Cal Stewart
Cal Stewart (b. 1856 Charlotte County, Virginia, d. December 7, 1919) was an American comedian and humorist who pioneered in vaudeville and early sound recordings. He is best remembered for his comic monologues in which he played "Uncle Josh" Weathersby, a resident of a mythical New England farming town called "Pumpkin Center" or "Punkin Center", leading to a number of small towns across the U.S. adopting those names. Born in Charlotte County, Virginia in 1856, Stewart spent his early life working in circuses, medicine shows and vaudeville to great acclaim as "Uncle Josh Weathersby from Way Down East". It was on the road that he befriended Mark Twain and later Will Rogers, two men who shared similar wit in comedy. Around 1897, Thomas Edison's studios hired him to cut several cylinder recordings of his famous speeches and songs. They were well received by the public, and launched an entire series of recordings based on the Uncle Josh character. Stewart's trademark on these recordings is the easily recognizable laugh that precedes his speeches. Best-selling recordings included "Uncle Josh’s Arrival in New York" (1898), "I'm Old But I'm Awfully Tough (Laughing Song)" (1898), "Jim Lawson's Horse Trade With Deacon Witherspoon" (1901), "Uncle Josh's Huskin' Bee Dance" (1901), and "Uncle Josh Buys an Automobile" (1903). He wrote the song "Ticklish Reuben" in 1900. Stewart continued recording on Edison, Columbia, Victor, and independent labels up until his death on December 7, 1919. He also wrote two books based on his monologues and performed in theaters across America with his wife Rossini Vrionides and her brother and sister. Stewart is represented on the 2007 compilation Actionable Offenses: Indecent Phonograph Recordings from the 1890s. |
Birth and Death Data: Born 1856 (Charlotte County), Died December 7, 1919
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1897 - 1928
Roles Represented in DAHR: speaker, author, vocalist, composer, lyricist
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 351-375 of 574 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 78502 | 10-in. | 6/18/1919 | Uncle Josh and Aunt Nancy Smith on a visit to New York | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78503 | 10-in. | 6/18/1919 | Uncle Josh at the opera | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78504 | 10-in. | 6/18/1919 | Uncle Josh buys an automobile | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78506 | 10-in. | 6/18/1919 | A camp meeting at Pumpkin Center | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 78507 | 10-in. | 6/18/1919 | Uncle Josh keeps house | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78508 | 10-in. | 6/18/1919 | Uncle Josh in a barber shop | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78513 | 10-in. | 6/19/1919 | Country fair at Pumpkin Center | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78514 | 10-in. | 6/19/1919 | Ground Hog Day at Pumpkin Center | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78515 | 10-in. | 6/19/1919 | Uncle Josh on a street car | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78516 | 10-in. | 6/19/1919 | Fourth of July at Pumpkin Center | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78517 | 10-in. | 6/19/1919 | Uncle Josh at the circus | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78534 | 10-in. | 7/9/1919 | Uncle Josh and Aunt Nancy put up the kitchen stove | Ada Jones ; Cal Stewart | Comic scene | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 78537 | 10-in. | 6/25/1919 | Uncle Josh's husking bee dance | Ada Jones ; Peerless Quartet ; Cal Stewart | Descriptive scene, with male vocal quartet and orchestra | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 78538 | 10-in. | 6/25/1919 | Wedding of Uncle Josh and Aunt Nancy Smith | Ada Jones ; Peerless Quartet ; Cal Stewart | Descriptive scene, with male vocal quartet and orchestra | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78555 | 10-in. | 7/8/1919 | Ticklish Ruben | Cal Stewart | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer, vocalist | |
Columbia | 78556 | 10-in. | 7/8/1919 | I laughed at the wrong time | Cal Stewart | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer, vocalist | |
Columbia | 78562 | 10-in. | 7/9/1919 | Uncle Josh on an automobile | Harry C. Browne ; Cal Stewart | Comic scene | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 78581 | 10-in. | 7/19/1919 | Train-time at Pumpkin Center | American Quartet ; Cal Stewart | Descriptive scene | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 78582 | 10-in. | 7/19/1919 | A meeting at the Hen Roost Club | American Quartet ; Cal Stewart | Descriptive scene | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 78597 | 10-in. | 7/24/1919 | Uncle Josh takes the census | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | author, speaker | |
Columbia | 78598 | 10-in. | 7/24/1919 | The Chautauqua at Pumpkin Center | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 78605 | 10-in. | 7/28/1919 | A possum supper at the Darktown Church | American Quartet ; Cal Stewart | Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with organ | vocalist, composer | |
Columbia | 78606 | 10-in. | 7/28/1919 | The sunday school picnic at Pumpkin Center | American Quartet ; Cal Stewart | Male vocal solo and male vocal quartet, with organ | author, vocalist | |
Columbia | 78619 | 10-in. | 8/15/1919 | Ragtime at Pumpkin Center | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | speaker, author | |
Columbia | 78620 | 10-in. | 8/15/1919 | Uncle Josh and the soldier | Cal Stewart | Comic monologue | speaker, author |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Stewart, Cal," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/103525.
Stewart, Cal. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/103525.
"Stewart, Cal." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Stewart, Cal, 1856-1919 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n82031934
Wikidata: Cal Stewart - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q5018230
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/3812479
MusicBrainz: Cal Stewart - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/5470796f-4387-4f70-b520-d56dbce45465
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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