Bessie Bown Ricker
Bessie Bown Ricker | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bessie Digby Bown January 4, 1872 Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 30, 1953 (age 81) Saint Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupations | Vaudeville performer, elocutionist |
Bessie Digby Bown Ricker (January 4, 1872 – June 30, 1953) was an American performer popular on the vaudeville stage, "one of the best known entertainers in St. Louis."[1] Her specialties were impersonating child characters in monologues, and giving readings of children's stories and verse. She went to France during World War I to entertain American troops there.[1]
Early life and education
Bown was born in Wheeling, West Virginia, and raised in Kirkwood, Missouri, the daughter of W. J. H. Bown and Mary Digby Bown. Her father worked at a coffee and spice company. She studied at the Columbia School of Oratory in Chicago, and worked with singer Carrie Jacobs Bond.[1]
Career
Ricker gave poetry readings and impersonations, especially of child characters,[2] but also sang, danced, acted and wrote for the stage for over forty years.[3][4] In 1918 she went overseas with the YMCA, to entertain American troops in World War I.[1] She made three recordings of recitations for the Victor label in 1923.[5] She co-directed an amateur entertainment to benefit a scholarship fund in Saint Louis in 1926.[6] She was an active member of the Wednesday Club in Saint Louis.[7][8]
Personal life
Bown married businessman William L. Ricker. She died in 1953, at the age of 81, in Saint Louis, Missouri.[9][10]
References
- ^ a b c d "The Secret of Mrs. Bessie Bown Ricker's Success is that She never Forgot How to be a Child". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1930-07-27. p. 68. Retrieved 2025-01-16 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ National American Musical Convention and Chautauqua Promoted in the Interests of American Music and Musicians. 1917.
- ^ "Bessie Bown Ricker" Music News 19(June 24, 1927): 33.
- ^ "Grown Ups Like Kid Verse, Says Bessie Bown Ricker". The Buffalo Times. 1922-10-01. p. 70. Retrieved 2025-01-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bessie Bown Ricker". Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 2025-01-16.
- ^ Spamer, Richard (1926-03-20). "Morning Choral Club Delights Large Crowd with 'Tout Ensemble'". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-01-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Forty Years of Wednesday Club History Dramatized". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1949-04-10. p. 88. Retrieved 2025-01-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Taj Mahal Poem to be Staged by Wednesday Club". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1945-04-15. p. 24. Retrieved 2025-01-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Funeral Services Held for Mrs. Bessie Ricker". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 1953-07-02. p. 25. Retrieved 2025-01-17 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Mrs. Bessie Ricker, Ex-Entertainer, Dies". St. Louis Globe-Democrat. 1953-07-02. p. 3. Retrieved 2025-01-17 – via Newspapers.com.
External links
- A 1911 photograph of Bessie Bown Ricker, from the Sayre Collection at the University of Washington