Sam Stern

(American-born Hebrew comedian and dialect singer, songwriter, actor. (b. New York 1883 - d. ????] Sam Stern made his stage debut with a Jewish repertory company in Chicago in 1901 but soon afterwards turned to vaudeville. He worked largely in Great Britain from 1910, but also toured South Africa (1914/1919), before coming to Australia in 1921 for Fullers’ Theatres. Stern was still working in Australia professionally as late as 1956. His first decade in the country saw him work largely for the Fullers, Harry Clay and the Tivoli circuit. He also made a number of sound recordings and started performing on radio in 1925. He later appeared in a sound film, toured with F. Gayle Wyer’s Bandbox Co, George Sorlie, Ed Warrington and Ike Delavale among others, continued writing and performing his own songs, and from the 1940s also specialised in ‘legitimate’ theatre.