Arthur Michael Tauchert (pronounced "Torcher") (21 August 1877 – 27 November 1933) was an Australian acrobatic comedian, dancer, singer, film actor, and star of the Australian silent movie, The Sentimental Bloke (1919).
Biography
Born in the inner Sydney suburb of Waterloo on 21 August 1877, Tauchert's career as an entertainer began in the early 1900s as a vaudeville comedian and over the next two decades he was associated with most of the leading managements firms of that era, including John Fuller, James Brennan, Ted Holland, Harry Clay, Bert Howard, J. C. Bain and Lennon, Hyman and Lennon.[1] Although he mostly worked a specialist solo act, Tauchert teamed up at various times with other comics, including Albert McKisson (ex-McKisson and Kearns), Bert Corrie, Ted Tutty, and Ern Delavale.
After the success of The Sentimental Bloke, Tauchert appeared in at least ten more films including Ginger Mick (1920), again based on the poems of C. J. Dennis. He continued to perform on the vaudeville stage during the remainder of the 1920s, often presenting an act based on his famous "Bill the Bloke" character. In the late 1920s and early 1930s he also appeared on radio.[2]
Very little historical attention has been directed towards Tauchert, despite the significant part he played in Australia's early film industry. It is clear that his contemporaries considered him to be among the country's top entertainers, however.[3] One prominent American singer, Lou London, even said of him: "I consider Arthur Tauchert one of the most original individuals I have met; he is also one of the best-dispositioned men I have ever had the pleasure of working alongside.' London backed his opinion shortly before returning home by giving Tauchert the exclusive Australasian rights to all the songs he had worked in Australia, as well as several he had not performed (Everyone's 12 Oct. 1921, p. 20).
Death
Tauchert died of cancer on 27 November 1933, he was survived by his wife of 24 years Elizabeth and his 3 children. He was buried in Waverley Cemetery.[4]
Filmography
- Charlie at the Sydney Show (1916) - short
- The Sentimental Bloke (1919)
- Ginger Mick (1920)
- The Jackeroo of Coolabong (1920)
- The Dinkum Bloke (1923)
- The Digger Earl (1923)
- Joe (1924)[5]
- The Moth of Moombie (1926)
- For the Term of His Natural Life (1927 film)
- The Adorable Outcast (1928)
- Odds On (1929)
- Fellers (1930)
- Showgirl's Luck (1931).
Notes
- ^ Tauchert's sister, Ida (1875-1913), known professionally as Ida Rosslyn and later as Ida Kearns (following her marriage to comedian Jack "Porky" Kearns) was also well known throughout Australia during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
- ^ Vagg, Stephen (August 18, 2019). "Australian Movie Stars". Filmink.
- ^ Ctd. Djubal, Clay. "Arthur Tauchert." Australian Variety Theatre Archive.
- ^ "OBITUARY". The Sydney Morning Herald. No. 29, 923. New South Wales, Australia. 28 November 1933. p. 13. Retrieved 5 March 2016 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Tauchert reportedly wrote some of the music that accompanied the screenings of Joe. Ctd. "Tauchert, Arthur." AustLit
Sources
- Arthur Tauchert. Biography at the Australian Variety Theatre Archive.
- Brodsky, Isadore. Streets of Sydney Sydney: Old Sydney Free Press, 1962, pp. 106–7.
- Mr Arthur Tauchert. Courier Mail 28 November (1933), p. 15.
- Obituary. Argus 28 November (1933), p. 6.
- Obituary: Mr Arthur Tauchert. Sydney Morning Herald 28 November (1933), p. 13.
- Tauchert, Arthur. Biography at AustLit