O. K. Sato
Encyclopedia
O. K. Sato was an American vaudeville
performer who flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His act was notable for its juggling of the comedic style and may be described as helping define the so-called "tramp" juggling style epitomized by W. C. Fields
. In fact, Sato and Fields are known from Fields' surviving correspondence to have maintained a bantering relationship in which the two traded gossip and ideas for their acts.
Sato was born in Trenton
, New Jersey
. He began his career at Coney Island
and met his wife, Marguerite Wartenburg, while touring in Europe. They were married in 1896.
After Sato retired from the stage he was a real estate developer in Irvington
, N.J., where he died suddenly of a heart attack on Wednesday, March 23, 1921.
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer who flourished in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His act was notable for its juggling of the comedic style and may be described as helping define the so-called "tramp" juggling style epitomized by W. C. Fields
W. C. Fields
William Claude Dukenfield , better known as W. C. Fields, was an American comedian, actor, juggler and writer...
. In fact, Sato and Fields are known from Fields' surviving correspondence to have maintained a bantering relationship in which the two traded gossip and ideas for their acts.
Sato was born in Trenton
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Trenton had a population of 84,913...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. He began his career at Coney Island
Coney Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
and met his wife, Marguerite Wartenburg, while touring in Europe. They were married in 1896.
After Sato retired from the stage he was a real estate developer in Irvington
Irvington
- Places :United States :* Irvington, Alabama, an unincorporated community in Mobile County, Alabama* Irvington, Illinois, a village in Washington County, Illinois...
, N.J., where he died suddenly of a heart attack on Wednesday, March 23, 1921.
Sources
- New York Times, March 25, 1921 (obituary)
- W. C. Fields by Himself: His Intended Autobiography, edited by Ronald J. Fields. Prentice-Hall, 1973. ISBN 0139444629. (Collection of Fields's letters and scripts, with commentary)
- Juggler's bulletin 1947