St. John Terrell
Born: December 12, 1916, Chicago, Illinois
Died: October 9, 1998, Ewing Township, New Jersey
St. John "Sinjin" Terrell, "contracted incurable theater-itis" early on. He was the first Jack Armstrong on the radio series, Jack Armstrong, All-American Boy. He worked as a in a carnival when he was 16 years old.
Later in life, his daring feats continued, when as a producer, he launched two prominent professional summer theaters in this region. In 1939, he produced the Bucks County Playhouse's first season. He opened with a hit, Springtime for Henry starring Edward Everett Horton (which he revived 25 years later at the Music Circus), followed through with a successful season, and closed with a profit.
In 1949, he created and produced the country's first commercial arena-type theater under a tent, the Lambertville Music Circus, which he ran until 1970.
He originated the re-enactment of Washington's Crossing of the Delaware in 1953 and for 25 years on Christmas day he played the role of George Washington. He was an actor on Broadway in the 1930s, appearing in Elmer Rice's Judgement Day and Maxwell Anderson's Winterset. He has regularly appeared in television commercials throughout the years. He nurtured his interest in United States folk culture as a member of the Board of Directors of the Folk Culture Center of the Library of Congress.
Source: bcad.frb.io/artists/st-john-terrell
During WWII, Terrell was a Troop Transport Command pilot in the South Pacific until discharged due to crash injuries. He joined the USO and wound up in Manila. He became frustrated that many soldiers were deprived of some shows because small stages couldn't accommodate the productions and even then the back rows of the audience were too far from the stages. He planned to commandeer a bulldozer to dig a large circular pit with sloping sides, place a stage at its center, and cover it with a large tent. Army red tape prevented him from carrying out his plan, but the idea stayed with him until he created the Music Circus in Lambertville a few years after the war.
St. John Terrell Obituary
This obituary by Sinjin's friend, Curt Yeske, appeared in the Trenton Times.
St. John Terrell Brief Bio
It is believed that Terrell dictated this very brief autobiography to Elsie Scheetz, his personal assistant. Elsie could type 150 words per minute, so found short hand unnecessary.
Sijin Eating Fire
As a boy, St. John Terrell "ran away with the circus" and became a fire-eater. Years later, he would amaze his audiences at the Music Circus during intermissions with his breathe-taking act. He would usually do this on the 4th of July, followed by a display of fireworks.
WWII photo of pilot St. John Terrell
Photo postcard sent to David Mann (Mannheim) in New York City, care of his sister Sally Mann. It's postmarked Nov 10, 1943. Marshall Town, Iowa. The message reads:
"Dear David: I'm still defying gravity. So far I've won but every time my instructor says is the last. Ain't that a lovely leg. Nice no 18 coupon too. Love to Sally.
St. John, Marshall Town College"
(There's no stamp but the word " Free" and a number.)
Terrell and the Buck County Playhouse
Courtesy: Melissa Bayer.
(In 1963, Mr. Terrell once again produced "Springtime for Henry," again starring Edward Everett Horton, at his Lambertville Music Circus as a 25th Anniversary Special Event.)
The building, a grist mill situated on the Delaware river, dating from the late eighteenth century, had been in danger of demolition when Mr. Hart and the local community rallied to renovate it into a theater.
The original structure was built in 1790, when Benjamin Parry's Hope Mills burnt down and he rebuilt them as the New Hope Mills, inspiring a change of the village's name from Coryell's Ferry (an enterprise no longer in existence) to New Hope, PA.
The theater, located just ninety minutes from New York City, was the venue for some Broadway tryouts, but more significantly, a place that developed a litany of future and current stars of Broadway and Hollywood including Lillian Gish, June Lockhart, Kim Hunter, George C. Scott, Colleen Dewhurst, Kitty Carlisle, Bert Lahr, Ruth Gordon, Helen Hayes, Claude Raines, Shirley Booth, Grace Kelly, Robert Redford and Walter Matthau.
Charlie Shaw, Editor of the New Hope Gazette said, "It is safe to say that Terrell, along with long-time Playhouse producer Mike Ellis, gained more fame for the New Hope-Lambertville area than any other persons."
Source: Charles Shaw, New Hope Gazette, December 4, 1986
Photo: John Slavin / Philly.com
Courtesy: James A. Michener Art Museum.
Terrell and George Washington
He crossed in one boat the first time, with 12 people. He had that boat made by a man [Elmer Case] from Lambertville who sent to the Neptune Society in Plymouth, Massachusetts for the design and then had it made half scale. It was 22 feet long.
