Vaudeville Entertainer. She and her sisters Addie, Jessie and Lizzie were raised on an Iowa farm in Marion County near Cedar Rapids. After the death of their parents, they were forced to turn to show business. From 1893 until 1917, they toured regularily on the Vaudeville circuit, singing songs they wrote, reciting poetry and performing an original operetta. They were so bad, they were good. Audiences enjoyed hissing, booing and throwing fruit at them. Yet, they persevered. In 1896 they played to sold out houses at Oscar Hammerstein's Olympia Theater on Broadway in New York City for four weeks. When a critic in Iowa wrote a scathing review of their performance, they sued for libel. The Iowa Suprese Court ruled against their appeal, establishing the "fair comment and criticism" principle of libel law. When World War I broke out, they retired to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where they opened a bakery that specialized in cherry pies. They died penniless.
Vaudeville Entertainer. She and her sisters Addie, Jessie and Lizzie were raised on an Iowa farm in Marion County near Cedar Rapids. After the death of their parents, they were forced to turn to show business. From 1893 until 1917, they toured regularily on the Vaudeville circuit, singing songs they wrote, reciting poetry and performing an original operetta. They were so bad, they were good. Audiences enjoyed hissing, booing and throwing fruit at them. Yet, they persevered. In 1896 they played to sold out houses at Oscar Hammerstein's Olympia Theater on Broadway in New York City for four weeks. When a critic in Iowa wrote a scathing review of their performance, they sued for libel. The Iowa Suprese Court ruled against their appeal, establishing the "fair comment and criticism" principle of libel law. When World War I broke out, they retired to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where they opened a bakery that specialized in cherry pies. They died penniless.
Bio by: Gary Thelen
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