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The Cherry Sisters – Addie (1859–1942), Effie (1867–1944), Ella (1854–1934), Lizzie (1857–1936), and Jessie Cherry (1871–1903) – were five sisters from
Marion, Iowa Marion is a city in Linn County, Iowa, United States. The population was 26,294 at the 2000 census and was 41,535 in 2020, an increase of 58%. The city is located next to Cedar Rapids and part of the Cedar Rapids Metropolitan Statistical Area ...
who formed a notorious
vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...
touring act in the late 19th century. They were also the plaintiffs in a landmark 1901 legal case heard by the
Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a chief justice and six associate justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...
, ''Cherry v. Des Moines Leader,'' which was instrumental in establishing and confirming the right of the press to
fair comment Fair comment is a legal term for a common law defense in defamation cases (libel or slander). It is referred to as honest comment in some countries. United States In the United States, the traditional privilege (inherited from British common law ...
. The Cherry Sisters' vaudeville act, ''Something Good, Something Sad,'' was infamous for its poor quality and the vehement responses it elicited by audiences, who threw vegetables and disrupted performances. The sisters toured with the act for ten years, during which time they briefly appeared on Broadway. In 1898 they sued two Iowa newspapers for
libel Defamation is a communication that injures a third party's reputation and causes a legally redressable injury. The precise legal definition of defamation varies from country to country. It is not necessarily restricted to making assertions ...
after they printed a scathing review of ''Something Good, Something Sad.'' The case eventually went to the Iowa Supreme Court, which ruled in the newspapers' favor and set a precedent for the right to fair comment. The Cherry Sisters' act dissolved after the sudden death of the youngest member of the group, Jessie, in 1903. The rest of the sisters went on to other ventures and opened a bakery, but died in modest circumstances.


Early life

The Cherry sisters were the daughters of Thomas Cherry and Laura Rawson. The family was composed of eight children: Ella, Elizabeth, Addie, Effie, and Jessie, their brother Nathan, and two additional siblings who died at young ages. Ella, the eldest, was born in 1854 in Massachusetts, but the remainder of the children were born in Iowa, and were raised on a farm in Linn County."The Cherry Sisters"
Steven J. Fuller, ''The Palimpsest'', July/August 1979


Vaudeville career

The Cherry Sisters' vaudeville act was formed in the early 1890s, after the death of their parents and the disappearance of their brother Nathan. Originally all five sisters were involved; however, the eldest, Ella, retired from the stage before 1896, leaving her siblings to continue the act as a quartet.
Irwin Chusid, WFMU, 1997
Addie Cherry described the Cherry sisters' work as "concerts,--literary entertainments."
Supreme Court of Iowa. May 28, 1901
Titled ''Something Good, Something Sad,'' their show featured songs, dances, skits, morality plays and essays authored and performed by the sisters. Some of their songs featured new lyrics set to traditional standards; others were completely original compositions. Musical accompaniment was provided for some numbers by Elizabeth and Jessie, who played the piano and bass drum. The material had strong patriotic and religious themes; in one scene, Jessie was suspended from a cross in an imitation of the
crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...
."Sub-mediocre"
''Time,'' March 10, 1930

