Still at it in October 1954 (Kansas City) Patricola wins a popularity contest sponsored by entertainment giant Radio-Keith-Orpheum, in which more than four-million radio listeners voted.
“A big girl with a big voice” (Atlanta, February 1929) Patricola’s real estate dealings helped to make her one of the wealthiest women in vaudeville. “I’m no college graduate” - Patricola recalls her brief education
Although The Talking Machine World lists these two Vocalions as November 1923 releases, they actually went on sale on October 26. This lengthy interview appeared in conjunction with a Pittsburgh radio and theater appearance in January 1923. Patricola was one of the earliest vaudeville headliners to broadcast commercially. (Pittsburgh, December 1921 and Allentown, Pennsylvania, April 1930) Patricola considers changing her name (Philadelphia, November 1921)ĭespite what the first article claims, Patricola was an enthusiastic cook. By this time, she was being billed as a singer as well as a violinst. Patricola returns to Great Falls, Montana (February 1917). Patricola in Chicago (December 1911 and October 1912)
Here’s a bit of her story from the newspapers of the period (“Isabella” is the correct spelling, although “Isabelle” appears in some of these clippings):Įight-year-old Patricola plays Great Fall, Montana (October 1894) By the mid-1920s, she reportedly was one of the wealthiest women in vaudeville, drawing a substantial salary while dealing in real estate on the side. Her education was on a drop-in basis, attending school as a guest pupil in whatever town the family found itself.Īlthough the violin remained a part of Patricola’s stage act to the end, by the late 1910s she had become better known for her singing, delivering the latest Tin Pan Alley hits in powerhouse style. She and her brother Tom (another future vaudeville headliner) came to the United States from Italy with their father, who in Patricola’s words, “conceived the idea of making me self supporting.” Showing an early aptitude for the violin, Patricola was touring the country by the age of eight with a small-time vaudeville troupe. Isabella Patricola was an immigrant success story.