Ben Welch
Italian & Hebrew Characterizations / 1900s
Ben Welch, brother of Joe Welch, had the same kind of “Hebe” act,
only with a character less distinctly morose and pessimistic.
Born around 1877 in New York’s Lower East Side, the son of
German immigrants he, like his brother (and so many others) got
a lot of mileage out of playing comical Jews, Germans and Italians.
While Joe’s act was well remembered, Ben lived a couple of decades
longer, so the researcher is able to uncover more material on him.
Carolyn Caffin in her invaluable 1914 book Vaudeville praises
Welch for his economy of movement and his naturalistic approach to
his character (even if both Welch’s character and Caffin’s appraisal
both carry with them whiffs of anti-Semitism.
Welch worked in both burlesque and vaudeville and had numerous partners
over the years, the last of whom Frank Murphy was not only Welch’s
straight man but also his seeing eye dog. According to the New York Times,
Welch went blind onstage in 1921. It was necessary for him to keep working
so he pretended he could still see for the duration of the act, with Murphy
leading him on and offstage. Welch passed away in 1940.
(from No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous)
