Lew Bloom (August , â€" December , ) was an American vaudeville
performer and stage actor who popularized the comical tramp character.
After retiring from the stage in the s, he became a prolific art
collector and dealer and also painted his own original works.Decades
after his death, art conservators discovered that Bloom was the
perpetrator of an art forgery involving an oil portrait that he
claimed depicted First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.Bloom was born Ludwig
Pflum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Ludwig and Louisa (née Moyer)
Pflum. His parents, who immigrated from Germany, had six other
children: Susannah, Susan Deborah, Louisa, Charles, Edward and Adolph
(who died as a child). Bloom's father worked as a cooper. The family
eventually moved to Reading, Pennsylvania where Bloom attended Poplar
Street School. Around , the family moved to Williamsburg where Bloom
began working as a jockey. In , he joined the Potter Hart Colossus
Circus where he performed a "bounding jockey act" in which he rode
horses and performed acrobatics. During his time at the circus,
"Ludwig Pflum" changed his name to "Lew Bloom" and would use that name
for the remainder of his performing career.
performer and stage actor who popularized the comical tramp character.
After retiring from the stage in the s, he became a prolific art
collector and dealer and also painted his own original works.Decades
after his death, art conservators discovered that Bloom was the
perpetrator of an art forgery involving an oil portrait that he
claimed depicted First Lady Mary Todd Lincoln.Bloom was born Ludwig
Pflum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to Ludwig and Louisa (née Moyer)
Pflum. His parents, who immigrated from Germany, had six other
children: Susannah, Susan Deborah, Louisa, Charles, Edward and Adolph
(who died as a child). Bloom's father worked as a cooper. The family
eventually moved to Reading, Pennsylvania where Bloom attended Poplar
Street School. Around , the family moved to Williamsburg where Bloom
began working as a jockey. In , he joined the Potter Hart Colossus
Circus where he performed a "bounding jockey act" in which he rode
horses and performed acrobatics. During his time at the circus,
"Ludwig Pflum" changed his name to "Lew Bloom" and would use that name
for the remainder of his performing career.
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