Lew Bloom

Lew Bloom
Bloom as his "tramp" character
Born	Ludwig Pflum (1859-08-08)August 8, 1859 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Died	December 12, 1929(1929-12-12) (aged 70) Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Cause of death	Disease complications
Resting place	Charles Evans Cemetery
Nationality	American
Other names	Bud Bloom
Education	Poplar Street School
Occupation	Vaudeville performer, art collector, art dealer, painter
Spouse(s)	Jane Cooper (m. 1892; his death 1929)

Lew Bloom (August 8, 1859 – December 12, 1929) was an American vaudeville performer and stage actor who popularized the comical tramp character. After retiring from the stage in the 1910s, 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 the wife of President Abraham Lincoln, 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 1871, the family moved to Williamsburg where Bloom began working as a jockey. In 1873, 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.

Bloom spent several years touring in variety shows with his jockey act before returning to Dover, Delaware where he competed in horse match races. He then returned to Reading where he and a friend opened the Drovers' Hotel. The establishment was the first to introduce cabaret to Reading. Bloom performed song and dance acts at the hotel and also began competing as a lightweight boxer.