Not only is Kinross-based Joe Whiteman the great-great-great grandson of Andrew Carnegie – once the world’s richest man – he also plays the legendary Dunfermline industrialist in a musical about his life.
Since 2016, singing teacher Joe, 30, has had the title role in Carnegie – The Star-Spangled Scotchman. From August 6 – 30 the show will be available to watch as part of this year’s online Edinburgh Fringe.
Born in Aberdeen, Joe grew up in Inverurie. He is descended from Carnegie on his mother’s side and says he spotted the role by chance.
He reveals: “I had just finished a contract in America and was looking for a new show to be part of – then this came up on my Facebook. I thought ‘I could go for that’ and I wasn’t thinking I would definitely get it. I just thought it sounded interesting.
“It was really interesting to take on the role and learn about Carnegie. Not only did I have to learn about events, I also had to learn about his character.
“There were different layers to the man. Obviously there was the philanthropy but also the fact he was a very wealthy. To become a wealthy man, often you do things that are morally quite suspect.”
Who is Andrew Carnegie?
Born the son of a handloom weaver in Dunfermline in 1835, Carnegie and his family emigrated to the USA in 1848 to seek work.
He started out as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill, then was a bill logger and a messenger for a local telegraph company.
After rising to a telegraph operator he became involved in the railroads. Investments in rail led to him eventually becoming a steel magnate. He became the richest man in the world in 1901 after selling his steel company to J.P. Morgan for $480m. He died in 1919 aged 83.
Carnegie famously gave away much of his fortune to good causes, arguably becoming one of the first great modern philanthropists. He set up a number of charitable foundations in both the UK and US, which still run today. There are Carnegie Halls in New York and Dunfermline.
In Scotland, he owned Skibo Castle in Sutherland, where he holidayed. It was sold by his late daughter Margaret in the early 1980s.
A star-spangled Scotchman
The musical was written by Ian Hammond Brown, who has been in the business for over 20 years. Ian, who co-wrote Whisky Galore, A Musical was inspired to find out more about Carnegie after moving to Dunfermline in 2005.
The production tells the story of Carnegie’s life from the viewpoint of a deceased steelworker who has come back to decide on his fate as the industrialist lies on his deathbed.
It also features Donna Hazelton, winner of Channel 4 talent search Musicality, as Carnegie’s domineering mother, Margaret, and Fife actress and singer Kim Shepherd as his wife, Louise.
‘I knew we were related’
Joe says he had a lot to learn about his distant relative: “I didn’t know very much about Carnegie at all and I think my parents probably didn’t know a huge amount either. When I got the role, I asked my great aunt quite a lot.
“He maintained his properties in Scotland and his granddaughter ended up marrying my great-grandfather, who was a Scot.
“When I was growing up, I knew we were related. The lasting connection for me is the area around Skibo Castle, where my family have roots now.
“All my family live in Sutherland, that’s where we had holidays, I learned to swim at Skibo swimming pool. That’s what’s had a lasting impact on my life.
“There was loads of stuff my family didn’t know from my mum’s generation. When they came to see it – they came to see me – but they were really interested.
“My great aunties love it. They never knew who they called ‘Grandpa Negie’, but they knew his legacy. His only daughter was their grandmother.”
America for the Andrew Carnegie musical?
Joe says he’s excited about the prospect of the show reaching a new audience when it goes online. Writer Ian Hammond Brown is also hoping it can travel to America in the future.
Joe explains: “It’s a really good opportunity. The fact you’ve got this new Scottish musical makes it perfect for these times. People can watch it in their own homes where they feel safe.
“I think the show would go down really well in America. It’s just getting folk to back it.
“The music is great – it’s catchy. I’ve got friends who came to see the Dunfermline production, and they still sing it back to me.”
Joe adds: “Carnegie is a Scottish success story but he is also the epitome of the American success story.
“He came from pretty much nothing and worked his way up in every job he had. He had a lot of luck, made some good decisions and he had a lot of help in terms of his business decisions – and he ended up the wealthiest man in the world.”
The show can be viewed on the Fringe Player from August 6 – 30.
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