Edward Irham Cole (3 December 1859 – 1 July 1942) was an Australian theatrical entrepreneur and film director whose productions represented a synthesis of Wild West show and stage melodrama (often with a bushranger theme). He managed a theatre company, called the Bohemian Dramatic Company, that performed in semi-permanent and temporary tent theatres.Andrew James Couzens (2019), A Cultural History of the Bushranger Legend in Theatres and Cinemas, 1828-2017, London: Anthem Press (); Chapter 4: 'Hippodramas and Edward Irham Cole', pages 67-85. During 1910 and 1911 Cole directed a number of silent films, adapted from his stage plays and using actors from his theatre company.

Biography

Cole arrived in Australia as a young man and worked for a time in Adelaide before moving to Wilcannia.He married in south Australia Ada Dale the mother of all his children (5/4/1884) Children: Mable Ada, Ethel May, Isabella Maude, Frank Watteau, Ada Dorothy, Rose Juanita, Myrtle Celia Irham, she died due to childbirth 5/8/1895. Roy must have been to his 2nd wife? My grandfather was one of his Actors, John Reid (Lollie) Wilson he married Ethel May Cole.

He started in showbusiness as a lecturer, calling himself "the Bohemian" and giving presentations on various topics."The Bohemian Lecturer." Windsor and Richmond Gazette 24 Nov 1894: 7, accessed 31 December 2011

He later joined the company of Texas Jack Jr., an American showman in the Buffalo Bill mould. He established the Bohemian Dramatic Company, which toured the country performing shows. At its height, the company included over 60 performers and 20 horses, and was transported in its own train.

In 1910 and 1911 Cole made a series of films adapted from his shows, which cost over £1,000 in all. The longest was reportedly 1,5000 feet. They were sometimes screened accompanied by lectures and songs."BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC COMPANY." The Mercury (Hobart, Tas) 30 Mar 1912: 3, accessed 31 December 2011 Cole toured Tasmania in 1911 and 1912.

By 1926 the company was down to a size of 24 and touring mostly only country areas."THE STROLLING PLAYERS." The Horsham Times (Vic) 5 Oct 1926: 1, accessed 31 December 2011

Later years Cole's company was still touring in the 1930s as 'Cole's Varieties', run by his son-in-law, Bill Ayr.

Cole and his wife ran a small factory at Marrickville in Sydney which manufactured cowboy outfits for small children."THE TRAVELLING THEATRICAL SHOW." Examiner (Launceston, Tas) 5 Dec 1939: 4 Edition: LATE NEWS EDITION and DAILY, accessed 31 December 2011

Personal life Edward Cole married Ada Dale (1857-1895) in 1884 at Adelaide, South Australia. Edward and Ada had seven (7) children: Mabel, Ethel, Isabella (Belle), Francis (Frank), Ada, Rose, and Myrtle. Ada died while giving birth to Myrtle.

In 1905, Edward Cole married his leading lady, Vene Linden (real name Lavinia Catherine) (1877 - 1948).

Mabel married Cole's leading man, Bill Ayr. They had three children, Ned, Tom and Millie.

In later years, Millie and Ned Ayr would be actors for the company while Tom Ayr handled most of the managerial duties of Cole's Varieties."Veteran of the Stage Recalls Early Adelaide." The Mail (Adelaide) 16 Jul 1938: 4, accessed 31 December 2011

In 1931, Edward Cole's wife engaged in a court case against her sister for ownership of their father's cottage.

Edward Cole died on 1 July 1942. His wife died on 8 November 1948, aged 71, survived by their children Frank, Belle, Mabel, Rose and Myrtle; a son, Roy, had predeceased her.

