Kinsey Family Among the Great Troupers
February 1, 1979

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pix 1 Madge Kinsey Players opened the season in Van Wert in 1949

pix 2 Founder M.L. Kinsey

pix 3 Beth Kinsey

pix 4 Frank Miller

pix 5 Madge Kinsey Graf

pix 6 Harry Graf

pix7 Bette Graf Murdock

pix 8 Jack Murdock

pix 9 Jean Graf Graves

pix 10 Glenn Graves

pix 11 Jo Anne Davis Colbert

pix 12 George Colbert

So often in the past year I have procrastinated in gathering data for scheduled Potluck articles, only to be confronted later with the death of principles in those articles, who could have contributed while still living.

In each instance there has been someone standing in the audience, so to speak, who has been able to assist by contributing, but it does emphasize the necessity to “not put off til tomorrow what we can do today.”

Such is the case with today’s story about Kinsey Komedy Kompany, first suggested to me almost a year ago by Pat (Mrs. James Beeson), the daughter of Kathryn Kinsey Travis, who passed away December 16. During Mrs. Travis’ illness it was impossible to consult her about the story. She was the last first-generation descendent of M.L. and Beth Kinsey, who are part of the following Kinsey story. The Beeson’s daughter, Beth, was named after great-grandmother Beth Kinsey.

The Kinsey Komedy Story

The world is made up of all kinds of people. .some like to be entertained, and others to entertain. There are the born actors, and those who prefer to be spectators. That natural combination made sports, movies, stage shows successful. .and no less the traveling tent shows that were so popular in the latter part of the century and through the first half of this century.

Older Fostorians remember the Kinsey Komedy Kompany and the Madge Kinsey Players which was an outgrowth of the former.

It was early in the summer of 1888 that M.L. Kinsey, a veteran actor for his 24 years, opened with his own reportoire company in Des Moines, Iowa. On the morning after the show’s opening night a Des Moines paper had this to say: “The Kinsey’s, now playing the opera house block for the week, is strictly a high-class company and the most refined may rest assured of a clean, model show. The people are all high-grade artists in their several parts; the specialty is exceedingly beautiful and fine.”

Young Kinsey took the paper’s encouragement seriously, and moved eastward with his players, stopping in opera houses and town halls along the way. Naturally, his goal was New York.

Hit Ohio in 1901

In the summer of 1901, he set up his first tent-theater in Shreve, Ohio, a small town south of Wooster. He must have liked Ohio, because Shreve was the headquarters for his players for a number of years, and only on a few occasions did his company go outside of Ohio. Each spring the show would leave town for its tour of week stands in the towns close enough to be reached by horse drawn wagons that hauled the equipment. The actors traveled by train. When automo- biles came into existence, trucks replaced the wagons and the actors used autos.

And who made up the Kinsey Komedy Company? Well, it was when the Kinsey Company was touring Michigan that M. Kinsey met and married Beth Hughes. The new Mrs. Kinsey was born into a non-theatrical family, but with the careful tutoring of her husband soon became the show’s leading lady, and two successive generations followed in her footsteps and stayed with the popular tent-show.

M.L. Kinsey was the youngest son of Honorable Lewis Kinsey, judge of the Supreme Court of Des Moines. After receiving his education in Iowa he entered the theatrical profession at an early age and traveled with various well known theatrical companies in the 1800’s.

Kinsey, a 32nd degree Mason, and also a member of the Elks Lodge, made thousands of friends in his travels.

Frank F. Miller came to Kinsey’s in 1900 as comedian and specialty artist. In 1907, M.L. Kinsey died and his wife Beth took over active management of the company. Later, she married Frank Miller and he took over managerial duties in the same style as ML. Kinsey. In 1937, Beth Kinsey Miller retired from the company. Mr. and Mrs. Miller both passed away in 1944.

