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and reasonable comments, however severe in terms, upon anything which is made by its owner a subject of public exhibition, as upon any other matter of public interest; of privileged communications, for which no action will lie without proof of actual malice...Surely, if one makes himself ridiculous in his public performances, he may be ridiculed by those whose duty or right it is to inform the public regarding the character of the performance."
140:, but when it went on the road, it received overwhelmingly negative responses from the audiences to which it played. Spectators routinely laughed, heckled, catcalled, booed and threw vegetables at the sisters throughout the entire performance. In several instances the audience violence reached dangerous proportions: in one incident in
144:, a fire extinguisher was sprayed directly into one of the sisters' faces, and the show was stopped by the local marshals to prevent further harm. Eventually the sisters performed behind a wire mesh curtain to avoid being struck by projectiles from the audience, although they would later deny that this had ever been necessary.
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in 1903 the sisters retired for a short period. However, Addie and Effie continued to perform until the late 1930s, their final appearances taking place in their home town of Cedar Rapids in April 1938. In 1924 and 1926, Effie ran for mayor of Cedar Rapids on a reform platform, but was defeated both
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The Polk County Court decided in the newspapers' favor in 1899, and the sisters appealed to the Iowa
Supreme Court. The Court upheld the verdict, stating in their May 28, 1901 decision, "the editor of a newspaper has the right, if not the duty, of publishing, for the information of the public, fair
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their show featured songs, dances, skits, morality plays and essays authored and performed by the sisters. Some of their songs featured new lyrics set to traditional standards; others were completely original compositions. Musical accompaniment was provided for some numbers by
Elizabeth and Jessie,
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The Cherry
Sisters' vaudeville act was formed in the early 1890s, after the death of their parents and the disappearance of their brother Nathan. Originally all five sisters were involved; however, the eldest, Ella, retired from the stage before 1896, leaving her siblings to continue the act as a
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in their assessment of the sisters, considered the act "more pitiable than amusing" and noted "...the effects of poverty, ignorance, and isolation are much the same all over the world, and the Cherry sisters exhibited every one of them with a pathetic frankness that left no question as to their
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The Cherry sisters were the daughters of Thomas Cherry and Laura Rawson. The family was composed of eight children: Ella, Elizabeth, Addie, Effie, and Jessie, their brother Nathan, and two additional siblings who died at young ages. Ella, the eldest, was born in 1855 in
Massachusetts, but the
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was infamous for its poor quality and the vehement responses it elicited by audiences, who threw vegetables and disrupted performances. The sisters toured with the act for ten years, during which time they briefly appeared on
Broadway. In 1898 they sued two Iowa newspapers for
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magazine noted, "In every town that the Cherry sisters played, it was an invariable custom for the editor of the local paper to review their act with a column and a half of humor, satire, parody and biting sarcasm." In
January 1893, Fred P. Davis, the city editor of the
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complied, allowing them to write it themselves. The Cherry sisters did not consider the retraction to be sufficient and accused Davis of libel. The complaint resulted in a light-hearted mock trial onstage at a Cherry
Sisters' performance in March 1893.
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in general hideousness" and continued, "the mouths of their rancid features opened like caverns and sounds like the wailings of damned souls issued therefrom." The article was later reprinted in other newspapers around the state, including the
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printed an extremely negative review of the Cherry sisters' act, titled "The
Cherries Were Here". Critic and newspaper editor Billy Hamilton's piece described the sisters as being "three creatures surpassing the witches in
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The sisters were known for their rigid moral standpoints both on and off-stage. While living in New York during their run at the
Olympia, they refused all invitations to parties and claimed that they would not visit
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The Cherry
Sisters' act dissolved after the sudden death of the youngest member of the group, Jessie, in 1903. The rest of the sisters went on to other ventures and opened a bakery, but died in modest circumstances.
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is considered to be a landmark decision confirming the right to fair comment and critical analysis in the press and is still frequently held up as a precedent in contemporary court cases.
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kept an ongoing log of the progress of the proceedings, which included a courtroom performance by the sisters, noting on April 27, 1899, "we had lots of fun out of the case".
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for US $ 15,000, claiming that the unflattering descriptions of their physical appearance presented in the article constituted acts of "false and malicious" libel. The
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reviewed their performance at Greene's Opera House, noting, "...their knowledge of the stage is worse than none at all." The sisters demanded a retraction, and the
158:. His rationale, as given in an interview, was, "I've been putting on the best talent, and it hasn't gone over...I'm going to try the worst." The theory was sound:
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who played the piano and bass drum. The material had strong patriotic and religious themes; in one scene, Jessie was suspended from a cross in an imitation of the
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saved Hammerstein from bankruptcy only twelve days after opening on November 16, and ran for six weeks, drawing audiences who were curious to see the act the
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The case eventually went to the Iowa Supreme Court, which ruled in the newspapers' favor and set a precedent for the right to fair comment.
