JC
Joseph Cawthorn
Actor
Born March 27, 1868Died January 21, 1949 (80 years)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Joseph Cawthorn (March 29, 1868, New York City, New York – January 21, 1949, Beverly Hills, California) was an American stage and film comic actor. Cawthorn started out in show business as a child, debuting at Robinson's Music Hall in his hometown of New York in 1872. He appeared in minstrel shows and vaudeville as a "Dutch" comic, employing a thick German dialect. He later worked in British music halls and American touring companies.
Cawthorn made his Broadway debut in 1895, 1897 or 1898, and embarked on a long career lasting over two decades. His first success was playing Boris in Victor Herbert's 1898 operetta The Fortune Teller. Other notable Broadway roles included the title character in Mother Goose (1903) and inventor Dr. Pill in the fantasy musical Little Nemo (1908). In the latter, he was called upon to ad lib to buy time during one performance. As "the scene called for him to describe imaginary animals he had hunted", he invented the "whiffenpoof" on the spot. Yale students in the audience appropriated it for the name of their glee club.
When his Broadway stardom waned, Cawthorn moved to Hollywood in 1927 and started a second prolific career, appearing in over 50 films, the last in 1942. He played Gremio in the first sound adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew in 1929, starring Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks; Schultz in Gold Diggers of 1935; and Florenz Ziegfeld's father in The Great Ziegfeld (1936).
Cawthorn died peacefully on January 21, 1949. He was survived by his wife, actress Queenie Vassar.
Joseph Cawthorn (March 29, 1868, New York City, New York – January 21, 1949, Beverly Hills, California) was an American stage and film comic actor. Cawthorn started out in show business as a child, debuting at Robinson's Music Hall in his hometown of New York in 1872. He appeared in minstrel shows and vaudeville as a "Dutch" comic, employing a thick German dialect. He later worked in British music halls and American touring companies.
Cawthorn made his Broadway debut in 1895, 1897 or 1898, and embarked on a long career lasting over two decades. His first success was playing Boris in Victor Herbert's 1898 operetta The Fortune Teller. Other notable Broadway roles included the title character in Mother Goose (1903) and inventor Dr. Pill in the fantasy musical Little Nemo (1908). In the latter, he was called upon to ad lib to buy time during one performance. As "the scene called for him to describe imaginary animals he had hunted", he invented the "whiffenpoof" on the spot. Yale students in the audience appropriated it for the name of their glee club.
When his Broadway stardom waned, Cawthorn moved to Hollywood in 1927 and started a second prolific career, appearing in over 50 films, the last in 1942. He played Gremio in the first sound adaptation of The Taming of the Shrew in 1929, starring Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks; Schultz in Gold Diggers of 1935; and Florenz Ziegfeld's father in The Great Ziegfeld (1936).
Cawthorn died peacefully on January 21, 1949. He was survived by his wife, actress Queenie Vassar.
Filmography
| 1941 | So Ends Our Night · as Leopold Potzloch |
| 1940 | Scatterbrain · as Nicholas Raptis |
| 1940 | Lillian Russell · as Leopold Damrosch |
| 1936 | Crime Over London · as Mr. Sherwood / Reilly |
| 1936 | Hot Money · as Max Dourfuss |
| 1936 | One Rainy Afternoon · as Monique's Father |
| 1936 | Brides Are Like That · as Fred Schultz |
| 1936 | The Great Ziegfeld · as Dr. Ziegfeld |
| 1935 | Freshman Love · as Wilson, Sr. |
| 1935 | Harmony Lane · as Professor Henry Kleber |
| 1935 | Page Miss Glory · as Mr. Freischutz |
| 1935 | Bright Lights · as Oscar Schlemmer |
| 1935 | Naughty Marietta · as Herr 'schumie' Schuman |
| 1935 | Gold Diggers of 1935 · as August Schultz |
| 1935 | Sweet Music · as Sidney Selzer |
| 1935 | Maybe It's Love · as Adolph Sr. |
| 1934 | Sweet Adeline · as Oscar Schmidt |
| 1934 | Music in the Air · as Hans Uppman |
| 1934 | Young and Beautiful · as Herman Cline |
| 1934 | Housewife · as Krueger (as Joe Cawthorne) |
| 1934 | Twenty Million Sweethearts · as Herbert Brokman |
| 1934 | The Last Gentleman · as Dr. Wilson |
| 1934 | Glamour · as Ibsen |
| 1934 | Lazy River · as Mr. Julius Ambrose |
| 1934 | The Cat and the Fiddle · as Rudy |
| 1933 | Broken Dreams · as Pop |
| 1933 | Made on Broadway · as Maxie Schultz |
| 1933 | Grand Slam · as Alex Alexandrovitch |
| 1933 | Blondie Johnson · as Jewelry Store Manager (as Joe Cawthorn) |
| 1933 | Whistling in the Dark · as Barfuss |
| 1933 | Cold Turkey · as Cast |
| 1932 | Men Are Such Fools · as Werner (as Joseph Cawthorne) |
| 1932 | They Call It Sin · as Mr. Hollister |
| 1932 | Love Me Tonight · as Dr. Armand De Fontinac |
| 1932 | White Zombie · as Dr. Bruner |
| 1931 | Peach O'Reno · as Joe Bruno |
| 1931 | The Runaround · as Lou |
| 1931 | A Tailor Made Man · as Huber |
| 1931 | Kiki · as Alfred Rapp |
| 1930 | |
| 1929 | Dance Hall · as Bremmer |
| 1929 | The Taming of the Shrew · as Gremio |
| 1929 | Jazz Heaven · as Herman Kemple |
| 1929 | Street Girl · as Keppel - Cafe Owner |
| 1929 | Speakeasy · as Yokel |