Cal Stewart (b. 1856 Charlotte County, Virginia, d. December 7, 1919) was an American

comedian A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing Amusement is the state of experiencing humorous and entertaining events or situations while the person or a ...

and

humorist A humorist (American) or humourist (British spelling) is an intellectual who uses humor, or wit, in writing or public speaking, but is not an artist who seeks only to elicit laughs. Humorists are distinct from comedians, who are show business e ...

who pioneered in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

and early

sound recordings Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, Mechanical system, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of ...

. He is best remembered for his comic monologues in which he played "Uncle Josh" Weathersby, a resident of a mythical

New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...

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 Charlotte County is a United States county located in the south central part of the Commonwealth of Virginia. Its county seat is the town of Charlotte Court House. As of the 2020 census, the county population was 11,529. Charlotte County is ...

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 Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

and later

Will Rogers William Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was an American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory (now part of Oklahoma ...

, 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 The name Victor or Viktor may refer to: * Victor (name), including a list of people with the given name, mononym, or surname Arts and entertainment Film * ''Victor'' (1951 film), a French drama film * ''Victor'' (1993 film), a French shor ...

, 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 Rossini Waugh Stewart Vrionides (June 25, 1896 – November 25, 1943) was an American actress, composer, organist and violinist. She performed in vaudeville and on stage under the name "Gypsy Rossini." Rossini was born in Tipton, Indiana, to Jam ...

and her brother and sister. Stewart is represented on the 2007 compilation '' Actionable Offenses: Indecent Phonograph Recordings from the 1890s''.

References

External links

* * *
Cal Stewart cylinder recordings
from the

UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive The Cylinder Audio Archive is a free digital collection maintained by the University of California, Santa Barbara Library with streaming and downloadable versions of over 10,000 phonograph cylinders manufactured between 1893 and the mid-1920s. The ...

at the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduate ...

Library.
Cal Stewart Fan Site (includes digitized version of his book)

Cal Stewart recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The DAHR provides some of these original recordings, free of charge, via audio streaming, along with ...

.
''Researching Cal Stewart and 'Uncle Josh', part 1'' - Patrick Feaster interviewed by Jerry Fabris
on ''Thomas Edison's Attic'' radio program, WFMU, January 9, 2007.
''Researching Cal Stewart and 'Uncle Josh', part 2'' - Patrick Feaster interviewed by Jerry Fabris
on ''Thomas Edison's Attic'' radio program, WFMU, January 23, 2007. 1856 births 1919 deaths Vaudeville performers Pioneer recording artists Columbia Records artists Victor Records artists Edison Records artists Pathé Records artists {{US-comedian-stub