Josie Sadler

Josie Sadler (1871–1927) was for twenty years a leading American stage comedienne known for her "Dutch" (German) dialect routines and heavy-set appearance. She made several early phonograph recordings for the major companies of the time, and also made several silent films, mostly for Vitagraph. She retired from show business to operate her deceased husband's electrical research business.

Josie Sadler
Josie Sadler in 1914 film "Josie's Declaration of Independence"
Born
Josephine Rauscher

1871
New York City
Died1927 (aged 55–56)
NationalityAmerican
Occupationcomedian
Years active1880–1918

Biography

Early life and career

Josie Sadler was born as Josephine Rauscher in New York City in 1871.[1][2] Her father was German, and her mother was French.[1] Sadler was discovered at age 9 by Tony Pastor, and after Pastor received parental acquiescence, she appeared in Pastor's production Nursery Rhymes.[1] This engagement lasted for about 4 months.[1] She was educated in the United States, and later in Germany, ending her education at age 15.[1] She then joined the Broadway production of Erminie.[1] Next she worked as a chorus girl in traveling productions of La Marquise and Madelon.[1] Her superior work came to the attention of manager John Russel and she was rewarded with a bit part in Natural Gas.[1] Her next appearance was in the February through June 1890 production of The City Directory at the Bijou Theatre in New York, in the role of an elevator operator named "John Smith".[1][3] Sadler then appeared in 2 more John Russel productions, Easy Street and Miss McGinty, before engaging with Henry Dixey for revivals of the shows Patience and The Mascot.[1]

Her German education helped make her one of the prominent "German dialect" comediennes of her day. This combined with her girth made her one of the best known stage comediennes of any type.[4][5][1]

In August 1897[6] she appeared in the William Harris production Good Mr. Best, where she played the role of "Gretchen Slowe", which proved to be one of her favorite characters.[1] Her next role (March 1898) was not "Dutch", but as a cockney named Jemima in Monte Carlo at the Herald Square Theatre.[1][7]

In February 1899 she was back at the Bijou for Brown's in Town as "Frida Von Hollenbeck", but this production was a failure.[8] She then went to the Webber & Fields' Theater for the part of the sister in Catharine, to great success.[1] Most of the cast, including Sadler, moved on to the production of Hurly Burly.[1] She is credited with originating the "Dutch Girl" role (the "naïve immigrant") on stage, in her performance in the 1899 play Prince Pro Tem.[1][4] Here she not only starred alongside Fred Lennox in the role of "Wild Rosie of Yucatan," but wrote and performed the hit song of the play, "Oh, If I Could Only get a Decent Sleep."[1][9] Subsequently, Sadler and Lennox married and Sadler took a bit of time away from performing in order to travel with her new husband while he starred in Princess Bonnie.[1]

September 1899 saw her as "Tryphena Shoolz" in the production A Million Dollars.[10] Following this, she appeared in the Reginald De Koven play Broadway to Tokio (January 1900),[11] where she again sang "Oh, If I Could Only get a Decent Sleep".[1][9] Next was a role in the play The Supper Club at the New York Roof Garden.[1] She was again at the New York Theater for The Hall of Fame.[1] She starred in The Silver Slipper in 1902.[4] The biggest success of her stage career came in 1903, in the vehicle Peggy from Paris.[4] In this play she performed as Peggy's "Dutch Maid" and had a featured song in which she described her son, a bassoon player.[12] In 1908 she headlined with Charles A. Bigelow in the play A Waltz Dream, where she played the role of "Fifi", a bass drummer.[1] It was this year that her phonograph records began to appear.[1] The same year she appeared as "Miss Tiny Daly" in the play The Mimic World, which ran for 100 performances at the Moorish Casino Theatre and the Grand Opera House.[13] Her next theatrical appointment was in Lew Fields' The Jolly Bachelors, followed by, at the Globe Theatre, The Bachelor Belles, which ran for 32 performances through November and December 1910.[14] She was next alongside Eddie Foy and Lillian Lorraine in Over the River.[15] She appeared in a play entitled Will O' Th' Wisp for the Summer 1911 season at Chicago's Studebaker Theater[16] and was among the featured performers of the 1912 Ziegfeld Follies.[17]

Film and later career

Sadler joined Vitagraph in March 1913.[18] Her first appearance on film was shown May 1913, in support of Norma Talmadge's Omens and Oracles.[4] In 1914 she made a series of five comedy films for Vitagraph which co-starred Billy Quirk, entitled "Josie Comedies".[19] The films were not very successful, and the "Josie" series did not continue.[19] After two years at Vitagraph, Sadler moved to the World Film Corporation[18] and appeared in the feature film What Happened to Jones? in 1915.[4] She continued to work on the stage, appearing as "Alma" in the 1916 production The Blue Envelope.[20] At this point she went on the vaudeville circuit with her sketch "Moving Pictures" based on her movie-acting experience.[15]

