Copyright © 2020 by Wendy Waszut-Barrett
Early in 1923, Thomas G. Moses was in Indiana trying to drum up work for Sosman & Landis. He wrote, “Went to Evansville, Indiana, and closed a small $1,200.00 order. On March 13th went to Terre Haute and caught a train for Buffalo, had a little trouble on account of the cold weather and snow.” At this same time, Fred, the son of studio founder Joseph S. Sosman, was also traipsing across the state of Indiana in a vaudeville act. Moses had worked with Fred in the Sosman & Landis shops for years, instructing the young man in landscape painting. It didn’t take.
On April 16, 1890, Sosman married Maria (also, May or Mary) Pinney Jones (1858-1947), adopting her two sons from a previous marriage to Benjamin Hodge Jones. At the time Arthur Burton Jones (1878-1929) was twelve years old and his brother and Frederic Pinney Jones (1882-1946) was only eight years old. Over the years, Sosman provided for the boys and repeatedly attempted to train them into the family business, but it never took, as their passions remained elsewhere. By the age of twenty-six, Fred was touring a solo act as part of the amateur line-up in many venues. On April 4, 1908, he performed at the Orpheum in Los Angeles (Los Angeles Herald). On May 29, 1908, he performed on amateur night at Chutes Theatre in San Francisco.
By 1914, Sosman was part of the Keith Circuit and advertised as “King of the Cabaret.” On June 9 of that year, the “Detroit Free Press” reported, “With a whole flock of new ‘Broadway Hits,” Fred Sosman, justly styled ‘King of the Cabaret” comes to Edelweiss for a limited summer engagement. Many vaudeville devotees will recall Mr. Sosman as a Keith headliner, for it was not so long ago that Sosman adorned the boards along with Bert Williams and other celebrities. Fred Sosman has the ability which folks along New York’s ‘Big White Lane’ term the ‘Speed ‘em Up Stuff.” You can’t keep from shuffling your feet when Sosman is working. Mr. Sosman’s entertainment does not consist of coarse comedy. His fun is of the clear, sparkling kind – in short, the work of an artist. The ‘King of Cabaret’ handles dialect work as cleverly as straightaway stuff and, during his Edelweiss stay will feature some humorous talking songs.”
Reviews were not always glowing for Fred. On August 27, 1915, he was mentioned in the “Stage Jottings” section of the Terre Haute’s “Daily Tribune.” He was performing at the Hippodrome and the review noted, “Fred Sosman has a couple of very good songs which he reserves for the finish of his otherwise so-so act.” It may have been the critic, or the timing. Two weeks earlier his stepfather passed away. The death of Joseph S. Sosman left both his business and personal affairs in dire circumstances. Until his passing, no one truly understood the financial balls that Sosman had continued to juggle over the years, or the dire financial circumstances despite booming business.
Upon his passing, Moses was elected president of the firm, with Sosman’s eldest son Arthur becoming vice-president. In 1915, Moses wrote, “It is very strange to me that I had never given this change of the business a thought. I had never thought of Sosman dying.” No one did and all of their lives were tied to the same business. Although Arthur was elected as vice-president, he didn’t last long at Sosman & Landis. Three years later, Moses and Arthur left the company. Although Moses would return, Arthur did not; he began working as a salesman elsewhere. Fred seems to have made a good choice by leaving the company early and joining the vaudeville game.
By 1920 Fred Sosman was a popular singer and comedian, advertised as “a lively boy with good shape and good clothes, and he, too, has a personality.”
In 1923, Fred Sosman was performing in an act with Gladys Sloan. On Feb 21, the “Indianapolis Star” reported:
“In Between Dances,” a comedy act presented at the Lyric this week by Fred Sosman & Gladys Sloan, is a combination of repartee and songs. Mr. Sosman and Miss Sloan recently entered vaudeville after extended engagements at the Moulin Rouge and Café DeParnee, New York, and the Marigold Gardens, Chicago. Miss Sloan was formerly engaged in concert work. Mr. Sosman is the son of Sosman of the famous firm of scenic artists Sosman & Landis. For several years he specialized in landscape painting, and has been awarded prizes for his work at exhibits in New York, Chicago and London.”
His relationship with Sloan was short, as he married someone else that fall.
To be continued…
