What is "call boy"

Call \Call\, n.

1. The act of calling; -- usually with the voice, but often otherwise, as by signs, the sound of some instrument, or by writing; a summons; an entreaty; an invitation; as, a call for help; the bugle's call. ``Call of the trumpet.''
   --Shak.

   I rose as at thy call, but found thee not.
   --Milton.

2. A signal, as on a drum, bugle, trumpet, or pipe, to summon soldiers or sailors to duty.

3. (Eccl.) An invitation to take charge of or serve a church as its pastor.

4. A requirement or appeal arising from the circumstances of the case; a moral requirement or appeal.

   Dependence is a perpetual call upon humanity.
   --Addison.

   Running into danger without any call of duty.
   --Macaulay.

5. A divine vocation or summons.

   St. Paul himself believed he did well, and that he had a call to it, when he persecuted the Christians.
   --Locke.

6. Vocation; employment.

   Note: [In this sense, calling is generally used.]

7. A short visit; as, to make a call on a neighbor; also, the daily coming of a tradesman to solicit orders.

   The baker's punctual call.
   --Cowper.

8. (Hunting) A note blown on the horn to encourage the hounds.

9. (Naut.) A whistle or pipe, used by the boatswain and his mate, to summon the sailors to duty.

10. (Fowling) The cry of a bird; also a noise or cry in imitation of a bird; or a pipe to call birds by imitating their note or cry.

11. (Amer. Land Law) A reference to, or statement of, an object, course, distance, or other matter of description in a survey or grant requiring or calling for a corresponding object, etc., on the land.

12. The privilege to demand the delivery of stock, grain, or any commodity, at a fixed, price, at or within a certain time agreed on. [Brokers' Cant]

13. See Assessment, 4. At call, or On call, liable to be demanded at any moment without previous notice; as money on deposit. Call bird, a bird taught to allure others into a snare. Call boy

    1. A boy who calls the actors in a theater; a boy who transmits the orders of the captain of a vessel to the engineer, helmsman, etc.

    2. A waiting boy who answers a cal, or cames at the ringing of a bell; a bell boy.

       Call note, the note naturally used by the male bird to call the female. It is artificially applied by birdcatchers as a decoy.
       --Latham.

       Call of the house (Legislative Bodies), a calling over the names of members, to discover who is absent, or for other purposes; a calling of names with a view to obtaining the ayes and noes from the persons named.

       Call to the bar, admission to practice in the courts.

n. (alternative spelling of callboy English)

Call boy may refer to:

• Call boy (theatre), a stagehand who alerts actors and actresses of their entrances during a performance
• Call-boy or callboy, a slang term for a male prostitute
• Call Boy (horse), a Thoroughbred horse, winner of the Epsom Derby in 1927
• Call Boy, a standardbred harness-racing horse, winner of the Great Northern Derby in 1958

Call boy (or call girl) is the job title of a stagehand in the theatre. They are hired by either the director, producer or stage crew chief. They report directly to the crew chief, are usually paid by the hour, and will sometimes rotate between several groups from one performance to the next.

The primary responsibility of the call boy or girl is to move from backstage to the dressing rooms and green rooms alerting actors and actresses of their entrances in time for them to appear on stage on cue. For example, they might call out, "You're on in five minutes, Miss Bernhardt."

The call boy or girl also calls the "quarter hour" and "overture and beginners", the preparatory warning that signals for the orchestra to start the introductory music and the beginners, those performers who appear on stage at the beginning of the first act, to get into their opening positions. The call boy or girl also assists with scene changes.

The term was already current at the end of the 18th century, when the Shakespearean scholar Edmond Malone claimed that William Shakespeare's first job in the theatre was that of "call-boy".

Usually actors themselves, they have historically taken roles and done crowd scenes as needed. The actor William J. Ferguson (June 8, 1845 – May 3, 1930) was the call boy at Ford's Theatre in Washington, D.C., when actor John Wilkes Booth killed President Lincoln and fled. Ferguson was described as the last surviving eye witness. He said he and actress Laura Keene were standing off stage at the first entrance, opposite the president's box, when it occurred. He heard the shot, looked up and saw Lincoln's head slump, then Booth jumped to the stage and rushed between him and Keene.

The term pretty much became obsolete in larger theatres in the mid-20th century, when most call boys were replaced by loudspeakers placed in each dressing room and green room.

Call Boy (1924–1940) was a British Thoroughbred racehorse. In a career which lasted from July 1926 to June 1927, he ran seven times winning four races. His most notable success came in the 1927 Epsom Derby, which he won in record time. Partly because of the death of his owner, Call Boy never ran again after his win at Epsom.