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582:"Fair Comment, the "Brightest Jewel in the Crown of Law," as Protection for Free Speech and Against Abusive SLAPP Suits"
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690:"Philadelphia Theatre Initiative Awards $ 942,000 for the Development and Production of Adventurous Theatre Work"
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touring act in the late 19th century. They were also the plaintiffs in a landmark 1901 legal case heard by the
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An advertisement for the Cherry Sisters is featured as one of the objects explored in Season 7, Episode 22 of
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The Cherry Sisters' act was met with derision by the local press as well as audiences. In 1930,
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Addie Cherry described the Cherry sisters' work as "concerts,--literary entertainments." Titled
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The story of the Cherry Sisters is featured as one of the segments in Season 4, Episode 11 of
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The Cherry Sisters have been the subject of at least two contemporary theatrical productions:
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a comedic musical play produced and performed by 1812 Productions in Philadelphia, and
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which was instrumental in establishing and confirming the right of the press to
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Vaudeville old & new: an encyclopedia of variety performances in America
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remainder of the children were born in Iowa, and were raised on a farm in
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in an attempt to attract attention to his floundering new venue, the
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because they did not want to see women in bathing costumes.
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Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2004).
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The act was received politely by the sisters' neighbors in
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In 1896, the Cherry Sisters were brought to Broadway by
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391:"Cherry bomb: The story of the awful Cherry Sisters"
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Three of the Cherry Sisters strike a theatrical pose
707:Cherry Bomb: The Story of the Awful Cherry Sisters
627:"Effie of 'Cherry Sisters' Enters Mayoralty Race"
692:Pew Charitable Trusts press release, June 6, 2007
640:"Cherry Sister Candidate for Cedar Rapids Mayor"
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653:"Effie Cherry, Last of Famed Sister Act, Dies"
538:"W. E. "Billy" Hamilton and the Cherry Sisters"
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226:In response, the Cherry Sisters sued the
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83:after they printed a scathing review of
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718:Billy Hamilton and the Cherry Sisters"
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51:(1871–1903) – were five sisters from
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461:"Vaudeville’s Brief, Shining Moment"
411:Supreme Court of Iowa. May 28, 1901
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74:The Cherry Sisters' vaudeville act,
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23:Three of the Cherry Sisters in 1893
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747:Musical groups established in 1893
667:"'Sisters' bring Vaudeville to AU"
265:References in contemporary culture
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782:Musicians from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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508:. Psychology Press. p. 218.
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311:. The sisters were portrayed by
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762:Actors from Cedar Rapids, Iowa
737:Temperance activists from Iowa
722:from the Odebolt History Pages
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126:Something Good, Something Sad,
85:Something Good, Something Sad.
76:Something Good, Something Sad,
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160:Something Good, Something Sad
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174:status or their character."
65:Cherry v. Des Moines Leader,
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787:1893 establishments in Iowa
757:American outsider musicians
593:Journal of The Missouri Bar
246:Cherry v. Des Moines Leader
187:Cherry v. Des Moines Leader
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616:American Heritage Journal,
480:Obituary for Jessie Cherry
587:December 2, 2008, at the
275:Cherry Sisters Revisited,
252:Retirement and later life
767:People from Marion, Iowa
393:Irwin Chusid, WFMU, 1997
446:"Four Freaks from Iowa"
337:Mysteries at the Museum
256:After Jessie died from
55:who formed a notorious
742:Sibling musical groups
553:"Sued by the Cherries"
490:Daily Iowa State Press
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777:Vaudeville performers
672:May 27, 2007, at the
655:Chicago Daily Tribune
642:Chicago Daily Tribune
629:Chicago Daily Tribune
618:October/November 1982
295:Songs in the Key of Z
199:Cedar Rapids Gazette,
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408:Cherry v. Des Moines
366:"The Cherry Sisters"
676:Madalyn Wasilczuk,
680:, November 9, 2006
610:2008-12-03 at the
591:Mark S. Sableman,
485:2008-07-24 at the
372:, July/August 1979
368:Steven J. Fuller,
156:Olympia Music Hall
152:Willie Hammerstein
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61:Iowa Supreme Court
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631:February 28, 1924
614:Michael Gartner,
570:Odebolt Chronicle
556:Odebolt Chronicle
541:Odebolt Chronicle
515:978-0-415-93853-2
451:November 17, 1896
325:Mary Lynn Rajskub
236:Odebolt Chronicle
221:Des Moines Leader
211:Odebolt Chronicle
108:Vaudeville career
47:(1857–1936), and
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426:"Sub-mediocre"
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317:Ashley Johnson
303:Comedy Central
286:outsider music
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467:Spring 2005
331:(Jessie).
279:Dan O'Brien
131:crucifixion
102:Linn County
731:Categories
543:, May 1977
521:2014-05-16
344:References
149:impresario
95:Early life
57:vaudeville
678:The Eagle
323:(Addie),
288:genre in
228:Chronicle
113:quartet.
772:Tort law
670:Archived
608:Archived
585:Archived
483:Archived
406:Text of
315:(Ella),
305:'s show
292:'s book
230:and the
261:times.
258:typhoid
216:Macbeth
203:Gazette
142:Dubuque
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232:Leader
171:Times,
138:Marion
45:Lizzie
429:Time,
81:libel
37:Effie
33:Addie
510:ISBN
194:Time
169:The
41:Ella
27:The
710:by
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31:–
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
