Hugh Antoine D’Arcy

Hugh Antoine d'Arcy (March 5, 1843 – November 11, 1925) was a French-born poet and writer and a pioneer executive in the American motion picture industry. He is known for his 1887 poem, "The Face upon the Barroom Floor", a sorrowful tale of a painter who takes to drink after his lover deserts him for the fair-haired lad in one of his portraits.

After study at England's Ipswich University, d'Arcy was a call boy and juvenile actor at the Theatre Royal in Bristol. In London, he was well known as a character actor. In 1871, d'Arcy came to America, where he became involved with the business management of stage productions and performers, including Mary Anderson, Ada Grey, DeWolf Hopper, Frank Mayo, Robert Mantell and James O'Neill.

Keystone Studios adapted the poem for a 1914 The Face on the Bar Room Floor starring Charlie Chaplin, and John Ford used it for his film, The Face on the Bar-Room Floor (1923). It was put to song by country music stars Tex Ritter on his 1959 Blood on the Saddle album and Hank Snow on his 1968 Tales of the Yukon album. D'Arcy's byline appeared in a comic book in 1954 when the poem was illustrated by Jack Davis and Basil Wolverton for Mad #10 (April 1954).

D'Arcy married the daughter of Philadelphia film mogul Siegmund Lubin and went to work as the publicity manager for his Lubin Studios. The studio used a story he had written for a 1912 film, Madeline's Christmas.

Hugh Antoine d'Arcy died of bronchitis and chronic heart problems in 1925 in New York City.

Birth and Death Data: Born March 5, 1843 (United States of America), Died November 11, 1925

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1923 - 1932

Roles Represented in DAHR: author

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Victor C-28785 12-in. 10/27/1923 The face on the barroom floor Taylor Holmes Recitation, with piano author  
Victor CRC-72507 12-in. 4/25/1932 The face on the bar-room floor National Cavaliers Male vocal quartet, with piano author  
OKeh W402096 10-in. 8/8/1928 The face on the bar room floor Harold Selman Recitation, with instrumental trio author  
OKeh W402097 10-in. 8/8/1928 The face on the bar room floor Harold Selman Recitation, with instrumental trio author  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "D’Arcy, Hugh Antoine," accessed April 26, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108799.

D’Arcy, Hugh Antoine. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 26, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108799.

"D’Arcy, Hugh Antoine." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 26 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/108799

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