Walter Newton Jones, better known as Walter Jones, (October 2, 1874- May 26, 1922) was an American actor, comedian, and singer who had an active performance career from 1886 through 1921. As a younger performer he was athletic, lanky, and slim but later developed into a large rotund man who specialized in comedic roles. He was married to the dancer and actress Blanche Deyo (1878-1933).
Jones began his performance career at the age of 12 as an acrobat and clown in the circus troupe the Cyclonic Vincents. He then performed briefly in blackface in minstrel shows before beginning his legitimate acting career in the theatre troupe of William A. Mestayer in which he performed from 1888-1891. In the early 1890s he toured nationally in vaudeville and in a variety of burlesque and musical comedy works. Scouted by the theatrical impresario Edward E. Rice, he joined the 1893 production of 1492 Up to Date in which he scored as the comic tramp character Charley Tatters. He made his Broadway debut in this part which had a lengthy run at Palmer's Theatre in 1893-1894. He became closely associated with portraying tramps on the stage; and toured nationally in his tramp persona for most of the mid to late 1890s.
After a five year absence from the New York stage, Jones returned to Broadway in 1899 as Continuous Proctor in the musical The Man in the Moon. He returned to Broadway in more than fifteen subsequent production over the next 22 years; encompassing both musicals and plays. His final Broadway appearance was in Wilson Collison and Avery Hopwood's 1921 play Getting Gertie's Garter. His greatest success in New York was as Jimmy Jinks in the hit play Baby Mine which ran on Broadway in 1910-1911 with a cast led by Jones and Marguerite Clark. He later reunited with Clark in the 1920 silent film Easy to Get. He only appeared in two other films during his career: the short film The Story of a Kiss (1912) and the feature film The Love Bandit (1924).
Life and career
The son of Dr. and Mrs. Isaac N. Jones,[1] Walter Newton Jones was born in Springfield, Ohio on October 2, 1874.[2][3] At the age of 12 he ran away from home to join the circus where he began his performance career as a clown and acrobat with the Cyclonic Vincents.[4][1] In his early career he also worked as an actor in blackface in minstrel shows.[5] In 1888 he toured in the role of Knox Dunlap in Charles Barnard and William A. Mestayer's musical farce We, Us, & Co..[6][7][8] This production began a four year period in which Jones toured in musical farces created by Mestayer; with other works including The Tourists and The Grab Bag.[5]
In February 1891 Jones appeared in the premiere of George C. Jenks's musical burlesque The United States Mail at Ford's Grand Opera House in Baltimore.[9] By November 1891, he had joined the cast of the touring production of Aunt Bridget's Baby in the role of Owen McFee; a work which starred female impersonator George W. Munroe in the title role.[10] He was still touring in that production as late as March 1982.[11] By the following May he was touring in Robert Griffin Morris's The Pulse of New York;[12] a work in which he portrayed four different comedic characters.[13]
He was working in vaudeville when he was scouted by the theatrical impresario Edward E. Rice.[4] Rice was the producer of Robert Barnet's 1492 in which Jones made his debut on the New York stage.[4] The show opened on Broadway on May 15, 1893, at Palmer's Theatre with Jones portrayed the roles of both Ferdinand of Aragon and the tramp Charley Tatters.[14] After this he became well known as a comedian on the stage performing as a tramp impersonator across the United States.[4]
In 1908 he married his second wife, Blanche Deyo.[16] They had one child, a daughter who died as a child. His ashes were dispersed into the same river Gravesend Bay his daughter's ashes had been.
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