A Visalia Man Driven to the Stage

Allen Jeffrey Atwell arrived in Visalia in the late 1850s, and by 1861 he was married to Mary Van Epps. Nine children resulted from that union, five boys and four girls. Allen and Mary were well-respected pillars of the community. He distinguished himself as an attorney, rancher and judge, and she was recognized for her beautiful singing voice.

Allen Lee Atwell, one of their children, was born on November 2, 1877 in their home at 301 So. Bridge Street. Lee, as he was called, was a bright boy with much potential. His folks dreamed of a great business career for him, but Lee had other ideas. He wanted to be a stage actor. His family tried to dissuade such thoughts believing that acting was a “nebulous art and a generally impractical profession.” When it was time for college, the young man gave in to his parent's wishes and enrolled in Heald's Business College in San Francisco, a city selected probably not by accident. The city by the bay was well known for its active theater life.

After graduation from Heald's in 1896, Lee returned to Visalia with business diploma in hand and began working for Judge Nathaniel O. Bradley. He worked with him for a year or so but the lure of the big city and glitz of the theater became overpowering. Even though Judge Bradley offered him a pay raise, the 21-year old left Visalia for San Francisco.

For five years he worked for an insurance company, while at the same time studied theater and attended plays in his spare time. By 1904 he had saved enough money to seriously pursue his stage acting career, so he left California for the glamour of New York's Broadway. Lee wasn't naïve about becoming a stage actor. He knew it would be difficult.

But in 1906 his dream became a reality. David Belasco, the highly respected Broadway stage director and playwright, gave Lee a bit part as the Mexican peon in The Rose of the Rancho. This small role proved to be his big break and for almost a quarter century, he appeared on stages all over America, Canada and even Europe. For stage purposes, Lee reverted back to his first name, so Allen Atwell was the name that appeared on playbills his entire career.

Clearly he had talent, but he seemed to have special ability playing Asian characters, mostly Japanese. In 1908 he received rave reviews in Eugene Walter's drama Paid in Full playing Sato, the Japanese valet at the Van Ness Theater in San Francisco. A couple of years later, at the Orpheum Theater in Oakland, he gained notoriety for his portrayal of a Japanese spy in De Witte Kaplan and Herbert Walter's The Code Book—a patriotic one act melodrama in which Allen's character attempts to steal secret information detrimental to America. According to the San Francisco Call newspaper, he played his role so “good that everybody hated him…and the gallery hissed and several [in the audience] were for building more Navy at once.”

His acting ability in The Code Book was enhanced by his application of makeup. According to Orpheum staff, “Mr. Atwell uses only grease paint with which he darkens his light complexion to the necessary Oriental hue. The arched eyebrows and slant eyes, are produced wholly by physical effort…an effort which is very tiresome, according to Mr. Atwell. He must maintain the expression for the full twenty minutes of the sketch.”

In George Broadhurst's Bought and Paid For, Allen played “Oku” another Japanese valet. In fact, the New York Dramatic Mirror magazine reported that Allen was “a young American whose gift of playing foreigners is little short of marvelous—such acting shows a wonderful mastery of the art.” His performance was so convincing that theater-goer and former New York State Senator William H. Reynolds made a wager, convinced that the actor playing Oku was in fact a Japanese actor. He lost his $200.00 bet.

Throughout his career, Allen Atwell would from time to time return to Visalia. In 1917, with the patriotism of war at a high level, the stage star agreed to produce a show for hometown fans as part of a fundraising campaign for Company “D”, the local National Guard unit. The seven-act show would feature Allen himself and also highlight local singing talent including Erma Knoble and Harvey Gilmer at the Municipal Auditorium. The big show was scheduled for Monday, June 4th with a dress rehearsal the evening before. The event was a big success. “Every number of the seven acts went over splendidly…,” reported the Delta newspaper. An estimated 700 people attended raising considerable money for the National Guard.

During his years on stage, Allen performed before King George and Queen Mary of England, and his career brought him in contact with theater giants including Humphrey Bogart, Edward G. Robinson, Arthur Treacher and Frank Morgan.

In 1930, he performed in Sidney Howard's They Knew What They Wanted, which was his last play before he retired. After retirement he moved to Fresno for a short time, then made his home in San Francisco. On August 17, 1954, Allen Lee Atwell died at the age of 76 in San Francisco and was buried in the Visalia Cemetery.

Unfortunately, when Lee was only 13 years old his father died, but his mother lived to see his success. She died in 1936.

Voices From Four Creeks Country appears in the Valley Voice in the first issue of each month. Terry can be reached at histerry@comcast.net or visit his blog at www.visaliahistory.blogspot.com.

The above story is the property of The Valley Voice Newspaper and may not be reprinted without explicit permission in writing from the publisher.