"Ken McCutchan is a life-long resident of Vanderburgh County, Indiana, descended from pioneer families that entered the area in the early 1800s. He is veteran of WWII, having served with Army Corps of Engineers in both North Africa and Europe. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English Composition and Modern Language from the University of Evansville, a certificate in French Language and Culture from the Sorbonne in Paris, and an Honorary Doctor of Letters Degree from the University of Southern Indiana. His other books include: The Adventures of Isaac Knight, From then Til Now, Saundersville, An English Settlement, At The Bend in the River, and Dearest Lizzie. Mr. McCutchan's books may be purchased at Willard Library in Evansville, IN.

Louise Dresser - Evansville's Most Accomplished Actress   

by Kenneth P. McCutchan

Lula Josephine Kerlin was born in 1879 at 713 Locust St. in Evansville, the daughter of Mr. And Mrs. William Kerlin. Her father was a conductor on the train to Chicago. Lula, or Lulie as she was always called, was a stagestruck little girl, even when she was attending the old Walnut Street school.

At 16, when she entered an amateur contest and won, she was spotted by a talent scout who offered her an opportunity to go to Columbus, Ohio, and sing in light opera.

Her parents finally consented to her going, but when she got to Columbus, she found that the “light opera” was nothing more than a cheap burlesque show. She stayed just long enough to earn money for a train ticket to Chicago.

She had always been a great admirer of Paul Dresser, when he had been a member of the resident stock company at the Windy City, she sought him out and asked him to help her break into show business.

When Dresser learned that she was Bill Kerlin’s daughter, he immediately took an interest in her, because when Paul was a small boy, he had sold candy and newspapers on Kerlin’s train.

Dresser called up a producer friend and announced that his “kid sister” had just come into town. Could he give her an audition? “I have just written a new song. I would like for her to sing it to you.”

The song was “My Gal Sal,” which Paul had written in memory of his old girlfriend, Sallie Walker, a one-time madam of Evansville’s fanciest whorehouse.

So Lulie went for her audition, and since she had been introduced as Dresser’s “kid sister,” she said her name was Louise Dresser. She sang “My Gal Sal,” and both the song and the singer were instant hits.

Sallie Walker had indirectly launched what was to be the brilliant career of Louise Dresser.

In 1911, Louise co-starred with DeWolf Hopper in “A Matinee Idol,” and reviewers described her as “the most popular singer in America.”

In 1920, Hollywood beckoned. She went into silent films in a starring role in “The Goose Woman” and appeared in many other silent pictures. When the talkies came in, her movie career faltered for some unknown reason, so she returned to the stage.

After she grew older and more matronly looking, she was again in demand in Hollywood as a character actress. She had starring roles in seven films opposite Will Rogers.

She married twice. While quite young she wed Jack Norworth, composer of the famous song “Shine On, Harvest Moon.” About 1910, she married an actor, Jack Gardner, with whom she appeared once on the stage of Evansville’s Grand Theatre in a play called “The Union.” That marriage lasted 42 years until Gardner died in 1952.

Eventually, Louise Dresser retired to the Motion Picture Academy Country Home for elderly actors, where she died in 1965 at 86.

For Internet Movies Database's complete profile of Louise Dresser's Career click Here