Edna Howland was an American vaudeville artist. She was best known for her piano playing and soprano voice. Between 1910 and 1920, she toured with Jack Kammerer, an acrobatic comedian. Billed as Kammerer & Howland, the duo described themselves as a “Classical Comedy Singing and Talking Act,” and as performers of “Jollity and Jingles Mirthfully Mingled.” Howland retired from show business in the early 1920s.
Early life and career
Edna Howland was born Sadie Edna Howland on September 22, 1886, to Benjamin L. Howland and Mary Howland, in Somerset, Massachusetts. Her father, Benjamin L. Howland, served in the American Civil War. He spent eight months as a prisoner of war after the Second Battle of the Weldon Railroad. The Howland family moved to Providence, Rhode Island between 1891 and 1896. Howland's first documented piano solo was at a church social given by the Junior Society of the Stewart StreetBaptist Church. In 1902, Howland began taking piano lessons from Mr. and Mrs. Ernst Fischer. The Fischers were educated at the University of Music and Theatre Leipzig, founded by Felix Mendelssohn. They instructed in singing, piano, harmony, and composition from their studio in the Conrad Building on Westminster Street. During her years as a pupil of the Fischers, Howland frequently performed classical piano music for public audiences. She was featured in numerous public recitals hosted by the Fischers. In 1907, Howland headlined a benefit for the Women's Christian Temperance Union at Frances Willard Hall on Snow Street. A year later she joined Providence Mayor, Patrick J. McCarthy, to entertain members of the Rhode Island Pharmaceutical Association at their annual conference.
Kammerer & Howland
In June 1909, Howland began making weekly appearances as a performer of illustrated songs at the Bijou theatre, one of Providence's many vaudeville houses. The Bijou was specifically designed as a venue for illustrated songs, which were performed between films, and a pianist like Howland would play nine programs per day at six days per week. Howland soon formed an act with local comedian, Jack Kammerer, which they described as “Kammerer & Howland -- A Classical Comedy Singing and Talking Act”. In 1911, the two joined Fred Homan's Musical Stock Company at the Scenic Temple on Matthewson Street. Eddie Dowling was also an actor in Homan's company. The company dissolved after two years, but not without leaving a lasting impression on Rhode Island theatregoers. In 1913, Kammerer & Howland started touring North American on Marcus Loew’s vaudeville circuit. They were known for comedic songs, clever banter, acrobatic dancing, and for Kammerer’s impersonations of Ford Sterling, Charlie Chaplin, and Bert Williams. Kammerer & Howland shared bills with major vaudeville names, such as Will Rogers and Marie Stoddard. When Kammerer joined the White Rats of America, a labor union organized by theatre employees in an effort to destabilize the Vaudeville Managers Association, Howland did not. Women were not permitted to join. In 1918, Kammerer & Howland entered American burlesque when they were cast in Max Spiegel’s Social Follies. Billboard’s burlesque critic wrote: “Edna Howland as an ingenue appears to good advantage by interspersing some real comedy into her actions, singing and dancing, all of which she does well.” While on tour with Pat White's Gaiety Girls, Howland gave birth to her only child, Donald L. Kammerer, born on May 28, 1920, in St. Louis, Missouri. The Gaiety Girls cast included Joe Yule and Nell Carter, who welcomed their only child, Mickey Rooney, while on the same tour. After the birth of their son, Kammerer & Howland ended their professional and romantic relationship. Howland returned to Providence, RI, with their son and proceeded to sue Kammerer for divorce on grounds of neglect and extreme cruelty. In 1923, Howland was awarded custody of Donald, as well as a provision of ten dollars per week.
Later Years
In 1929, Howland married Brown University graduate, Bertil William Lindstrom. They married in New York City and lived in New Jersey. By 1935, they were divorced and Howland had returned to Providence. She rented an apartment on Friendship Street, where she lived with her son, Donald, and worked as a housekeeper. Howland and her son performed music locally as part of an ensemble organized by Mrs. Eli E. Wilcox. Sadie Edna Lindstrom died on October 14, 1964.