''New York Times,'' November 17, 1896
The act was received politely by the sisters' neighbors in
Marion Marion or MARION may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Marion (band), a British alternative rock group * ''Marion'' (miniseries), a 1974 miniseries * ''Marion'' (1920 film), an Italian silent film * ''Marion'' (2024 film), a UK short People a ...
, but when it went on the road, it received overwhelmingly negative responses from the audiences to which it played. Spectators routinely laughed, heckled, catcalled, booed and threw vegetables at the sisters throughout the entire performance. In several instances the audience's violence reached dangerous proportions: in one incident in
Dubuque Dubuque (, ) is a city in Dubuque County, Iowa, United States, and its county seat. The population was 59,667 at the 2020 United States census. The city lies along the Mississippi River at the junction of Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin, a region ...
, a fire extinguisher was sprayed directly into one of the sisters' faces, and the show was stopped by the local marshals to prevent further harm. Eventually the sisters performed behind a wire mesh curtain to avoid being struck by projectiles from the audience, although they would later deny that this had ever been necessary.Obituary for Jessie Cherry
''Daily Iowa State Press'' October 6, 1903
In 1896, the Cherry Sisters were brought to Broadway by
impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...
Willie Hammerstein William Hammerstein (September 26, 1875 – June 10, 1914) was an American theater manager. He ran the Victoria Theatre on what became Times Square, Manhattan, presenting very popular vaudeville shows with a wide variety of acts. He was known fo ...
in an attempt to attract attention to his floundering new venue, the Olympia Music Hall. His rationale, as given in an interview, was, "I've been putting on the best talent, and it hasn't gone over...I'm going to try the worst." The theory was sound: ''Something Good, Something Sad'' saved Hammerstein from bankruptcy only twelve days after opening on November 16, and ran for six weeks, drawing audiences who were curious to see the act the ''New York Times'' referred to as "Four Freaks from Iowa". The ''Times,'' in their assessment of the sisters, considered the act "more pitiable than amusing" and noted "...the effects of poverty, ignorance, and isolation are much the same all over the world, and the Cherry sisters exhibited every one of them with a pathetic frankness that left no question as to their status or their character." The sisters were known for their rigid moral standpoints both on and off-stage. While living in New York during their run at the Olympia, they refused all invitations to parties and claimed that they would not visit
Coney Island Coney Island is a neighborhood and entertainment area in the southwestern section of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. The neighborhood is bounded by Brighton Beach to its east, Lower New York Bay to the south and west, and Gravesend to ...
because they did not want to see women in bathing costumes.


''Cherry v. Des Moines Leader''

The Cherry Sisters' act was met with derision by the local press as well as audiences. In 1930, ''Time'' magazine noted, "In every town that the Cherry sisters played, it was an invariable custom for the editor of the local paper to review their act with a column and a half of humor, satire, parody and biting sarcasm." In January 1893, Fred P. Davis, the city editor of the ''Cedar Rapids Gazette,'' reviewed their performance at Greene's Opera House, noting, "...their knowledge of the stage is worse than none at all." The sisters demanded a retraction, and the ''Gazette'' complied, allowing them to write it themselves. The Cherry sisters did not consider the retraction to be sufficient and accused Davis of libel. The complaint resulted in a light-hearted mock trial onstage at a Cherry Sisters' performance in March 1893. In 1898, the ''Odebolt Chronicle'' printed an extremely negative review of the Cherry sisters' act, titled "The Cherries Were Here". Critic and newspaper editor Billy Hamilton's piece described the sisters as being "three creatures surpassing the witches in
Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...
in general hideousness" and continued, "the mouths of their rancid features opened like caverns and sounds like the wailings of damned souls issued therefrom." The article was later reprinted in other newspapers around the state, including the ''Des Moines Leader''."W. E. "Billy" Hamilton and the Cherry Sisters"
''Odebolt Chronicle'', May 1977
In response, the Cherry Sisters sued the ''Chronicle'' and the ''Leader'' for US $15,000, claiming that the unflattering descriptions of their physical appearance presented in the article constituted acts of "false and malicious" libel. The ''Odebolt Chronicle'' kept an ongoing log of the progress of the proceedings, which included a courtroom performance by the sisters, noting on April 27, 1899, "we had lots of fun out of the case". The Polk County Court decided in the newspapers' favor in 1899, and the sisters appealed to the Iowa Supreme Court. The Court upheld the verdict, stating in their May 28, 1901 decision, "the editor of a newspaper has the right, if not the duty, of publishing, for the information of the public, fair and reasonable comments, however severe in terms, upon anything which is made by its owner a subject of public exhibition, as upon any other matter of public interest; of privileged communications, for which no action will lie without proof of actual malice...Surely, if one makes himself ridiculous in his public performances, he may be ridiculed by those whose duty or right it is to inform the public regarding the character of the performance." ''Cherry v. Des Moines Leader'' is considered to be a landmark decision confirming the right to fair comment and critical analysis in the press and is still frequently held up as a precedent in contemporary court cases.