Filmography Bushranger's Ransom, or A Ride for Life (1911) The Squatter's Son (1911) The Five of Hearts (1911) Sentenced for Life (1911) The Sundowner (1911) The Squatter and the Clown

Select theatre credits As writer Hands Up (1900) - about Ned Kelly The King of the Road (1900) – bushranger drama about Ben Hall The Missing Partner (1904) Sentenced for Life (1904) With the Colours (1905) For King and Empire (1906) Whirlwind, the Bushranger (1907) Ransom (1907) The Coal Strike The Squatter's Son (1910)

As performer/producer Prairie Scout (1903)"BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC COMPANY." The Sydney Morning Herald 17 Dec 1903: 6, accessed 31 December 2011 – performed in the open opposite Redfern Train Station Captain Moonlite (1906) A Convict's Sweetheart (1906) Hunted to Death (1907) Outlawed by Fate (1908) Thunderbolt, the Bushranger (1908) – Haymarket – about Captain Thunderbolt"THE HAYMARKET HIPPODROME." The Sydney Morning Herald 21 Mar 1908: 14, accessed 31 December 2011 The Indian Hero Who is the Woman? The Anarchist East Lynne Uncle Tom's Cabin Captain Moonlite The Gaol Bird Cast Aside With the Colours Buffalo Bill (1904)"BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC COMPANY." The Sydney Morning Herald 4 Jan 1904: 8, accessed 31 December 2011 Jo the Girl Miner (1905)"GARRISON ARTILLERY CONCERT." The Sydney Morning Herald 18 Nov 1905: 14, accessed 31 December 2011 The White Slave (1905) – Haymarket Hippodrome, Sydney With the Colours – Haymarket Hippodrome, Sydney – drama set during the Second Boer War"THE HAYMARKET HIPPODROME." The Sydney Morning Herald 13 Dec 1905: 12, accessed 31 December 2011 A Priest's Silence (1905) Golden Heart (1906) Kia Ora (1906) – Haymarket – a four-act Maori drama"THE HAYMARKET HIPPODROME." The Sydney Morning Herald 3 Mar 1906: 17, accessed 31 December 2011 The King of the Roads"/"Under Two Flags/The Hand of Justice (1911) – series of plays performed at Launceston"BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC COMPANY." Examiner (Launceston, Tas) 19 Sep 1911: 6 accessed 31 December 2011 The British Spy (1911–12) – Hobart – play set during the Second Boer War"BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC COMPANY." The Mercury (Hobart, Tas) 18 Jan 1912: 3, accessed 31 December 2011 Golden Heart (1912) – a Spanish-Mexican drama It Is Never Too Late to Mend (1912) – Hobart"BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC COMPANY." The Mercury (Hobart, Tas) 17 Jan 1912: 3, accessed 31 December 2011- play based on the convict era novel Arrah-Na-Pogue (1912) – Irish drama Postmistress of the Czar (1912) – Kings Theatre, Hobart – Anglo-Russian military story"KING'S THEATRE." The Mercury (Hobart, Tas) 17 May 1912: 3, accessed 31 December 2011 The Heart of the Bush (1912) – Kings Theatre, Hobart – Australian bush story A Woman's Honour (1913)"BOHEMIAN DRAMATIC COMPANY." Examiner (Launceston, Tas) 26 Sep 1913: 3 Edition: DAILY, accessed 31 December 2011 Dick Turpin (1914) – Hippodrome Captain Starlight, or Robbery Under Arms (1914) – Hippodrome"The SHOWS they saw In 1914'S WARDAYS." The Mail (Adelaide) 25 Nov 1939: 5 Supplement: Magazine, accessed 31 December 2011 The Covenant's Trust (1915)"AMUSEMENTS." Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW) 27 Nov 1915: 5] accessed 31 December 2011 Buffalo Bill (1919)"ENTERTAINMENTS." The West Australian (Perth, WA) 6 Sep 1919: 8, accessed 31 December 2011 Meg of Golden Heart/The Octoroon (1919)"ENTERTAINMENTS." The West Australian (Perth) 12 Nov 1919: 8, accessed 31 December 2011 The Ruby Ring (1919) The Kelly Gang (1920)

References

Sources

Andrew James Couzens (2019), A Cultural History of the Bushranger Legend in Theatres and Cinemas, 1828-2017, London: Anthem Press ().

External links

E. I. Cole at National Film and Sound Archive Papers of E. I. Cole at State Library of New South Wales