Ted Lewis, born Theodore Leopold Friedman in Circleville in 1890 to a prominent business family, became one of the outstanding American showmen of the twentieth century. Drawn to the stage early, he began performing in cabarets, vaudeville shows, and nightclubs throughout Ohio at age 17, moved to New York in 1915, and opened his own cabaret in 1918. With an animated stage persona, a clarinet, and his trademark cane and battered top hat, he won wide popularity with jazz age audiences, and his “Me and My Shadow” act helped make him the highest-paid entertainer in the business during the 1920s. His career lasted more than six decades, spanning vaudeville to television, and he died in New York in 1971. As Circleville’s most famous native son, he also gave much to his hometown: after performing in the first Pumpkin Show in 1903, he promoted the festival throughout his career, returned often, gave a successful benefit show there in 1952, and with his wife Adah Becker Lewis bought and donated the land for Ted Lewis Park while also supporting Berger Hospital. The Ted Lewis Museum, dedicated in 1977, stands in the only remaining building from Circleville’s original circle and preserves significant collections related to his life, career, and early twentieth century American music. Ted and Adah Lewis are buried in Circleville’s Forest Cemetery.