Edward M. Favor

"Honor Bright, I Loves Yer Right, Old Pal"

1908

Indestructible Record 867

Song by Edgar Selden & Melville J. Gideon

Edward M. Favor was born on August 29, 1856.

Some sources report that the tenor was born Edward M. Le Fevre but the Favor family bible establishes that he was named Edward Addison Favor. It is also the source of his birth date: August 29, 1856. This bible is now in the possession of Louise Favor Bellows. She received it from her grandmother, Mary Jane Stinson Favor, who was married to Alfred Cushman Favor and, upon his death in 1901, to Alfred's brother, Samuel W. Favor.

Edward's father was Franklin C. Favor, born in 1826.

His mother was Lydia Lowe Favor, born in 1828.

Edward's parents had several children. Around 1888 Edward performed on stage with brothers Sam Favor and Alf Favor. The Favors came from New England Protestant stock, so it is surprising that Edward made a name for himself as an Irish-American comic. If he had any Irish blood, it would have have been from his mother.

He was successful in the early 1890s as a Broadway comedian during the long run of E. E. Rice's 1492 at Wallack's Theater. Around 1893 he recorded "The King's Song" (Columbia cylinder 6544), a popular number from this hit musical.

From another show of this period, Ship Ahoy, he cut "The Commodore Song" (North American 772). The record opens with this announcement: "Edison Record 772, The Commodore Song from Ship Ahoy as sung by the original commodore Mr. Edward M. Favor, now of Rice's 1492 Company." These are probably the first "creator" records, or records featuring songs from musical shows as sung by an original cast member.

He was principal comedian with Klaw and Erlanger, the Shuberts, and other prominent managers.

The team of Favor and his wife, known professionally as Edith Sinclair (presumably her maiden name), were in vaudeville and musical comedies. Surviving promotional literature establishes that they worked on stage together by 1887 in "A Box of Cash," a musical comedy by Frank Dumont, as members of the Edith Sinclair Comedy Company.

The March 1909 issue of Edison Phonograph Monthly, announcing the release of "Casting Bread Upon the Waters" (Amberol 119), identifies the performers on that recording as Edward M. Favor, Edith Sinclair, and Steve Porter. It states, "Until Mr. Favor entered the comic opera field he and Mrs. Favor were widely known in vaudeville as Favor and Sinclair."

By the late 1890s, Favor was among the most popular recording artists. He made records at a dollar a "round" between periods of filling vaudeville dates, working for virtually all companies. Billy Murray told Jim Walsh that he had seen Favor, in 1897, sing into eight cylinder phonographs at the headquarters of Bacigalupi Brothers, Edison wholesale distributors for the Western states. Favor, who was then appearing at the Orpheum Theater, made an indelible impression on Murray. The veteran recording artist cupped his hands behind his ears to determine whether the tone was hitting the horn straight in the center.

He possessed a high Irish voice, and his records include many Irish songs and nonsense ditties, many of the latter taking the form of limericks.

He had a Victor session as late as 1911, his three final titles for the company being "Conversations," "Just For A Girl," and "The Dublin Rag" (with the American Quartet). For Edison he cut "Conversations" and "The Dublin Rag."

Favor's career as a recording artists was in decline before double-faced records were introduced in 1908. Perhaps he was spending more time on the road, away from studios, than in previous years, or record company executives may have finally viewed him as dispensable, with many new and capable singers at their disposal.

Favor died in Brooklyn on January 10, 1936.

His obituary in the January 11, 1936, edition of the New York Times states, "Veteran actor who was 80, played in 'America, Very Early' in 1934, died of a complication of disease [peritonitis] at the Bushwick Hospital in Brooklyn, where he had been confined for more than six weeks...Other plays in which he appeared prior to 1934 were 'John Ferguson,' a revival, 'The Lancashire Lass,' 'Edward the Fifth,' and Man's Estate.'...He is survived by his widow, Edith Sinclair Favor, who appeared with her husband in vaudeville, and a daughter, Bessie Hazleton Favor."

His daughter, Bessie, was 82 when she died in October 1959, which suggests that Edward Favor married Edith Sinclair at least by 1877.

The singer's wife, Edith Sinclair Favor, died in Brooklyn on November 27, 1942. She performed on stage for much of her life. According to her obituary in the November 28, 1942, edition of the New York Times, she was a child actress in Ship Ahoy in 1861 in New York City's Standard Theatre. She later played with Lillian Russell in Dorothy.

The ashes of the Favors are in the Evergreens Cemetery at Bushwick Avenue and Conway Street in Brooklyn.

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