Walter Scott Butterfield

Walter Scott "Colonel W. S." Butterfield (April 25, 1867 – April 23, 1936) was an American vaudeville promoter and theater manager. His business, W. S. Butterfield Theatres, operated over 100 theatres at its peak, with locations throughout the Lower Peninsula of Michigan.

Early life Walter Scott Butterfield was born in Connersville, Indiana in 1867. His family moved to Columbus, Ohio when he was a child, for his father to take a job at the Ohio State Journal. Butterfield intended to start a career in the newspaper business, but instead began working at theaters in Columbus.

Personal life Butterfield married Maria Louise Mills in 1891, with whom he had a daughter, Mitties Louise Butterfield.

In 1903, Butterfield met Caroline Kelley McCord, a performer in the "Buster Brown" show that he was promoting. They married that year, and had four daughters: Caroline Hamilton Butterfield, Laura McCord Butterfield, Julia Scott Butterfield, and Helen Butterfield. The couple divorced in 1921 due to Walter's intense work schedule.

Butterfield married Irene Dailey in 1923. Their daughter Anne was born in 1930.

Career

Butterfield started in the vaudeville and theater business in entry-level jobs at several Columbus theaters. He first worked at the Comstock Theater, and later the Grand Opera House. The Allendale dance hall, the centerpiece of the resort, was relocated twice, and now stands on the north side of the lake as a dairy barn. The Allendale property is now a collection of residential properties on East Gull Lake Drive in Ross Township.

Death and legacy Butterfield died in Boston in 1936 after a short illness. He is buried at Oak Hill Cemetery in Battle Creek.

At its peak, W. S. Butterfield Theatres operated over 110 theaters across Michigan. The Butterfield circuit continued in operation until the 1980s, when it was bought out by George Kerasotes. Many former Butterfield theaters still operate today across Michigan, from the Mayan-themed State in Bay City, to the opulent Michigan in Ann Arbor, to the State in Kalamazoo, an atmospheric theatre.