Zelma Rawlston (died October 30, 1915) was an American singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer, specializing in male impersonation, born Zelma Stuchenholz in Germany. She was billed as the "American

Vesta Tilley Matilda Alice Powles, Lady de Frece (13May 186416September 1952) was an English music hall performer. She adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley and became one of the best-known male impersonators of her era. Her career lasted from 1869 until 19 ...

Early life

Zelma Stuchenholz was born in Germany and moved to the United States as a child."Miss Zelma Rawlston" ''New York Times'' (October 31, 1915): 17."Report of the Public Administrator of the County of New York for the Year 1917"
''Proceedings of the Board of Aldermen'' (January 15, 1918): 84. One profile, however, described her as being born in New York City in 1873, and training as a singer with Eugenie Pappenheim and Adelina Murio Celli, before attending

National Conservatory of Music of America National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ...

on a scholarship.

Career

Rawlston was a soprano singer with the Charles F. Higgins Concert Company, formed in 1888. With her own touring company, she appeared in operatic,

soubrette A soubrette is a female minor stock character in opera and theatre, often a pert lady's maid. By extension, the term can refer generally to any saucy or flirtatious young woman. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means " ...

, and male roles, all on the same bill. She was billed as "the American Vesta Tilley" because she dressed as a man for her vaudeville performances; "for the first few years of her stage career she never appeared in anything but trousers," noted the ''New York Times'' in 1915. However, at some appearances, she changed from female to male clothing quickly onstage. In 1904, she explained that she cut her own hair short to improve the impersonation. In 1905, she was touring with

George Lederer George Washington Lederer (1861 in Wilkes-Barre, PennsylvaniaLEDERER, George W.< ...

's "Smiling Island" company. Rawlston originated the role of "Willie Van Astorbilt" in ''The Burgomaster'' (1900-1901) on Broadway. "Her singing of 'The Kangaroo Girl' has set the town to whistling the catchy air and made Miss Rawlston many friends," noted one New York paper. Other Broadway appearances included ''

The Earl and the Girl ''The Earl and the Girl'' is a musical comedy in two acts, with a book by Seymour Hicks, lyrics by Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll. It was produced by William Greet and opened at the Adelphi Theatre in London on 10 December 1903. It t ...

'' (1905-1906) with

Eddie Foy Edwin Fitzgerald (March 9, 1856 – February 16, 1928Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; and McNeilly, Donald. ''Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America''. Routledge Press, September 2006, . pp. 406–410), ...

, and ''Chin-Chin'' (1914). Based on her fame, Rawlston's name, likeness, and testimony were used to advertise "Pe-Ru-Na" (a

patent medicine A patent medicine (sometimes called a proprietary medicine) is a non-prescription medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name, and claimed to be effective against minor disorders a ...

marketed to women) and Dr. Bull's Cough Syrup. Her photograph appeared on sheet music of her most popular numbers. She wrote the words to at least one published song, "We'll Take De Trip Dey Calls De Honeymoon" (1899).

Personal life

Zelma Rawlston died in 1915, in New York, probably in her forties."Zelma Rawlston Dead"
''Boston Globe'' (October 31, 1915): 8. via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

References

External links

Sheet music and publicity materials featuring images of Zelma Rawlston
dated 1897 through 1903, from the Digital Transgender Archive.
Zelma Rawlston
Billy Rose Theatre Collection Photograph File, New York Public Library Digital Collections.
Zelma Rawlston, Majestic
Vaudeville Museum Archive.
Zelma Rawlston in ''The Earl and the Girl''
Vaudeville Museum Archive.
Portrait of Zelma Rawlston
University of Illinois Theatrical Print Collection. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rawlston, Zelma 19th-century births 1915 deaths Singers from New York City American vaudeville performers 19th-century American women singers 19th-century American singers Comedians from New York City Female-to-male cross-dressers German comedy musicians German women comedians 20th-century American comedians American women comedians American comedy musicians Emigrants from the German Empire to the United States 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers