Charles Collier (1881–1942), who was White. The show went on the following season under the direction of Richmond C. Puggsley with Lawrence Booker directing the band and Aida I. Booker as prima donna. By 1928, the troupe employed 54 people, including a 16-piece band and 16 female dancers. The main show tent had a capacity of some 1,400. Eventually, Collier acquired sole ownership. The show continued to tour until the late 1950s, and in later years was sometimes billed simply as the Silas Green Show. Selected personnel Owners and managers Hortense Collier ( Wong; 1908–2002), dancer and manager. Hortense married Charles Collier around 1932; she was Chinese-American. To avoid Jim Crow laws, members of the company lived and traveled mostly in railroad cars. Commenting on racism in 1942, Hortense stated:I'm beginning to believe that the prejudice of the South is far less dangerous than the so-called tolerance of the North. A Northerner will tell you that he has no prejudice whatsoever and then he will find all sorts of ways to keep you out of employment, using one excuse or another as a pretext. That makes him a hypocrite. With a prejudiced Southerner, you always know what to expect. But once his mind is emancipated, you won't find a greater liberal anywhere than [] a Southern White man. Wilmer Jones became co-owner after the death of Charles Collier, with Hortense Collier as the other co-owner. Leading actors and actresses Ford Wiggins (1889–1944), a native of New Bern, North Carolina, played the lead role of Silas Green for 34 seasons – until March 10, 1944, when he died during a performance in Palm Beach, Florida. Wiggins was one of only four notable actors in that role. He jeopardized his position when, on August 28, 1924, around 5 , he shot and killed fellow performer Henry "Slim" Gallman ( Gorman or Gahlam or Gahlman or, on the death certificate, Goldman; 1892–1924) of Winston-Salem in the baggage compartment of a railway passenger car parked on a siding of the Southern Railway yard in Lexington over 5 cents in a card game where moonshine – during prohibition – played an important part. Gallman had been a singer in the chorus. Wiggins was arrested and charged with murder with a bond fixed at $1,000 (). Wiggins pleaded self-defense. Clarinetist band-member Bob Young ( Robert Young), a witness, provided testimony that corroborated with Wiggins' plea. Within