Edward G. Kuster
 | This article may contain an excessive amount of intricate detail that may interest only a particular audience. (August 2024) |
Edward G. Kuster | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Edward Gerhard Kuster August 15, 1878 |
| Died | September 1961 (aged 83) |
| Occupation(s) | Attorney, theatrical producer |
| Spouses | Una Lindsay Call
(m. 1903; div. 1913)Edith June Emmons
(m. 1913; div. 1920)Ruth E. McDowell
(m. 1920; div. 1928)Gabrielle Young-Hunter
(m. 1928) |
| Children | 3 |
Edward Gerhard Kuster (August 15, 1878 – September 1961) was a musician and attorney from Los Angeles for twenty-one years before coming to Carmel-by-the-Sea, California in 1921. He became involved in theater and establish his own theatre and school. He built the Theatre of the Golden Bough in 1924, and a second theater, the Golden Bough Playhouse in 1952. Kuster directed 85 plays and acted in more than 50 roles in the 35 years he lived in Carmel.
Early life
[edit]Edward G. Kuster was born on August 15, 1878, in Terre Haute, Indiana. He was the son of Charles Edward Kuster (1842-1915), a Los Angeles physician, and Emma Eshman. Kuster came to Los Angeles, California in July 1886, as a student in public schools for three years. He went to Germany with his parents, where he attended the Hoehere Burger school in Berlin until 1892. He returned to Los Angeles and finished high school in 1896. He went to the University of Southern California (USC) and graduated in 1900 with a degree of Bachelor of Laws.[1]
Kuster married Una Lindsay Call on May 31, 1902, in San Andreas, California by P H. Kean.[2] In the fall of 1905, Una met Robinson Jeffers, when they both attended classes at USC. Una earned her Bachelor of Arts in 1908 and her Master's in philosophy in 1910. Jeffers was in medical school. Jeffers and Una Kuster became romantically involved. Kuster discovered their affair in 1910. By 1912 the affair became a public scandal, reaching the front page of the Los Angeles Times. Una spent some time in Europe to quiet things down. Una and Jeffers lived together by Lake Washington, near Seattle until Una's divorced in 1913. Jeffers studied forestry in Seattle. They were married in 1913, and moved to La Jolla, California, and then to Carmel, California[3][4]
Kuster married Edith June Emmons on August 1, 1913, in Bakersfield, California. They lived in San Gabriel, California in 1913.[1] They separated in 1918, and were divorced on March 30, 1920, in San Diego, California.[5]
Career
[edit]Kuster passed the California Bar Examination on March 13, 1902, and then entered the law office of Graves, O'Helveny & Shankland and worked there until 1903. He became the chief clerk for attorney H. W. O'Melveny until 1906. He practiced law for himself in Los Angeles specializing in railroad rate cases, e.g. the Switching Case that was heard before the Interstate Commerce Commission in 1908.[1]
Kuster joined Joseph P. Loeb in the practice of law, and in 1908, they, along with brother Leon Loeb, formed the law firm of Kuster, Loeb & Loeb. In May 1911, Edward Kuster left the law office.[6]
In 1921, Kuster composed and orchestrated the music for the Irish play, The Countess Cathleen, with Herbert Heron as the director, at the Forest Theater.[7]
After the success of the play, the board of the Forest Theater Society elected him president of the board. In July 1922, he was asked to direct the play Caesar and Cleopatra. His wife Ruth played Cleopatra. The stage had a large sphinx designed by artist Jo Mora.[8][9]
First Golden Bough Theatre
[edit]
Kuster had Gottfried build the Carmel Weavers Studio for his wife Ruth in September 1922 (now Cottage of Sweets). The studio was in front of the theatre. It housed Ruth and two fellow local weavers. They made and sold woven scarves, hats, handbags, blankets, and other clothing articles.[10][11]
Kuster, who had previously bought out the Carmel Arts and Crafts Theatre, moved his film operation to this facility on Monte Verde Street, renamed it the Filmarte Group and it became the first "art house" between Los Angeles and San Francisco.[12]
Golden Bough Theater (S.F.)
[edit]In 1937, he directed two seasons for the Fresno Players where his English translation of the Austrian three-act comedy play By Candlelight by Siegfried Geyer and Karl Farkas, was first presented in October 1937 as the opening bill of the Golden Bough Theater Guild's fall and winter season at its playhouse on Sutter Street, San Francisco. He and his wife, Gabriell Kuster, were in the cast.[13]
Second Golden Bough Theatre
[edit]
On May 16, 1949, Kuster decided to revive his 1935 production of the play By Candlelight. However, on May 21, 1949, this second "Golden Bough" also burned down. Once again, arson was suspected.[14]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c Guinn, James Miller (1915). "Biographical". Historic Record Company. p. 371. Retrieved March 1, 2022.
- ^ "California, U.S., County Birth, Marriage, and Death Records, 1849-1980". California Department of Public Health. San Andreas, California. May 31, 1902. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ Karman, James (1915). Robinson Jeffers Poet and Prophet. Stanford University Press. p. 17. ISBN 9780804795500. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ "Love's Gentle Alchemy To Wed Broken Lives". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. February 28, 1913. p. 17. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ "Edward Kuster Given Divorce". Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles, California. April 10, 1920. p. 15. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ Bates, Joseph Clement (1912). "History of the Bench and Bar of California". Bench and Bar Publishing Company. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ "Forest Theater To Present An Irish Play". The Californian. Salinas, California. August 17, 1921. p. 5. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ "Carmelites Stage Caesar And Make Hit". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. July 3, 1922. p. 3. Retrieved April 1, 2022.
- ^ Hale, Sharron Lee (1980). A Tribute to Yesterday: The History of Carmel, Carmel Valley, Big Sur, Point Lobos, Carmelite Monastery, and Los Burros. Santa Cruz, California: Valley Publishers. p. 83. ISBN 9780913548738. Retrieved March 18, 2022.
- ^ "Ocean Avenue to Have Another New Building". Monterey Daily Cypress and Monterey American. Monterey, California. September 13, 1922. p. 1. Retrieved April 7, 2022.
- ^ "The Weavers of Carmel". Oakland Tribune. Oakland, California. November 19, 1922. p. 64. Retrieved April 4, 2022.
- ^ "Hncendiarism Hinted In Carmel Theatre Blaze; Losses Huge". The Californian. Salinas, California. May 20, 1935. p. 1. Retrieved April 2, 2022.
- ^ "'By Candlelight' Will Be Presented". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California. October 13, 1937. p. 20. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
- ^ ""By Candlelight" Is Jinx, Fire Destroys Carmel's Golden Bough Theater". The Californian. Salinas, California. May 21, 1949. p. 1. Retrieved April 3, 2022.
External links
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