Fostoria on Schedule

Fostona was one of the Ohio towns that got on the Kinsey schedule back in the early 1900’s. The show and the players made a hit here, and in later years Fostoria became winter headquarters. When the show broke up, Fostona became the retirement town for many of the show’s players. And that is probably the only reason the data and photos in today’s and next week’s article can be presented to the readers of this column.

Otto “Toby” Imig and his wife Esther, both associated with the popular Kinsey group for many years, have resided in Fostoria for many years. Imig was born into a tent-show family. .The Pell- ham Players, who toured the state of Pennsylvania. One of his first roles as a child was as Little Eva in Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Hejoined the Kinsey’s in 1937. One of Imig’s prize possessions is the red wig originally worn by M.L. Kinsey.

George Colbert and wife Jo Anne, also part of the Kinsey cast, settled in Fostoria after leaving the show and were associated with John B. Rogers Co. After George’s death Jo Anne stayed on in Fostoria and continues to live here.

Imig cherishes a Kinsey program published in 1948..at which time the tent-show company had hung up a record of 60 years, and was still in operation. Likewise he has preserved an article that appeared in Collier’s in 1949, in which Vance Johnson, a veteran Washington correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle extolled the existence of the traveling tent-shows in an article “Hits in the Tall Corn.” In that article the writer said, “Long ago Broadway and Hollywood posted the death notice for the repertory theatre, but out in the great midlands tent- shows are still playing to standing room only.”

Likewise, Jo Anne Colbert, safeguards newspaper clippings and photos of long ago when she and her husband George were part of the show’s cast.

Greatly Publicized

In addition to stories that appeared about the Kinsey players in Billboard magazine, they also rated writeups in The Cleveland Plain Dealer, The Toledo Blade, also papers in Akron, Mansfield, Columbus, and many others.

Madge Kinsey Graf, daughter of founder M. Kinsey and wife Beth, was the moving force that kept the company going strong after the death of her parents, then later under the name of Madge Kinsey Players.

Madge was a trouper all her life. She made her first stage appearance in swaddling cloths in her father’s arms. .doing the part in pantomime. Madge, during her years with the company, in addition to managing, also played a great variety of parts.

Harry Graf, who came with the company as advertising agent, and also actor, was the husband of Madge Kinsey Graf before he joined the show. The Kinseys played Loudonville, Ohio, every year, the town where the Graf family lived. Graf and Madge Kinsey knew each other from the time they were three years old. Graf and Madge decided to form their own company..The Madge Kinsey Players, which is the way the Kinsey tradition was perpetuated after the original company disbanded.

To the Grafs were born daughters Jean and Bette, both of whom were in stage presentationS from a very early age.. in fact as soon as they were able to learn the lines, and later also in the Song and Dance Chorus in the show. The Song and Dance Chorus was an important after-show performance. .like the rodeo performances were usually a part of the old-time circuses. The all- girl group presented dance routines, song-hits and comedy bits.

Acting Family Tradition

The two sisters, Jean and Bette, later carried on the family tradition of acting with their husbands. Jean’s husband performed with the bigtop of the Ringling Bros. Circus, prior to joining the Kinseys. Bette married Jack Murdock who had joined the company, having come from a family who were headliners in vaudeville. They played the Palace Theater many times. Murdock played “Twigs” with Sada Thompson and “Connecticut Yankee” with James Whitmore. He also played many roles with the Hartfore Stage Co., one of the finest regional theatres in the U.S.

After the show broke up the Murdocks went to California and Jack became one of the actors on the TV series “Operation Petticoat” and continues to have parts in movies and on TV.

And, would you believe it. the Graves are, in a way, back with circus life, where Glenn started in his youth. They are both connected with Ringling Bros. And Barnum and Bailey Circus World at Haines City, Fla. doing public relations and promotion work.

The Murdock descendants, a son and a daughter, have continued to carry on in the entertainment world; as has the daughter of the Graves’, who has been a part of an aerialist team, while her husband performs with Lippizan stallions. .both in Ringling Bros. Circus.