Cal Stewart

Cal Stewart (b. 1856 Charlotte County, Virginia, d. December 7, 1919) was an American comedian and humorist who pioneered in vaudeville and early sound recordings. He is best remembered for his comic monologues in which he played "Uncle Josh Weathersby", a resident of a mythical New England farming town called "Pumpkin Center" or "Punkin Center".

Cal Stewart
C. 1905 portrait of Stewart from "Uncle Josh's Punkin Centre Stories"
Born	1856 Charlotte County, Virginia
Died	December 7, 1919
Medium	Vaudeville, audio recordings
Nationality	American
Genres	Anecdotal comedy, character comedy
Notable works and roles	Uncle Josh Weathersby

Cal Stewart as Uncle Josh Weathersby, circa 1900

Biography

Born in Charlotte County, Virginia in 1856, he spent his early days working on the railroad with show business as a side business. After losing a finger and two toes in an accident, he quit the railroad and focused on show business.^[1] By 1897, Stewart began recording for the phonograph companies starting with Berliner. He began to develop the character of Uncle Josh and the other citizens of Pumpkin Center further on his phonographic recordings.^[1] He wrote the song "Ticklish Reuben" in 1900.^[2] Stewart continued recording on Edison, Columbia, Victor, and independent labels up until his death on December 7, 1919.^[3][4] He also wrote two books based on his monologues and performed in theaters across America with his wife Rossini Vrionides and her brother and sister.^[4] He is buried in Fairview Cemetery in Tipton, Indiana.^[5] Stewart is represented on the 2007 compilation Actionable Offenses: Indecent Phonograph Recordings from the 1890s and The Indestructible Uncle Josh.^[6][7] One his many renditions of the Uncle Josh and the Insurance Company routine was added to the National Recording Registry in 2006.^[7]

References

1. Feaster, Patrick (2013). Cal Stewart: The Indestructible Uncle Josh. Archeophone Records. pp. 3–8.
2. Russel, Tony (2021). Rural Rhythm: The Story of Old-Time Country Music in 78 Records. Oxford University Press. p. 81. ISBN 9780190091200.
3. "Cal Stewart". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2023-10-30.
4. McNutt, Randy. ""Uncle Josh and the Insurance Company"—Cal Stewart (1904), Added to the National Registry: 2006" (PDF). Library of Congress.
5. McNutt, Randy (2011). Cal Stewart, Your Uncle Josh: America's King of Rural Comedy. iUniverse. pp. xix. ISBN 9781462043477.
6. Rosen, Jody (2007-07-08). "There Once Was a Record of Smut ..." The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-31.
7. "Cal Stewart: The Indestructible Uncle Josh". Archeophone Records. Retrieved 2023-10-31.

External links

• Works by Cal Stewart at Project Gutenberg
• Works by or about Cal Stewart at the Internet Archive
• Works by Cal Stewart at LibriVox (public domain audiobooks)
• Cal Stewart cylinder recordings, from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive at the University of California, Santa Barbara Library.
• Cal Stewart Fan Site (includes digitized version of his book)
• Cal Stewart recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings.
• 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.