View source for Emma Carus

{{short description|American actress}}

[[File:Emma Carus 1.jpg|right|thumb|250px|''Who's Who On The Stage''; 1906]]

'''Emma Carus''' (March 18, 1879&nbsp;&ndash; November 18, 1927) was an American [[contralto]] singer from New York City who was in the cast of the original [[Ziegfeld Follies]] in 1907.

She frequently sang in [[vaudeville]] and sometimes in [[Broadway theater|Broadway]] features.<ref name=broadway>''Emma Carus Seen In The Wife Hunters'', November 3, 1911, pg. 11.</ref> One columnist described her as "a sort of combination of [[Sophie Tucker]] and [[Fay Templeton]] with a little of [[Eva Tanguay]] and [[Eddie Foy]] thrown in for good measure."<ref>"Emma Carus Herself To Feature The Bill That Opens The New Year At The Palace This Afternoon",
''Fort Wayne Journal-Gazette'', Thursday Morning, January 2, 1919, pg. 13.</ref>

==Vocalist in theater==
[[File:EmmaCarus1916.png|thumb|Emma Carus, from a 1916 publication.]]
She appeared in the drama ''Rally Round the Flag'' at the [[Union Square Theatre]] in August 1897.<ref>"The Roof Garden Shows", ''The New York Times'', August 17, 1897, pg. 4.</ref> The venue at 50 East [[14th Street (Manhattan)|14th Street]] was owned by [[Benjamin Franklin Keith]] and [[Edward Franklin Albee II]], who purchased the theater in 1893 to host vaudeville performances.<ref>[http://cinematreasures.org/theater/12399/ Cinema Treasures, Union Square Theater.] Retrieved on 12-24-07.</ref> Carus was described as a
ballad singer prior to her performance at the Olympia Roof Garden,<ref name=event>"Notes Of The Week", ''The New York Times'', September 12, 1897, pg. 20.</ref> [[Broadway (Manhattan)]] between 44th Street and 45th Street,<ref>[http://www.musicals101.com/bwaypast3.htm#Music Demolished Broadway Theaters G-He, Mammerstein's Victoria.] Retrieved on 12-24-07.</ref> in September 1897.<ref name=event/> The following month she shared a program at the Pleasure Palace with the Dunbar Sisters and [[Henry E. Dixey]].<ref>"Notes Of The Week", ''The New York Times'', October 24, 1897, pg. 21.</ref> The entertainment hall was managed by [[Frederick Freeman Proctor]] and was located on East Fifty-Eighth Street between [[Third Avenue (Manhattan-Bronx)]] and [[Lexington Avenue (Manhattan)]].<ref>''Manager Proctor's New Theatre'', ''The New York Times'', July 28, 1895, pg. 11.</ref>

A varied lineup of acts was presented by [[Sam T. Jack]]'s Theatre,<ref name=sam>"Notes Of The Week", ''The New York Times'', June 12, 1898, pg. 9.</ref> [[Madison Street (Chicago)]], [[State Street (Chicago)]], Chicago,<ref>[https://www.streetswing.com/histclub/a1s.htm  StreetSwing.com Dance History Archives.] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303211512/https://www.streetswing.com/histclub/a1s.htm |date=March 3, 2016 }} Retrieved on 12-24-07.</ref>  in June 1898. Carus joined Troja, [[Jennie Yeamans]], and the Washburn sisters on a bill.<ref name=sam/>

In October 1905 Carus appeared on Broadway at Proctor's [[Fifth Avenue (Manhattan)]] Theatre. This was her first Broadway engagement since a show at the
Wistaria Grove,<ref name=grove>"Concerts At Proctor's", ''The New York Times'', October 29, 1905, pg. 25.</ref> which was located on the roof of the [[Olympia Theatre (New York)|New York Theatre]].<ref>"Roof Gardens and Summer Theatrical Offerings", ''The New York Times'', Sunday, June 11, 1905, pg. X4.</ref>

The ''Follies of 1907'' took place at the [[Jardin de Paris (New York City)|Jardin de Paris]] on the roofs of the [[Olympia Theatre (New York)|New York Theatre]] and the [[Criterion Theatre]]. Produced by [[Florenz Ziegfeld]], a large audience observed the thirteen parts, which were vaudeville acts. Carus headed a cast that was supported by a chorus quite similar to an earlier one that assisted  [[Anna Held]] in ''The Paris Model''.<ref>"Follies of 1907", ''The New York Times'', July 9, 1907, pg. 7.</ref>

