigan Park. Click image to view video from 1995. |
 A roster of Actors' Colony members from the 1908-1930 period. This roster is not necessarily a complete list of show business participants and includes some non-theatrical area residents who were active in some Colony activities. Also included are some out-of-town theatrical people who were occasional visitors. Click image to view additional details. |
The
Keatons
1579 Edgewater “Jingles Jungle” was the summer home of Joe, Myra, Buster, Louise, and Harry “Jingles” Keaton. The cottage served the family until Buster’s move to Hollywood. The original structure was removed and rebuilt in the ‘50s.
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 Pascoe’s
PlaceRazed in 1960. The unofficial meeting place for Colony members, this watering hole was renown around the world for their perch dinners and nickel brews. Proprietor Frank "Bullhead" Pascoe a big, kindly man ruled the unpretentious tavern with a firm yet friendly hand until his retirement in 1944. Click image to view additional details |
"Big
Joe" Roberts
1535 Edgewater A well-known figure on the vaudeville stage, Roberts performed in a variety of acts over the years. With the trio, Roberts, Hays and Roberts, "Big Joe" toured the country performing a routine known as “The Cowboy, the Swell and the Lady” with his first wife, Lillian Stuart Roberts. Roberts would go on to play the "heavy" in many of Keaton's silent films. Click image to view additional details. |
Samaroff
and Sonia
3296 Wilcox Donat and Ella Butowick toured the world as “Samaroff and Sonia.” Featuring gymnastic dancing and acrobatic dogs, the couple presented their act at the request of England’s King George in 1913, and performed at Grauman’s Chinese Theater in 1928 prior to the world premiere of Charlie Chaplin's film, "The Circus". Click image to view additional details. |
 
Lancton
Lucier Co.
1860 Walnut Paul Lucier and his wife, Iva Lancton toured the vaudeville stages as the Lancton Lucier Co. The couple performed comedy sketches. A founding member of the Actors' Colony, Paul served as the organization's vice president. Click image to view additional details. |
 The
Millards1852 Walnut A fiddle player, Charles "Pop" Millard, his wife Kate and their caughter Mildred worked the vaudeville circuit until 1923. Click image to view additional details. |
Earl
and Wilson
1854 Cherry A musician who played the violin and the cornet, Lew Earl drifted into vaudeville with his wife, Florence Jackson, performing a comedy talking and singing act with the Keith vaudeville circuit. The first performer to reside in Bluffton, Earl was referred to at the “Mayor of Bluffton”. Click image to view additional details. |
Max Gruber's
Oddities of the Jungle
1831 Cherry The home of Max and Adele Gruber and their novelty animal act, "Oddities of the Jungle. The show featured the talents of an elephant that could bowl and ride a tricycle, a trained zebra and a great dane. The animals were kept in a barn behind the house. Max retired from the road in the late thirties, and the barn was converted into an apartment complex christened “MEMORIES”. Click image to view additional details. |
Rawls
and VonKauffman
1709 Edgewater William “Mush” Rawls joined the Actors’ Colony in 1905, and married his onstage partner Ella VonKauffman in 1909. The couple settled in Muskegon permanently. In 1957, “Mush” traveled from Muskegon to Hollywood to appear on the popular TV show, “This is Your Life” for an episode honoring Buster Keaton. On the show, Rawls recalled Buster’s days in Bluffton as a member of the Colony. Click image to view additional details. |
Gardner & Beard
1845 Walnut Home of “Happy” Jack Gardner, a singer, songwriter and comic, and his musical partner and wife, Edna Beard. Click image to view additional details. |
 Gardner
& RevereDancing, performing original songs and bits of comedy, Dick Gardner,and his wife Anna Revere toured the country with their act "Bits of Vaudeville". A brother to Happy Jack Gardner, his baseball team, "Dickie Gardner's Colts" was comprised of members of the Actors' Colony, including Joe Keaton and his son, Buster. Click image to view additional details. |
 Flemen
and Miller1545 Edgewater Toured the world with his comedy act, Flemen known for his singing of George M. Cohan's composition, "It's a Grand Old Flag." In 1910, before coming to Muskegon, he formed his own actor's booking agency in Chicago known as Flemen Entertainment Bureau. Married to May Flemen, they appeared in vaudeville in sketches, “Between the Lines” and “Back to Boston.” |
 Wicks
and FolletteThe details about the lives of Jack "Pinky" Wicks and Elsie Follette have been lost in time. Members of the colony, they performed at club gatherings. Still performing in 1916, word is they moved west as the entertainment industry settled in Southern California. |
 Ed
Gray - The Tall Tale TellerReferred to as the Colony's historian and resident poet, the vaudeville monologist's "amusing stories and droll imitations” taken from life "kept the audience convulsed with laughter to the very end.” Click image to view additional details. |
 Rex
Faulkner & Lillian Jewel Rex was a founding member of the American Newsboys Quartette with his brother Harry, while his wife, Lillian Jewel, was a fourth-generation marionette operator from England. The pair united for a long career on the stage. Members of the Colony beginning in 1909, the like many other members of the colony, they moved west in the 1920s for work in the entertainment industry. Click image to view additional details. |
 Lex
Neal A childhood friend of Buster Keaton's during their days in the Actors' Colony. Neal later found work in Los Angeles as a screenwriter for Keaton Credited with working on Go West and Battling Butler, Neal later worked with Harold Lloyd, as a writer on the film, The Freshman, Speedy and others. Click image to view additional details. |
 Charlie
Sharp With Henry Young, Sharp toured the States as "Sharp and Flat" with a musical comedy entitled "The Late Mr. Early." Soon after, he joined Actors' Colony regular Lew Earl on the road. Married to dancer and songstress Beatrice Milburn, he joined the crowd in Muskegon, where he ultimately settled. |
 Cobwebs
and Raftersand the Theatrical Colony Yacht Club Edgewater Late in the summer, the group built a rustic, one-story clubhouse to serve as their headquarters. The building was located on waterfront. Known for its exposed framework and unpainted state, the building was fittingly christened "Cobwebs and Rafters." It's replacement arrived in 1920 and was known as the T.C.Y.C. Click image to view additional details. |