Businesswoman and death

Sadler retired from show business in 1918 in order to run her husband's (at this point no longer Mr. Lennox, but a Mr. Geddes) electrical research business, subsequent to his death.[15] She was now known as Josephine S. Geddes.[15] Although she was uneducated in business or in electrical science, she did the bookkeeping and ran the daily operations with the assistance of her son, William Geddes.[15] The career transition was reported to be successful, she credited her show-business background with giving her the ability to judge people's characters quickly, and with instilling her with resourcefulness and perseverance.[15] She also gave credit to her husband's business friends and her employees who readily assisted her.[15] Sadler credited herself with using her sense of humor to improve the mood of the workplace.[15] She died in 1927.[4]

Personal life

Sadler's hobbies included cooking, and she was known to try new recipes of her own invention on her fellow actors.[15] She also prized her collection of autographed photos gathered from her fellow actors.[15] She was married at least twice, and had one son, William Geddes, who followed her both on the stage and into the electrical business.[15]

Filmography
Year Title Role
1913 "Omens and Oracles"[18] Madame Miriam[21]
"The Midget's Revenge"[18] –
"The Forgotten Latchkey"[18] Bridget, the maid[22]
"The Coming of Gretchen"[18] –
"The Curse of the Golden Land"[18] –
"The Feudists"[18] –
"The Honorable Algernon"[18] –
"John Tobin's Sweetheart" –
"A Regiment of Two" –
"When Glasses Are Not Glasses"[23] –
1914 "Bunny Backslides"[4] –
"Diana's Dress Reform"[18] –
"Dr. Polly"[18] –
"The Sacrifice of Kathleen"[18] –
"Wanted, a House"[18] –
"Setting the Style"[18] –
"The Arrival of Josie"[24] Josie
"Romantic Josie"[24] Josie
"Josie's Declaration of Independence"[24] Josie
"Josie's Coney Island Nightmare"[24] Josie
"Josie's Legacy"[24] Josie
1915 "What Happened to Jones?"[24] Helma

Discography

Sadler's recordings appeared in the market in 1908. Columbia Records was the first to issue records by her, and four Sadler records were ultimately issued. Jim Walsh considered them to be of inferior quality compared to her other recordings.[1] Victor first announced Sadler recordings for sale March, 1909.[1] Paired with "Tipperary" by Billy Murray on Victor 16783, Sadler's recording of "Hilda Loses her Job", a comedy routine with an uncredited[25] Len Spencer remained in the Victor catalogue until 1923.[1] Her recordings consist of comedic singing, intermittent patter, and monologues.[1] Sadler also made cylinder records for Edison beginning in mid-1909.[15] Her records did not sell very well, Walsh speculates that her routines lacked variety, and that her "Dutch" German dialect, used in most of her recordings but not all,[15] was difficult to decipher.[1] Her biggest stage hit "If I Could Only Get Some Sleep" was recorded for Victor December 31, 1908, but never released.[26]

Year Title Label Catalog no. Notes
1908 "I'd Like to Make a Smash Mit You" Columbia 3815[27] 10" 78rpm single-sided
A581[27] 10" 78rpm double-sided
"Come and Hear the Orchestra" Columbia 3901[28] 10" 78rpm single-sided
A582[28] 10" 78rpm double-sided
"A Little German Trouble" Columbia A596[29] 10" 78rpm double-sided
"One Good Turn Deserves Another" Columbia A604[30] 10" 78rpm double-sided
"What's the Use of Working" Victor 5669[31] 10" 78rpm single-sided
1909 "He Falls for the Ladies Every Time" Edison 10179 [32] 2-minute wax cylinder
"Come and Hear the Orchestra" Edison 184 [15] 4-minute wax cylinder
"Lena from Germany" Edison 10198 [15] 2-minute wax cylinder
"One Good Turn Deserves Another" Edison 10229 [15] 2-minute wax cylinder
"BL-ND and P-G" Edison 10267 [15] 2-minute wax cylinder
"He Falls for the Ladies Every Time" Victor 5702[33] 10" 78rpm single-sided
16784[33] 10" 78rpm double-sided
"Come and Hear the Orchestra" Victor 5719[34] 10" 78rpm single-sided
"One Good Turn Deserves Another" Victor 5717[35] 10" 78rpm single-sided
"I'd Like to Make a Smash Mit You" Victor 5762[36] 10" 78rpm single-sided
"Heinie Waltzed Round on His Hickory Limb" Victor 5729[37] 10" 78rpm single-sided
"Beerland" Victor 16486[38] 10" 78rpm double-sided
"Hilda Loses Her Job" Victor 5749[25] 10" 78rpm single-sided
16783[25] 10" 78rpm double-sided
1910 "The German Fifth" Edison 438 [15] 4-minute wax cylinder
"How Can You Love Such a Man" Edison 10420 [15] 2-minute wax cylinder

