Charles J. Ross

Charles J. Ross, born Charles Joseph Kelly on February 18, 1859, in Montreal, Canada East, was a Canadian-American entertainer, composer, and theatrical producer whose career spanned vaudeville, burlesque, and the Broadway stage. His father, William Kelly, worked as a carpenter, and his mother was Caroline, née Brown. Ross performed on Broadway from 1899 to 1912 and died on June 15, 1918.

Ross began his performing career as a circus entertainer with P. T. Barnum before making his stage debut on April 5, 1885, at Miner's Bowery Theatre in Manhattan, where he appeared as a singer and impersonator. He subsequently performed with Herman's Transatlantic in a variety act at the Atlantic Gardens Bowery Theater. In the years that followed, he developed his skills as a farce comedian working with vaudeville companies both in New York and on tour.

On June 9, 1887, during a vaudeville tour of the American West, Ross married actress Ada Towne, known professionally as Mabel Fenton, in Deadwood, South Dakota. The couple formed the act Ross and Fenton and within two years became a fixture of the Weber and Fields Company in New York, performing farce productions of classic and popular plays. Ross and Fenton were particularly recognized for their parodies of classical plays.

Among his Broadway credits, Ross appeared in The Merry Widow, The Devil, and the musical The Merry Widow Burlesque. He also performed in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1907 and took part in The Passing Show of 1912, A Winsome Widow, and The Love Cure. In 1901, he portrayed the drag role of Queen Spadia in the Broadway musical The Sleeping Beauty and the Beast. Ross later formed his own company and continued performing into the early decades of the twentieth century.

Ross and Fenton appeared together in at least two films: Death of Nancy Sykes in 1897 and How Molly Malone Made Good in 1915. In the late 1890s, the couple opened Ross Fenton Farm, a resort hotel in Asbury Park, New Jersey, which also served as their primary residence. For a number of years the property was a popular destination for artists and entertainers from the New York area. Most of the resort burned to the ground in 1950, though some original structures, including the main house, remain standing.

Ross died on June 15, 1918, at Ross Fenton Farm following a long illness and a failed operation. His wife Mabel died on April 19, 1931, in Los Angeles at the age of 66. The two are buried together at Glenwood Cemetery in West Long Branch, New Jersey.