"Hundreds of people came out that first year," he recalls. "The local papers didn't make much of it but the New York Times did. I've done it every year since because I was so pleased with the reaction."
Source: Excerpted from an interview of Mr. Terrell by Ann Rinaldi, columnist, feature writer, and editorial writer for the Trentonian. (Year unknown.)
Who crossed the Delaware River on Christmas Day? It all depends on the year. In 1776, it was the father of our country; from 1953-1977 it was Round Tabler St. John Terrell.
Mr. Terrell passed away in October at 81. he was a Chicago born actor who made his name as a theatrical manager, founding the Bucks County Playhouse in 1939 and the Lambertville (N.J.) Music Circus some years later. In 1953, Mr. Terrell, with six friends a-rowing, played George Washington as a one shot publicity stunt for the Music Circus.
The idea caught the public's fancy and is continued to this day by the Washington Crossing Foundation. Ah, an actor's life for me! In case you're wondering who replaced Mr. Terrell in 1978, it was longtime crewman Jack Kelly, Princess Grace's brother.
Source: leew, Kean University, Union, New Jersey
Photo: The Trentonian
Elmer E. Case of Lambertville, NJ was commissioned by Mr. Terrell to design and construct a model of the Durham boats used by George Washington to cross the Delaware River in 1776. Tight funding and other restrictions resulted in Mr. Case building the boat at one third the length of the original boats.
This Trenton Times article is not dated and incomplete.
2002 - Elmer Case on the controversies surrounding the 'Washington Crossing the Delaware' re-enactment
In 1989 item, The New Hope Gazette notes the 2nd 'Washington Crossing the Delaware' re-enactment in 1954
Terrell and New Jersey Council on the Arts
Photo Source: Music Circus Souvenir Program
In 1966, Richard J. Hughes, the governor, signed a law creating the NJ State Council on the Arts, consisting of 17 members, all appointed by the Governor for terms of three years, and three ex-officio members.
The Council is charged to do all that is necessary and appropriate to: support, encourage, and foster public interest in the arts; enlarge public and private resources devoted to the arts; promote freedom of expression in the arts; and facilitate the inclusion of art in every public building in New Jersey. St. John "Sinjin" Terrell, was one of those appointed, founding members.
St. John Terrell at Home
Terrell / Bartholomew Wedding Announcement
Newspaper clipping announcing the wedding of St. John Terrell and Elrita Bartholomew in September 1952.
(Newspaper and Photographer: Unknown.)
Mr. Terrell and his wife, Elrita owned and lived in what is now the Woolverton Inn in Stockton, NJ in the 1950s and 1960s. They called the property "Northridge."
The property dates back to the post-revolutionary war era and the early days of commerce along the Delaware River. In August, 1792, Lieutenant John Prall Jr. purchased 290 acres of farmland from John Ely, and built the foundation of the current "Woolverton Inn," which was originally a simple 2-story farmhouse.
Source: Music Circus Season Souvenir Program
In the mid-1800s, Maurice and Asher Woolverton purchased a portion of the land and the old farmhouse. They completed significant renovations, transforming the building into its current form, a three-story grand Colonial Manor house with a lovely year-round veranda overlooking the great lawn.
The property served as summer home during the 1940s for the Seymour family. Whitney North Seymour was a well-known New York trial lawyer who served during the Hoover Administration, and later served as the 84th President of the American Bar Association. The Seymour Family called the property "Woolverstone."
Anne Hackl owned the Woolverton Property through the 1980s, when she began the process of transitioning her beautiful home into a historical New Jersey Bed and Breakfast. The original guest rooms had to share bathrooms, and only continental breakfast was offered.
Today, the Inn is owned by Mary and Mario Passalacqua, who appreciate the Inn's colorful history, and continue to make improvements to making sure the Woolverton Inn stands for another 200 years.
St. John Terrell and Some Friends
Mr. Terrell entertained many celebrities at the Music Circus. By the early 1950s the theater had gained immense notoriety and showbiz movers and shakers were interested in experiencing the new tent theater phenomenon. Most of these photos are found in the 1956 Music Circus Season Souvenir Program.
Mr. Terrell welcomes Composer Sigmund Romberg to the Music Circus. Mr. Romberg's musicals, "Desert Song," "The New Moon," and "The Student Prince" were presented many times at the Music Circus.