She was in a production of ''The Wife Hunters'', a musical play in three acts, in which she sang in a ''pleasant, deep-throated way, and with a suggestion of a sense of humor of sentiment as occasion may require.'' Her comedy number was "Girls, Keep Your Figures". The [[Herald Square Theatre]],<ref name=broadway/> 1331 Broadway (29 West 35th Street),<ref>[http://www.ibdb.com/venue.aspx?id=1199 IBDB Herald Square Theatre.] Retrieved on 12-24-07.</ref>
produced the play which was based on a book by [[Edgar Allan Woolf]].<ref name=broadway/>

In 1911, Carus is said to have been largely responsible for helping introduce and popularize [[Irving Berlin]]'s first major hit song, "[[Alexander's Ragtime Band]]". In Chicago, it especially became identified with her, and soon it worked its way back to New York where [[Al Jolson]] picked it up and it quickly caught on in popularity.<ref>''As Thousands Cheer: The Life of Irving Berlin'' by Laurence Bergreen (Viking, 1990) p. 67</ref>

Carus sang at the [[Palace Theatre (Broadway)|Palace Theatre]] in a production which starred [[Bertha Kalich]] in March 1914. Also entertaining were the ''Beauties'' of [[Jesse Lasky]] and George White, noted for [[George White's Scandals]].<ref>"Amusements In General", ''The New York Times'', March 1, 1914, pg. X7.</ref>
Carus returned for a fourth year on the interstate vaudeville circuit in 1914. This time she was accompanied by a dance partner, Carl Randall. She
had a new stock of songs that included ''An Irish Suffragette''.<ref>"Majestic Has Star For Week", ''San Antonio Light'', May 3, 1914, pg. 21.</ref>

==Personal life==

Carus fainted at the Great Northern Hotel in Chicago, Illinois, after hearing of her lover's suicide in June 1897. James Burrows killed himself in
[[Nashville, Tennessee]], where he managed a theater.  Carus tried to commit suicide with a revolver after learning of Burrow's demise, but was prevented by her friends.  She believed that his mother tried to influence Burrows against her.<ref>"Miss Carus Tries Suicide", ''[[The New York Times]]'', July 1, 1897, pg. 2.</ref>

In April 1913 Carus secured a judgment against W. Lewis Stevens, a broker. Stevens and his partner, James W. Henning, were accused by her of embezzling more than $2,200 of her money for their own use when their company failed in 1910.<ref name=real>''Emma Carus Sues Broker'', ''[[The New York Times]]'', April 19, 1913, pg. 9.</ref> Stevens was arrested at the Iroquois Hotel,<ref name=real/> 49 West 44th Street, New York City.<ref>[http://www.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Iroquois+Hotel&fb=1&near=New+York,+NY&cd=1&ie=UTF8&latlng=40755451,-73981522,9178749605651756939&ei=qwhPR6vFKpOKiwGJu6GSAQ Iroquois Hotel Address and Interior Views.] Retrieved on 12-24-07.</ref>

She was an avid baseball fan who followed the New York Giants of [[John McGraw]]. Carus attended every [[World Series]] from 1905 until 1913.
In a [[Syndicated columnist|syndicated]] column she predicted wrongly the Giants to be victorious over the [[Philadelphia Athletics]] in the [[1913 World Series]].<ref>"Emma Carus Tells Why She Expects New York To Win Over Mackmen In World Series", ''Fort Wayne Sentinel'', August 19, 1913, pg. 8.</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Commons category-inline|Emma Carus}}
{{Portal|Biography}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{IMDb name|0142262}}
*[http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&channel=s&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=emma+carus+nypl&btnG=Search Photographic Images of Emma Carus] from the New York Public Library Digital Collection
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20080224142615/http://www.parlorsongs.com/issues/2004-1/thismonth/feature.asp Emma Carus] photo at parlorsongs.com, retrieved on 2–13–08.
* {{Find a Grave|13011}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carus, Emma}}
[[Category:1879 births]]
[[Category:1927 deaths]]
[[Category:American contraltos]]
[[Category:American musical theatre actresses]]
[[Category:Music hall performers]]
[[Category:Singers from New York City]]
[[Category:American vaudeville performers]]
[[Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)]]
[[Category:19th-century American actresses]]
[[Category:American stage actresses]]