Theatrical Entrepreneur. George Edwardes is recognized as a well-known English theatre figure of the Edwardian era. For three decades, he ruled a theatrical empire including the Gaiety, Daly's Theatre, the Adelphi Theatre and others, and sent touring companies around Britain and abroad. He recognized the changing taste of the musical theatre audiences and led the movement away from burlesque and comic opera to Edwardian musical comedy. He was a theatre manager as well as a producer. Born the oldest of eight children into a Roman Catholic Irish household, his father was a civil servant working as a comptroller of customs. Although he used professionally the surname of Edwardes, his birth record documents his name as George Joseph Edwards. Even though he was accepted at the Royal Military Academy, he followed cousins entering in the theatrical business at Leicester's Royal Opera House. One of his cousins was the partner of theatrical great Richard D'Oyly Carte. Within a short time, Carte was purchasing theaters around London and eventually, Edwardes became the treasurer of Carte's business. In 1885, he was hired to succeed John Hollingshead in 1886 as manager at the Gaiety Theatre, producing the burlesque entertainment. As manager, he had numerous long-running productions. By 1892, burlesque had ended at the Gaiety as the older generation had retired. In 1894 he became manager of the struggling Empire Theatre in London. His earliest shows were similar to Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas, yet had lighter music arrangements, more spoken words, along with beautiful costumes and ultimately, developing into their own genre. He elevated the "musical comedies" to an international level. He became known for his "shop girl" productions: "The Shop Girl" in 1894, "The Circus Girl" in 1896, "A Runaway Girl" in 1898, "The Orchid" in 1903, "The Spring Chicken" in 1905, "The Girls of Gottenberg" in 1907, "Our Miss Gibbs" in 1909, "The Sunshine Girl" in 1912, and "After the Girl" in 1914. Many of these productions starred a beautiful young actress, Gertie Millar. In 1901 he signed Millar as the leading lady in his production of "The Toreador" at the Gaiety Theatre. This was her first major role in a successful two-decade career. "The Toreador" was one of the many "boy productions" he had. Many beautiful starlets signed with him but within a short time left the theatre to marry bankers, lawyers, and often gentlemen with peerages. This led to him inserting a "nuptial clause" in every contract. He partnered with American producer Augustin Daly to build a new London theatre, Daly's Theatre, which opened in 1893. He was left to manage Daly's Theatre as Daly returned to the United States, dying suddenly six years later in France. At the Daly's Theatre, he produced English-language adaptations of European operettas. In addition to theatre, he was interested in horse racing, owning the thoroughbred "Santoi," which placed-well with many monetary prizes. He was one of the sixteen co-founding members of the Society of West End Theatre Managers. At the dawn of World War I, he was visiting a spa in Germany. After being captured as an enemy agent, he was detained in prison for some time, which caused his health to rapidly decline. He did return home, dying days before his 60th birthday. Although he owned valuable property, he had a host of unpaid debts. After his death, his theatrical enterprises continued to operate, producing hit after hit and after the war, his debts were paid. He married a singer with the stage name of Julia Gwynne, and the couple had three children.