Charles Hicks

[2] Hicks's first major accomplishment was the key role he played in 1865 to form Brooker and Clayton's Georgia Minstrels.

In early 1869, a Pittsburgh newspaper reported that the "colored element of the city turned out en masse" to see Hicks's Georgia Slave Troupe.

Upon their return to the United States in 1872, the troupe was bought by Charles Callender, and Hicks stayed on until 1873 as business manager.

In late 1881 or early 1882, Hicks persuaded Callender's current black troupe to join him in western New York.

On Callender's orders, Gustave and Charles Frohman won them back, possibly by threatening to blacklist the wayward performers.

They bickered, and within a year, they were managing rival troupes, both under the name Hicks and Sawyer's Consolidated Colored Minstrels.

Hicks's portion failed to make money, so he moved to playing dime shows, museums, and other lower-paying venues.