Harry C Browne

[scullylathe]

Does anyone know of a reference with information on this performer? There is almost no mention of this name anywhere; he sort of sounds like it could be Harry McClaskey but there was a reference I was able to find years ago (don't remember the title of the book) but it placed this person as a former recording artist who worked for CBS radio in the 1930's. Of course, this could be inaccurate information or not even the same person. Just wondering if there is any further info on him or if this is a pseudonym, who it really is.

[Henry]

Was it this man?
http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=66970
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0115005/

Google was made for queries such as yours. About 759,000 hits for "harry c browne".

[Wolfe]

Harry McClaskey was a pseudonym used by Henry Burr. He (Burr or McClaskey) and Harry C Browne are not the same performer. I have a record or two by Harry C Browne and the voice is much different.

[scullylathe]

Actually Harry McClaskey was the real name of Henry Burr, Irving Gilette and many other pseudonyms used. This is in many reference books. I've done extensive research on many acoustic era performers and I do agree that Google could be a place for such a query, however as you noted many thousands of hits come back, most totally unrelated to what you're looking for. The fault of the internet. That's why I still primarily use libraries and archives for my research. Since this board does have a few other experts I thought I might check here since as I noted there doesn't seem to be much information out there in print or otherwise on this particular person. I think the performer indicated on the theatre link as well as the IMDB link is the man in question, however I was looking for more in-depth information regarding his career, etc. The only thing I've been able to unearth so far is just a bio in a reference book from an archive that did present the information shown so far, but little else. I know it's a longshot because information on many performers from those days either isn't known or isn't available any longer thanks to libraries simply throwing away books rather than getting them at least scanned into a .pdf or more appropriately into the hands of collectors, researchers, archives or other places where the information might still be available. Computers aren't the answer to everything and actually help spread more misinformation or incomplete information than you would like to acknowledge.

[Wolfe]

Actually Harry McClaskey was the real name of Henry Burr, Irving Gilette and many other pseudonyms used. This is in many reference books. I've done extensive research on many acoustic era performers and I do agree that Google could be a place for such a query, however as you noted many thousands of hits come back, most totally unrelated to what you're looking for. The fault of the internet. That's why I still primarily use libraries and archives for my research. Since this board does have a few other experts I thought I might check here since as I noted there doesn't seem to be much information out there in print or otherwise on this particular person. I think the performer indicated on the theatre link as well as the IMDB link is the man in question, however I was looking for more in-depth information regarding his career, etc. The only thing I've been able to unearth so far is just a bio in a reference book from an archive that did present the information shown so far, but little else. I know it's a longshot because information on many performers from those days either isn't known or isn't available any longer thanks to libraries simply throwing away books rather than getting them at least scanned into a .pdf or more appropriately into the hands of collectors, researchers, archives or other places where the information might still be available. Computers aren't the answer to everything and actually help spread more misinformation or incomplete information than you would like to acknowledge.

That's right. McClaskey was Burr's real name, that's in my reference books too. Unfortunately for you, your reference books couldn't help you distinguish between McClaskey and Browne, the voices of whom are entirely different. Best of luck in your continued research.

[scullylathe]

No need to be nasty; on an early cylinder I have, McClaskey's voice is a little deeper and closer to that of the Browne recording so I was only thinking it could be possible that it was McClaskey (under yet another pseudonym) knowing how speed variations in early recording may account for this. I do agree though that the person in question is most likely the film and stage performer.

[Guest]

Harry McClaskey and Harry Browne are two different people. McClaskey was born in Canada, and ended his career on Chicago radio station WLS performing on the National Barn Dance under the stage name Henry Burr. There is a good article at one of the Billy Murray sites that tells how Burr politically maneuvered to keep Billy Murray off of the show when he was in dire need of work in the thirties.

I have also been interested in Browne for many years, and you are right there does not seem to be much on the internet about his career in the entertainment field. The person described in the two links is Browne, but as you see he seems to disappear around the mid twenties from stage and film. The probable reason for this is because he apparently became an executive with the Columbia Phonograph Co. by the mid twenties. I have seen a recording contract from the mid twenties of a hillbilly artist on Columbia that was signed by non other than Harry C. Browne as one of the record company’s representatives. I have also read that by the early thirties he had grown tired of the entertainment field, although he did dabble briefly in radio and was the creator of the radio show "Hank Simmons Show Boat" which I believe was on CBS in the very early thirties. If you search his name on the internet with Christian Science you will find much info about his later life as an evangelist for this religious group. He gave many lectures in the thirties and forties over radio in connection to Christian Science, and was elevated to the First Reader in the Mother Church located in Boston, MA. I don't know exactly when he moved back to MA from New York, but Brown was originally from MA and died there in 1954.

Hope this helps a little.

[scullylathe]

Yes, very helpful thank you. I had found information in the past about his joining the Christian Scientists but sort of stopped there. What you offered was more than book archives or the internet had. I'm not researching for publication any longer, just curious. Several names in my collection that there just isn't much information about and Browne was one of them.

[sadmemories20]

Does anyone know of a reference with information on this performer? There is almost no mention of this name anywhere; he sort of sounds like it could be Harry McClaskey but there was a reference I was able to find years ago (don't remember the title of the book) but it placed this person as a former recording artist who worked for CBS radio in the 1930's. Of course, this could be inaccurate information or not even the same person. Just wondering if there is any further info on him or if this is a pseudonym, who it really is.

Well, great work! You have helped me to improve my knowledge about this field. Thank you so much for sharing.