About

Known credits:
50
Birthday:
1868-03-27
Place of birth:
New York City, New York, USA
Website:
N/A

Joseph Cawthorn

Overview

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.

Known for

Acting
1942 The Postman Didn't Ring Actor Silas Harwood N/A
N/A
1941 So Ends Our Night Actor Leopold Potzloch 58
Average
1940 Scatterbrain Actor Nicholas Raptis N/A
N/A
1940 Lillian Russell Actor Leopold Damrosch 58
Average
1936 Crime Over London Actor Mr. Sherwood / Reilly 59
Average
1936 Hot Money Actor Max Dourfuss 59
Average
1936 One Rainy Afternoon Actor Monique's Father 58
Average
1936 Brides Are Like That Actor Fred Schultz 58
Average
1936 The Great Ziegfeld Actor Dr. Ziegfeld 59
Average
1936 Freshman Love Actor Wilson, Sr. 59
Average
1935 Harmony Lane Actor Professor Henry Kleber 58
Average
1935 Page Miss Glory Actor Mr. Freischutz 59
Average
1935 Bright Lights Actor Oscar Schlemmer 58
Average
1935 Smart Girl Actor Karl Krausemeyer N/A
N/A
1935 Naughty Marietta Actor Herr 'Schumie' Schuman 58
Average
1935 Gold Diggers of 1935 Actor August Schultz 59
Average
1935 Sweet Music Actor Sidney Selzer 59
Average
1935 Maybe It's Love Actor Adolph Sr. 59
Average
1934 Sweet Adeline Actor Oscar Schmidt 59
Average
1934 Music in the Air Actor Hans Uppman 58
Average
1934 Young and Beautiful Actor Herman Cline 58
Average
1934 The Human Side Actor Fritz Speigal N/A
N/A
1934 Housewife Actor Krueger (as Joe Cawthorne) 59
Average
1934 Twenty Million Sweethearts Actor Herbert Brokman 59
Average
1934 The Last Gentleman Actor Dr. Wilson 58
Average
1934 Lazy River Actor Mr. Julius Ambrose 59
Average
1933 Broken Dreams Actor Pop 59
Average
1933 Best of Enemies Actor Gus Schneider N/A
N/A
1933 Blondie Johnson Actor Jewelry Store Manager (as Joe Cawthorn) 59
Average
1933 Grand Slam Actor Alex Alexandrovitch 58
Average
1933 Whistling in the Dark Actor Barfuss 58
Average
1932 Men Are Such Fools Actor Werner (as Joseph Cawthorne) N/A
N/A
1932 They Call It Sin Actor Mr. Hollister 59
Average
1932 Love Me Tonight Actor Dr. Armand de Fontinac 59
Average
1932 White Zombie Actor Dr. Bruner 58
Average
1931 Peach-o-Reno Actor Joe Bruno 59
Average
1931 The Runaround Actor Lou 59
Average
1931 A Tailor-Made Man Actor Huber N/A
N/A
1931 Kiki Actor Alfred Rapp 58
Average
1930 The Princess and the Plumber Actor Merkl N/A
N/A
1930 Dixiana Actor Cornelius Van Horn, Carl's Father 58
Average
1929 Dance Hall Actor Bremmer 58
Average
1929 Jazz Heaven Actor Herman Kemple 58
Average
1929 The Taming of the Shrew Actor Gremio 59
Average
1929 Street Girl Actor Keppel - Cafe Owner 59
Average
1929 Speakeasy Actor Yokel 58
Average
1928 Hold 'Em Yale Actor Professor George Bradbury 59
Average
1927 Silk Legs Actor Ezra Fulton N/A
N/A
1927 Very Confidential Actor Donald Allen N/A
N/A
1927 Two Girls Wanted Actor Philip Hancock N/A
N/A