Willie Hammerstein Sullivan and Percy G. Williams. Later the Keith-Albee circuit booking office gave Hammerstein a monopoly on big-time vaudeville in Times Square. Willie's father was much more interested in grand opera, and in 1906 opened the Manhattan Opera House. Revenue from the Victoria kept the opera house running. At one point Oscar Hammerstein, always short of money, moved to sell the Victoria to the Shubert family. Willie and his brother Arthur, who produced shows, blocked the attempt. In March 1913 Keith and Albee paid Oscar Hamilton a reported $225,000 to give up his monopoly. They opened the Palace Theatre at 47th
Arthur Hammerstein productions were "Luana" and "Ballyhoo" in 1930, which were considered failures. Hammerstein suffered bankruptcy in 1931 due to some musical failures and went into retirement. In 1925-1927 Hammerstein built what is now known as the Ed Sullivan Theater at 1697 Broadway in Manhattan. Hammerstein made an appearance as himself in an episode of the film series "Popular Science" in 1949. He was one of the writers of the song "Because of You," a major hit (#1 for 10 weeks) for Tony Bennett in 1951. Hammerstein wrote the song in 1940. It was used in the film "I Was an American