References
  1. Walsh, Jim (May 1963). "Six Comediennes: Josie Sadler, Part I". Hobbies. Vol. 68 no. 3. Chicago: Lightner Publishing Corporation. pp. 33–36.
  2. Mosher, Jerry Dean (2007). Weighty Ambitions: Fat Actors and Figurations in American Cinema, 1910 – 1960. ProQuest. p. 85. ISBN 9780549506072.
  3. Brown, Thomas Allston (1903). A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, Volume 3. Dodd, Mead. p. 290.
  4. Massa, Steve (2013). Lame Brains & Lunatics: The Good, the Bad, and the Forgotten of Silent Comedy. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media. pp. 88–91. ISBN 1-59393-268-5.
  5. Mosher, Jerry Dean (2007). Weighty Ambitions: Fat Actors and Figurations in American Cinema, 1910 – 1960. ProQuest. p. 84. ISBN 9780549506072.
  6. Brown, Thomas Allston (1903). A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, Volume 3. Dodd, Mead. p. 570.
  7. Brown, Thomas Allston (1903). A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, Volume 3. Dodd, Mead. p. 389.
  8. Brown, Thomas Allston (1903). A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, Volume 3. Dodd, Mead. p. 301.
  9. Strang, Lewis C. (1900). Famous Prima Donnas. Boston: L. C. Page & Co. p. 142.
  10. Brown, Thomas Allston (1903). A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, Volume 3. Dodd, Mead. pp. 610–611.
  11. Brown, Thomas Allston (1903). A History of the New York Stage from the First Performance in 1732 to 1901, Volume 3. Dodd, Mead. p. 611.
  12. "The Stage". Munsey's Magazine. Vol. 30 no. 2. November 1903. p. 308.
  13. Golden, Eve (2007). Vernon and Irene Castle's Ragtime Revolution. p. University Press of Kentucky. ISBN 9780813172699.
  14. Ankerich, Michael G. (2012). Mae Murray: The Girl with the Bee-Stung Lips. University Press of Kentucky. p. 319. ISBN 9780813140384.
  15. Walsh, Jim (June 1963). "Six Comediennes: Josie Sadler, Part II". Hobbies. Vol. 68 no. 4. Chicago: Lightner Publishing Corporation. pp. 33–34.
  16. "The Theatres". The Reform Advocate. Vol. 41 no. 12. Chicago, Illinois: Bloch & Newman. May 6, 1911. p. 575.
  17. Bloom, Ken (2013). Broadway: An Encyclopedia. Routledge. p. 387. ISBN 9781135950194.
  18. Slide, Anthony (1987). The Big V: A History of the Vitagraph Company. Metuchan, New Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. pp. 149–150. ISBN 0-8108-2030-7.
  19. Mosher, Jerry Dean (2007). Weighty Ambitions: Fat Actors and Figurations in American Cinema, 1910 – 1960. ProQuest. p. 52. ISBN 9780549506072.
  20. "The New Plays". Theatre Magazine. Vol. 23 no. 183. New York City: The Theatre Magazine Co. May 1916. p. 275.
  21. "Vitagraph Co., LTD.,". The Cinema News and Property Gazette. Vol. 4 no. 40. London. July 16, 1913. p. 120.
  22. "Vitagraph Co., LTD.,". The Cinema News and Property Gazette. Vol. 4 no. 44. London. August 13, 1913. p. 139.
  23. "Answer Department". Motion Picture. Vol. 6 no. 12. Brooklyn, New York. January 1914. p. 142.
  24. Massa, Steve (2013). Lame Brains & Lunatics: The Good, the Bad, and the Forgotten of Silent Comedy. Albany, Georgia: BearManor Media. p. 367. ISBN 1-59393-268-5.
  25. University of California Santa Barbara. "Victor matrix B-8043. Hilda loses her job / Josie Sadler," accessed April 3, 2017. Discography of American Historical Recordings
  26. University of California Santa Barbara. "Victor matrix B-6695. If I could get some sleep / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 19, 2017
  27. "Columbia matrix 3901. I'd like to make a smash mit you / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California Santa Barbara.
  28. "Columbia matrix 3901. Come and hear the orchestra / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California Santa Barbara.
  29. "Columbia matrix 3931. A little German trouble / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California Santa Barbara.
  30. "Columbia matrix 3934. One good turn deserves another / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California Santa Barbara.
  31. "Victor matrix B-6696. What's the use of working / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings.
  32. Hoffman, Frank (2016). Chronology of American Popular Music, 1900–2000. Routledge. p. 25. ISBN 9781135868864.
  33. "Victor matrix B-7008. He falls for the ladies every time / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California Santa Barbara.
  34. "Victor matrix B-7009. Come and hear the orchestra / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California Santa Barbara.
  35. "Victor matrix B-7010. One good turn deserves another / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California Santa Barbara.
  36. "Victor matrix B-8044. I'd like to make a smash mit you / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California Santa Barbara.
  37. "Victor matrix B-8045. Heinie waltzed round on his hickory limb / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California Santa Barbara.
  38. "Victor matrix B-8046. Beerland / Josie Sadler". Discography of American Historical Recordings. University of California Santa Barbara.
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