Charlie J. Ross

Charles J. Ross
Library of Congress
Born	February 18, 1859(1859-02-18) Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	June 15, 1918(1918-06-15) (aged 59) Asbury Park, New Jersey, U.S.A.
Occupation	Vaudeville entertainer

Charlie J. Ross (1859–1918) was a Canadian-American vaudeville entertainer who along with his wife, Mabel Fenton, became popular for their parodies of classical plays.^[1]

Birth

Charles Joseph Kelly (aka Charles J.Ross) was born on the 18th of February, 1859.^[2] to William and Caroline (née Brown) Kelly at Montreal, Quebec, where his father was employed as a carpenter.^[3]

Early career

Ross began as a circus entertainer with P. T. Barnum before his stage debut on the 5th of April, 1885 at Miner’s Bowery Theatre in Manhattan as a singer and impersonator. Next he performed with Herman’s Transatlantics in a variety act at the Atlantic Gardens Bowery Theatre.^[4] Over the next few years Ross would develop his talent as a farce comedian playing with vaudeville companies in New York and on the road.^[5]

Marriage and later career

Ross married actress Ada Towne (aka Mabel Fenton) on the 9th of June during a stopover at Deadwood, South Dakota amidst an 1887 vaudeville tour of the American West. The couple soon created the act Ross and Fenton and within two years became a staple of the Weber and Fields Company in New York performing their farce productions of classic and popular plays of the day. Ross later formed his own company and continued to perform well into the early decades of the twentieth century. In the late 1890s Ross and his wife opened Ross Fenton Farm, a resort hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey that also doubled as their primary residence. For a number of years Ross Fenton Farm was a popular mecca for New York area artist and entertainers.^[6][7]

Ross Fenton Farm (ca. 1900)

Death

Library of Congress (ca. 1890s)

Charlie J. Ross died on June 15, 1918 at Ross Fenton Farm after a long illness and failed operation. He was survived by his wife of thirty-one years.

Mabel Fenton

Ada May Towne was born on March 29, 1865 in Van Buren County, Michigan, a daughter of Ralf Waterman and Mary Ellen (née Garnsey) Towne.^[8][9] Though known principally as a vaudeville player, she also had performed on the legitimate stage and with her husband appeared in at least two films. The first, Death of Nancy Sykes, was filmed in 1897^[10] at the dawn of the birth of motion pictures. Ada Ross died on April 19, 1931 at Los Angeles, California at the age of 66.^[11]

See also

• List of people from Montreal

References

1. ^ The New York Times – June 15, 1918
2. ^ The New York Times – June 15, 1918
3. ^ Quebec Vital and Church Records (Drouin Collection), 1621-1967
4. ^ The New York Times – June 15, 1918
5. ^ ho's who on the stage: the dramatic reference book and biographical ... edited by Walter Browne, Frederick Arnold Austin
6. ^ The New York Times – April 20, 1931
7. ^ 1900 US Census Records
8. ^ Towne Family Genealogy
9. ^ The actors' birthday book: 2d series. An authoritative insight into the ... By Johnson Briscoe
10. ^ IMDb.com
11. ^ The New York Times – April 20, 1931

Persondata
Name	Ross, Charlie J.
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	February 18, 1859
Place of birth	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Date of death	June 15, 1918
Place of death	Asbury Park, New Jersey, U.S.A.