Retirement and later life

After Jessie died from
typhoid Typhoid fever, also known simply as typhoid, is a disease caused by ''Salmonella enterica'' serotype Typhi bacteria, also called ''Salmonella'' Typhi. Symptoms vary from mild to severe, and usually begin six to 30 days after exposure. Often ther ...
in 1903 the sisters retired for a short period. However, Addie and Effie continued to perform until the late 1930s, their final appearances taking place in their home town of Cedar Rapids in April 1938. In 1924 and 1926, Effie ran for mayor of Cedar Rapids on a reform platform, but was defeated both times."Effie Cherry, Last of Famed Sister Act, Dies" ''Chicago Daily Tribune'' August 6, 1944


References in contemporary culture

The Cherry Sisters have been the subject of at least two contemporary theatrical productions: ''Cherry Bomb,'' a comedic musical play produced and performed by 1812 Productions in Philadelphia, and ''Cherry Sisters Revisited,'' a 2006 play by
Dan O'Brien Daniel Dion O'Brien (born July 18, 1966) is an American former decathlete and Olympic gold medalist. He won the Olympic title in 1996, three consecutive world championships (1991, 1993, 1995), and set the world record in 1992. Early life ...
."Philadelphia Theatre Initiative Awards $942,000 for the Development and Production of Adventurous Theatre Work"
Pew Charitable Trusts press release, June 6, 2007
They are featured as forerunners of the
outsider music Outsider music (from "outsider art") is music created by self-taught or naïve musicians. The term is usually applied to musicians who have little or no traditional musical experience, who exhibit childlike qualities in their music, or who have ...
genre in
Irwin Chusid Irwin Chusid (born April 22, 1951 in Newark, New Jersey) is a journalist, music historian, radio personality, record producer, and self-described "landmark preservationist". His stated mission has been to "find things on the scrapheap of history th ...
's book ''
Songs in the Key of Z ''Songs in the Key of Z'' is a book and two compilation albums written and compiled by Irwin Chusid. The book and albums explore the field of what Chusid coined as "outsider music". Chusid defines outsider music as; "crackpot and visionary music, w ...
''. The story of the Cherry Sisters is featured as one of the segments in Season 4, Episode 11 of
Comedy Central Comedy Central is an American Cable television in the United States, cable television channel, channel owned by Paramount Global through its Paramount Media Networks, network division's Paramount Media Networks#MTV Entertainment Group, MTV Ente ...
's show ''
Drunk History ''Drunk History'' is an American educational comedy television series produced by Comedy Central, based on the Funny or Die web series created by Derek Waters and Jeremy Konner in 2007. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay are the show's executive p ...
''. The sisters were portrayed by
Jessie Ennis Jessie Ennis is an American actress, director, and writer. Personal life Ennis was born in Boston but moved to Los Angeles at the age of 2. She is the daughter of American actor and comedian John Ennis. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence Coll ...
(Ella),
Ashley Johnson Ashley Suzanne Johnson (born 1983) is an American actress. She became known as a child actor for her role as Chrissy Seaver on the sitcom ''Growing Pains'' (1990–1992). As an adult, her television roles include Amber Ahmed on '' The Killing' ...
(Elizabeth),
Andrea Savage Andrea Kristen Savage (born February 20, 1973) is an American actress and comedian best known for creating, writing and starring in the show '' I'm Sorry'' (2017–2019). The show originally aired on TruTV but became a hit when it streamed on Ne ...
(Addie),
Mary Lynn Rajskub Mary Lynn Rajskub () is an American actress and comedian who is best known for portraying Chloe O'Brian in the action thriller series '' 24'' and Gail the Snail in ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia''. Rajskub was a regular cast member on HBO' ...
(Effie), and
Allison Tolman Allison Tolman is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Molly Solverson in the first season of the FX television series '' Fargo'', earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations, and Alma Fillcot in the second season of the Param ...
(Jessie). An advertisement for the Cherry Sisters is featured as one of the objects explored in Season 7, Episode 22 of ''
Mysteries at the Museum ''Mysteries at the Museum'' is an hour-long television program on the Travel Channel which features museum artifacts of unusual or mysterious origins. Plot Each episode is focused on interesting and unusual artifacts held in museums. The show ...
''.


References


External links


''Cherry Bomb: The Story of the Awful Cherry Sisters''
by
Irwin Chusid Irwin Chusid (born April 22, 1951 in Newark, New Jersey) is a journalist, music historian, radio personality, record producer, and self-described "landmark preservationist". His stated mission has been to "find things on the scrapheap of history th ...

''Billy Hamilton and the Cherry Sisters"
from the Odebolt History Pages {{DEFAULTSORT:Cherry Sisters Temperance activists from Iowa Sibling musical groups Musical groups established in 1893 Musical groups disestablished in 1903 American outsider musicians Actors from Cedar Rapids, Iowa People from Marion, Iowa Tort law American vaudeville performers Musicians from Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1893 establishments in Iowa