Hello, I'm Carl Raymond, the host of the Gilded Gentleman History podcast where every other week we delve into world's light and dark in America's

Gilded Age, France's Belle-Poc and England's late Victorian and Edwardian eras.

When David Belasco met with the great theater emper sario Oscar Hammerstein the first

on a wintry day in 1902, he may not have

realized just how much his life would change. Belasco, a seasoned producer, director, playwright,

an actor had come to New York from the West in the 1880s and forged a reputation as one of the

most innovative, revolutionary talents in the theater world.

He wrote and produced plays that made audiences want more. He had begun to foster the talents of some of Broadway and later early Hollywood's most notable stars.

But what Oscar Hammerstein would offer him was an offer he couldn't refuse, the chance to manage his own theater.

The theater that Belasco ran that allowed him an even greater opportunity to expand his artistic vision still stands on Broadway's iconic 42nd Street today and is now known as the New Victory Theater. Only a couple of

blocks away, we find another theater, the well-known and historic Belasco Theater, home to

such Broadway hits as O'Calcutta, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, Ain't Misbehavin, and so many

others. Belasco himself lived in an apartment abovebehavin, and so many others.

Belasco himself lived in an apartment above the theater, and some even say he still attends certain performances today, long after his death in 1931.

David Belasco was in many ways, as we will discuss in this show responsible for the kind of productions and effects we see on stage today.

He certainly had his own revolutionary vision and a personal style that, like his theatrical ideas, broke with tradition.

Despite his Sephardic Jewish roots, he became known as the Bishop of

Broadway for his regular practice of dressing in black and wearing a priest's clerical collar.

Today, I am joined by Master Tora Guide and theater historian Tim Dolan to help me take a look

at Belasco's life on and off stage in the New York

of the Gilded Age and early 20th century.

Since his first memorable visit to New York City with his mom in 1999, Tim Dolan has had a love

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