Charles Sullivan (promoter)
American promoter and businessman (1909–1966) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Charles Sullivan (born Charles Williams; 1909–2 August 1966[2]) was the Black American concert promoter and businessman who created San Francisco's Fillmore Auditorium.
Charles Sullivan | |
|---|---|
| Born | Charles Williams 1909 |
| Died | 1966 (aged 56–57) San Francisco, California, US |
| Other names | "The Mayor of Fillmore"[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Concert promoter and businessman |
| Known for | The Fillmore |
| Spouse | Fannie Sullivan |
Early life
At 2, decades after the Emancipation Proclamation, his mother Bell[e] Mary Williams signed him into indenture "to learn the art, trade, occupation and mysteries of farming ... until he is 21 years of age."[3] When he was 13 or 15, Robert ran away from his "master" Robert Sullivan, a Black farmer in Mobile County, Alabama, who was reportedly vicious and alcoholic.[4][3] Lacking formal education, he came to California at 19 and worked as a car washer, machinist, chauffeur, and after leaving Los Angeles in 1934 started a San Mateo hamburger stand, "Sullivan's".[3][1] He prospered, operating bars, liquor stores, a chain of cigarette vending machines, and began promoting musical productions.[3]
The Fillmore and "Harlem of The West"
Sullivan owned a successful jazz club, the Booker T. Washington Lounge, bought from the colorful Shirley "Fats" Corlett.[1] Lending money to Slim Galliard, who started a chicken and waffle eatery on Post Street, Sullivan eventually sued and won, renaming it Jimbo's Bop City.[1] Taking over a segregated roller-skating rink in 1952, Sullivan re-opened it as the Fillmore Auditorium.[5] As the largest promoter of black music on the west coast, a who's who of acts, including B.B. King played at the venue.[6] Longtime San Francisco promoter Bill Graham in his memoir says of Sullivan that he "booked a lot of the best R&B acts" such as James Brown, Duke Ellington, Bobby Bland, and The Temptations.[7]
Later life
In 1963, after San Francisco's Welfare Department sued Sullivan's for $1344.95 in parental support for his "master", now living in the same city, Sullivan made front-page news as "A Slave Living in S.F."[4] The "shocked" Supervisor's Finance Committee dropped the suit.[4] By 1965 the Western Addition had been declared blighted and marked for demolition as part of urban renewal.[8] Early in the morning of August 2, 1966, Sullivan was found shot to death at the corner of Fifth and Bluxome at age 57.[2] The murder is still unsolved.[9] His wife Fannie and younger brother Marion believed it was murder.[2] After Sullivan "got himself killed" in Graham's words, Graham took over the lease for the Fillmore.[7]
References
Further reading
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