Charles Ross Taggart
Encyclopedia
Charles Ross Taggart was an American
comedian
and folklorist
who appeared all over North America as "The Man From Vermont" and "The Old Country Fiddler" from 1895-1938. On the Chautauqua
circuit, he would perform folk music on his violin, sing, play the piano, do ventriloquism, and tell outlandish stories that supposedly took place in rural New England
. Taggart retired from performing less than a year after suffering a stroke in 1937.
Taggart grew up in Topsham, Vermont, later living in Newbury for many years, in a house he called "Elmbank," which overlooked the railroad depot.
He would make over 40 recordings of his "Old Country Fiddler" and "Pineville Folks" monologues with various labels, starting in the 1910s, including Edison, Victor, Columbia, and Brunswick.
Lee DeForest filmed Taggart for a short film "The Old Country Fiddler at the Singing School" made in the DeForest Phonofilm
sound-on-film
process. The film was shown to an invited audience on 12 April 1923 at the Engineering Society Auditorium, and premiered 15 April 1923 at the Rialto Theater in New York City
with 17 other films made in the Phonofilm process. This film is now in the Maurice Zouary collection at the Library of Congress
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
comedian
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
and folklorist
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
who appeared all over North America as "The Man From Vermont" and "The Old Country Fiddler" from 1895-1938. On the Chautauqua
Chautauqua
Chautauqua was an adult education movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...
circuit, he would perform folk music on his violin, sing, play the piano, do ventriloquism, and tell outlandish stories that supposedly took place in rural New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
. Taggart retired from performing less than a year after suffering a stroke in 1937.
Taggart grew up in Topsham, Vermont, later living in Newbury for many years, in a house he called "Elmbank," which overlooked the railroad depot.
He would make over 40 recordings of his "Old Country Fiddler" and "Pineville Folks" monologues with various labels, starting in the 1910s, including Edison, Victor, Columbia, and Brunswick.
Lee DeForest filmed Taggart for a short film "The Old Country Fiddler at the Singing School" made in the DeForest Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
process. The film was shown to an invited audience on 12 April 1923 at the Engineering Society Auditorium, and premiered 15 April 1923 at the Rialto Theater in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with 17 other films made in the Phonofilm process. This film is now in the Maurice Zouary collection at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
External links
- Charles Ross Taggart at IMDB
- Charles Ross Taggart at SilentEra
- Short biography of Taggart
- Link to clips of Taggart's music
- http://memory.loc.gov/learn/collections/travel/langarts.htmlLink to Library of CongressLibrary of CongressThe Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
entry on Taggart and Chautauqua circuit]