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 176-200 of 574 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | B-4233 | 10-in. | 2/4/1907 | Uncle Josh's huskin' bee dance | Cal Stewart | Descriptive scene, with orchestra | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-4245 | 10-in. | 2/7/1907 | The wedding of Uncle Josh and Aunt Nancy | Haydn Quartet ; Cal Stewart ; Mrs. Cal Stewart | Descriptive scene, with male vocal quartet, violin, and organ | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-4246 | 10-in. | 2/7/1907 | Uncle Josh and Aunt Nancy go to housekeeping | Haydn Quartet ; Cal Stewart ; Mrs. Cal Stewart | Descriptive scene, with violin and organ | author, speaker | |
Victor | E-4302 | 8-in. | 3/12/1907 | And then I laughed | Cal Stewart | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer, vocalist | |
Victor | B-4302 | 10-in. | 3/12/1907 | And then I laughed | Cal Stewart | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer, vocalist | |
Victor | B-4447 | 10-in. | 4/30/1907 | Ticklish Reuben | Cal Stewart | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | lyricist, composer, vocalist | |
Victor | B-4448 | 10-in. | 4/30/1907 | Monkey on a string | Cal Stewart | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | vocalist | |
Victor | E-4570 | 8-in. | 6/10/1907 | Uncle Josh at the bug house | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-4570 | 10-in. | 6/10/1907 | Uncle Josh at the bug house | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | E-4788 | 8-in. | 8/26/1907 | Uncle Josh joins the Grangers | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-4788 | 10-in. | 8/26/1907 | Uncle Josh joins the Grangers | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | E-4789 | 8-in. | 9/6/1907 | Uncle Josh's letter from home | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-4789 | 10-in. | 9/6/1907 | Uncle Josh's letter from home | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | E-4790 | 8-in. | 9/6/1907 | Uncle Josh at the dentist's | Len Spencer ; Cal Stewart | Comic dialogue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-4790 | 10-in. | 9/6/1907 | Uncle Josh at the dentist's | Gilbert Girard ; Len Spencer ; Cal Stewart | Comic dialogue | author, speaker | |
Victor | C-6376 | 12-in. | 8/31/1908 | Uncle Josh and the sailor | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-6377 | 10-in. | 8/31/1908 | The county fair at Pun'kin Centre | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-6378 | 10-in. | 8/31/1908 | A busy week at Pun'kin Centre | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | C-6393 | 12-in. | 9/4/1908 | Uncle Josh keeps house | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-6532 | 10-in. | 10/12/1908 | Moving day at Pun'kin Centre | Cal Stewart | Monologue, with orchestra | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-6588 | 10-in. | 11/9/1908 | Uncle Josh and the photographer | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-6739 | 10-in. | 1/20/1909 | First day of April at Pumpkin Center | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-6834 | 10-in. | 2/25/1909 | Uncle Josh and the billiken | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-16064 | 10-in. | 6/3/1915 | Moving pictures at Pun'kin Centre | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker | |
Victor | B-16067 | 10-in. | 6/4/1915 | Uncle Josh buys an automobile | Cal Stewart | Monologue | author, speaker |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Stewart, Cal," accessed November 21, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/103525.
Stewart, Cal. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 21, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/103525.
"Stewart, Cal." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 21 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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