Charles Godfrey Widdén (1874-1933) was a Swedish-born singer and comedian, who performed regularly in Worcester, Massachusetts, and New York City during the years 1900 - 1920 and achieved national prominence through his numerous recordings.
Life and career
A native of Stockholm, Charles G. Widdén came to the United States in 1888 at the age of fourteen. He settled in Worcester, Massachusetts and in 1891 became an American citizen. In 1901 he married Alice Steel, with whom he had a daughter named Elsie. Although a well-known entertainer, Widdén was primarily employed in industrial and commercial occupations. Government and business records indicate that he was at different times a laborer, packer, machinist, foreman, wire tester and sign painter.
As a young man Widdén began performing as a storyteller, juggler and chalk talker, and by 1900 he was a highly regarded bondkomiker (rustic comic). In 1903 Charles G. Widdén toured Sweden with strongmen Hjalmar Lundin and Aug. W. Johnson. His companions gave exhibitions of wrestling and weight lifting while Widdén demonstrated his talent for juggling and comedy. This five-month sojourn is the only known instance of Widdén on tour in Sweden or America.
Bondkomik (rustic humor) was a popular form of entertainment in turn-of-the-century Sweden. It also had a large following among Swedish Americans. The rustic comic, often clad as a country bumpkin, assumed an alias to go along with his outlandish appearance. Widdén, for instance, sometimes went by the name of Olle ve Kvarna (Olle at the Mill). Hjalmar Peterson was another bondkomiker from Sweden, who was active at the same time and had a similar repertoire. Peterson was better known by his stage name of Olle i Skratthult (Olle from Laughtersville).
In 1916 Widdén moved from Worcester to New York City, where he was already a familiar figure in the Scandinavian community. Proximity to record companies there turned him into one of Swedish America's leading recording artists. He appeared at many types of events: choral concerts, theatrical productions, dances, bazaars, picnics and even wrestling matches — occasionally with fellow comedian Calle Sjöquist. Newspapers proclaimed Widdén the foremost Swedish humorist in America and a noted provider of laughter throughout the land. In 1921 Charles G. Widdén returned to his hometown of Worcester for a concert at Horticultural Hall. Demand for tickets to his Thursday February 3rd program was so great that a second show was added for Saturday February 5th.
After 1920 Widdén made fewer recordings, and his final release came out in 1924. At the same time there were less frequent reports of his activities in the Swedish American press. The San Francisco weekly Vestkusten published word of his death in 1933: "Charles G. Widdén passed away on October 9th at Druskin Hospital in New York City at the age of fifty-nine. He was well known in New York and Worcester as a singer and comedian. The end came swiftly as a consequence of pneumonia. His nearest survivors are a wife and daughter."
In 2016 the Minnesota Historical Society opened an online archive of Swedish American newspapers. These historic publications give many accounts of Charles G. Widdén's live performances and recordings in the years 1903 – 1924. Sometimes billed as "The Hobo Juggler", his first name varies from Charles to Charlie to Chas. to Kalle while his last name is spelled Widdén, Widden, Widén and Wideen.
Popular recording artist
Between 1913 and 1924 Charles G. Widdén recorded over 100 sides for the Columbia, Edison and Victor labels. His output was steady. His new releases came out every single year in this period. Widdén's repertoire consisted of songs, poems, stories and monologues. Other than a few monologues in English he did everything in his native Swedish.
The poetry included several works by the Swedish author Gustaf Fröding, whose lyrics and stories — popular on both sides of the Atlantic — were a staple of rustic humor. Widdén recorded Fröding's poems concerning the supernatural: Bergslagstroll (Mountain trolls) and Skögsrån (The wood sprite) as well as those dealing with immigration to America: Farväll (Farewell) and I bönhuset (At the prayer meeting). Värmland poet Oscar Stjerne likewise contributed to Widdén's repertoire with two poems: Dektarelott (A poet's lot) and (A strange people). J. L. Runeberg's poems of patriotic Finns were also represented: Soldatgossen (The soldier boy) and Sven Duva (a hero of the 1808-1809 war against Russia). These verses were part of Runeberg's epic work Fänrik Ståls Sägner (The Tales of Ensign Stål).