JOHNSON, LEW

JOHNSON, LEW. Minstrel troupe manager (fl. late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; in Chicago, Illinois (?); 27 February 1910 in Grand Forks, British Columbia, Canada). He organized a minstrel troupe in Chicago, Illinois, about 1866 or 1867, but was unsuccessful. About 1869 he organized a troupe at St. Louis, Missouri, that was successful and toured widely over the nation. From that time on Johnson was an important figure in black minstrelsy. He handled more black minstrels than any other...