Acting · New York City, New York, USA · Born March 27, 1868
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.
MovieThe Postman Didn't Ring
1942
as Silas Harwood
MovieSo Ends Our Night
1941
as Leopold Potzloch
MovieScatterbrain
1940
as Nicholas Raptis
MovieLillian Russell
1940
as Leopold Damrosch
MovieCrime Over London
1936
as Mr. Sherwood / Reilly
MovieHot Money
1936
as Max Dourfuss
MovieOne Rainy Afternoon
1936
as Monique's Father
MovieBrides Are Like That
1936
as Fred Schultz
MovieThe Great Ziegfeld
1936
as Dr. Ziegfeld
MovieFreshman Love
1936
as Wilson, Sr.
Beautiful Dreamer
1935
MovieHarmony Lane
1935
as Professor Henry Kleber
MoviePage Miss Glory
1935
as Mr. Freischutz
MovieBright Lights
1935
as Oscar Schlemmer
MovieSmart Girl
1935
as Karl Krausemeyer
MovieNaughty Marietta
1935
as Herr 'Schumie' Schuman
MovieGold Diggers of 1935
1935
as August Schultz
MovieSweet Music
1935
as Sidney Selzer
MovieMaybe It's Love
1935
as Adolph Sr.
MovieSweet Adeline
1934
as Oscar Schmidt
MovieMusic in the Air
1934
as Hans Uppman
MovieYoung and Beautiful
1934
as Herman Cline
MovieThe Human Side
1934
as Fritz Speigal
MovieHousewife
1934
as Krueger (as Joe Cawthorne)
MovieTwenty Million Sweethearts
1934
as Herbert Brokman
MovieThe Last Gentleman
1934
as Dr. Wilson
MovieLazy River
1934
as Mr. Julius Ambrose
MovieBroken Dreams
1933
as Pop
MovieBest of Enemies
1933
as Gus Schneider
MovieMade on Broadway
1933
as Maxie Schultz
MovieBlondie Johnson
1933
as Jewelry Store Manager (as Joe Cawthorn)
MovieGrand Slam
1933
as Alex Alexandrovitch
MovieWhistling in the Dark
1933
as Barfuss
MovieMen Are Such Fools
1932
as Werner (as Joseph Cawthorne)
MovieThey Call It Sin
1932
as Mr. Hollister
MovieLove Me Tonight
1932
as Dr. Armand de Fontinac
MovieWhite Zombie
1932
as Dr. Bruner
MoviePeach-o-Reno
1931
as Joe Bruno
MovieThe Runaround
1931
as Lou
MovieA Tailor-Made Man
1931
as Huber
MovieKiki
1931
as Alfred Rapp
MovieThe Princess and the Plumber
1930
as Merkl
MovieDixiana
1930
as Cornelius Van Horn, Carl's Father
MovieDance Hall
1929
as Bremmer
MovieJazz Heaven
1929
as Herman Kemple
MovieThe Taming of the Shrew
1929
as Gremio
MovieStreet Girl
1929
as Keppel - Cafe Owner
MovieSpeakeasy
1929
as Yokel
MovieHold 'Em Yale
1928
as Professor George Bradbury
MovieSilk Legs
1927
as Ezra Fulton
MovieVery Confidential
1927
as Donald Allen
MovieTwo Girls Wanted
1927
as Philip Hancock
MovieThe Secret Studio
1927
as Pa Merton
