Charlie Cannon
Encyclopedia
Charles Albert Cannon a singer, theater performer and co-founder of Starlight Opera in San Diego, California
, was born in the coastal town of San Quintín, Baja California
, near Ensenada
.
, he sang in a boys' quartet and played saxophone in the student band.
He attended San Diego State College
, where he met Art Linkletter
, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, and together they wrote an operetta
. Cannon served 3½ years in the U.S. Army during Second World War, and was stationed in the South Pacific
.
, in 1948. During its first season in 1946, Cannon debuted on stage in Gilbert & Sullivan's "Mikado," presented in the San Diego Zoo
's Wegeforth Bowl. Next, he starred in "The Chocolate Soldier
," "H.M.S. Pinafore
," "Naughty Marietta
," "The Barber of Seville
," and "Hansel and Gretel
."
Cannon performed in musicals and served as choral director for 15 years, then as the company producer, beginning in 1961. In 1964, he began performing as a piano-bar entertainer at the Red Fox Room, a steak house in San Diego, until 1985. Upon his retirement, he moved with his wife Joy, also a singer and performer at the Starlight Theatre
, to Clarkston, Washington
.
The Starlight Theatre, which remains open, is ranked one of the oldest continuously producing musical theater companies in the country.
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
, was born in the coastal town of San Quintín, Baja California
San Quintín, Baja California
San Quintín is a coastal town on the west coast of the Mexican state of Baja California, in the municipio of Ensenada. San Quintín has beautiful beaches and several places for tourists to stay. Tourists can enjoy fishing, camping, bird watching, surfing, and clam digging...
, near Ensenada
Ensenada, Baja California
Ensenada is a coastal city in Mexico and the third-largest city in Baja California. It is located south of San Diego on the Baja California Peninsula. The city is locally referred to as La Cenicienta del Pacífico, or, The Cinderella of the Pacific...
.
Early years
Charlie Cannon was just 2½ when he performed for the first time in the lobby of his father's Baja California hotel. While attending San Diego High SchoolSan Diego High School
San Diego High School is an urban public educational complex comprising six small schools located on the southern edge of Balboa Park, in San Diego, California. It is part of the San Diego Unified School District. It is the oldest high school in the San Diego Unified School District and one of the...
, he sang in a boys' quartet and played saxophone in the student band.
He attended San Diego State College
San Diego State University
San Diego State University , founded in 1897 as San Diego Normal School, is the largest and oldest higher education facility in the greater San Diego area , and is part of the California State University system...
, where he met Art Linkletter
Art Linkletter
Arthur Gordon "Art" Linkletter was a Canadian-born American radio and television personality. He was the host of House Party, which ran on CBS radio and television for 25 years, and People Are Funny, on NBC radio-TV for 19 years...
, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune, and together they wrote an operetta
Operetta
Operetta is a genre of light opera, light in terms both of music and subject matter. It is also closely related, in English-language works, to forms of musical theatre.-Origins:...
. Cannon served 3½ years in the U.S. Army during Second World War, and was stationed in the South Pacific
South West Pacific theatre of World War II
The South West Pacific Theatre, technically the South West Pacific Area, between 1942 and 1945, was one of two designated area commands and war theatres enumerated by the Combined Chiefs of Staff of World War II in the Pacific region....
.
Musical career
In 1945, Cannon, William Dean, Julius Leib and Robert J. Sullivan founded the San Diego Civic Light Opera Co., which ultimately became the Starlight Theatre in Balboa Park. It moved to its permanent location, in a 4,200-seat bowlStarlight Bowl (San Diego)
The Starlight Bowl is an amphitheater located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It was constructed for the 1935-1936 California Pacific International Exposition and seats 4,300...
, in 1948. During its first season in 1946, Cannon debuted on stage in Gilbert & Sullivan's "Mikado," presented in the San Diego Zoo
San Diego Zoo
The San Diego Zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, is one of the most progressive zoos in the world, with over 4,000 animals of more than 800 species...
's Wegeforth Bowl. Next, he starred in "The Chocolate Soldier
The Chocolate Soldier
The Chocolate Soldier is an operetta composed in 1908 by Oscar Straus based on George Bernard Shaw's 1894 play, Arms and the Man...
," "H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
," "Naughty Marietta
Naughty Marietta
Naughty Marietta is a 1935 film based on the operetta of the same name by Victor Herbert: Jeanette MacDonald stars as a vivacious Princess who trades places with her maid Marietta in order to avoid an arranged marriage...
," "The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
," and "Hansel and Gretel
Hansel and Gretel
"Hansel and Gretel" is a well-known fairy tale of German origin, recorded by the Brothers Grimm and published in 1812. Hansel and Gretel are a young brother and sister threatened by a cannibalistic hag living deep in the forest in a house constructed of cake and confectionery. The two children...
."
Cannon performed in musicals and served as choral director for 15 years, then as the company producer, beginning in 1961. In 1964, he began performing as a piano-bar entertainer at the Red Fox Room, a steak house in San Diego, until 1985. Upon his retirement, he moved with his wife Joy, also a singer and performer at the Starlight Theatre
Starlight Theatre
Starlight Theatre can refer to:*Starlight Theatre *Starlight Theatre *Starlight Theatre , an American anthology drama series that aired on CBS from 1950 to 1951...
, to Clarkston, Washington
Clarkston, Washington
Clarkston is a city in Asotin County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington. It is part of the Lewiston ID-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,229 in 2010....
.
The Starlight Theatre, which remains open, is ranked one of the oldest continuously producing musical theater companies in the country.