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wutbju · 2 years

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Ish-ti-opi, "an Indian concert singer" and aka Wesley Leroy Robertson, performed in Artist Series in the 1939-40 school year. See the signature? “To the ushers, Cordially Ish-ti-opi.” The Oklahoman reported in 2017:

Wesley Leroy Robertson, a Choctaw Indian, was born in 1901 in Caddo, Indian Territory. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1924 and continued his studies in New York City, where he began his professional singing career.

According to the Encyclopedia of the American Indian in the Twentieth Century:

In the early 1930s, Robertson coached and studied with noted voice teacher Andres de Segurola in California, supporting himself by working at a millinery shop in Hollywood where he made hats for film actresses. He performed in 1932 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles with the Hollywood Bowl Symphony Orchestra at the formal opening of the Olympic Games... From the mid-1930s, he spent most of his time in southern California where he did film work. The famous 'victory yell of the savage bull-ape' in the Johnny Weissmuller Tarzan films of the 1930s is actually the dubbed-in voice of Ish-Ti-Opi. (This is one of several versions of the origin of the famous yell.)

The Oklahoman's Music News and Views column May 2, 1937, included this item when he performed Oklahoma City:

Many Oklahomans have followed with interest the career of Wes. L. Robertson, Indian baritone, who under his native cognomen, Ish-ti-opi, has toured a considerable part of the west coast and some half dozen of the leading European cities, earning for himself, during the six years since he left here, a considerable reputation as an interpreter of American Indian songs and legends.

Although Ish-ti-opi usually includes a group of Italian, French and English songs on his concerts for the sake of variety, his Indian songs, given in costume and with pantomime, are naturally the distinctive feature of his appearances. He possesses a baritone voice of unusual quality, excellently schooled, and he brings to the legends a wide knowledge of native lore. Among the comments of noted musicians who have heard him sing, he points out with particular satisfaction that of Mary Garden who described him as an artist who 'creates a most pleasant atmosphere, giving a feeling of great space, and taking one out of oneself...'

Wesley Robertson made many appearances, including a performance June 11, 1939, at "the most famous hot dog picnic in American history."

Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin Roosevelt, wrote in her newspaper column, My Day, for June 13, 1939, describing the visit of the King and Queen of England to the Roosevelt's Hyde Park home:

After lunch Princess Te-Ata and Ish-Ti-Opi gave a short program. the platform was built around the trees and the setting was quite perfect for the Indian songs and legends. This was the only American music which was not on our program at the White House, and I think I can say that both the King and Queen enjoyed it. I watched them when Princess Te-Ata was doing a story in Indian sign language, and they seemed much amused.

Ish-Ti-Opi is quite a remarkable actor as well as a singer. His song of the last weaving, when the old woman is putting into her blanket the end of her life, has much of the sadness which one feels in the songs and stories of both Negroes and Indians. A proud people, our American Indians, and I liked the grace with which both these representatives of the first inhabitants of our land carried themselves when they were presented to Their Britannic Majesties...

Wesley Robertson went on to become an Indian activist, appearing before the Senate Appropriations Committee in 1942 denouncing the failure of the Indian Arts and Crafts Board. In his later years, he owned a millinery shop, designing and making hats, and worked as a movie publicity agent. He died in 1970.

#Bob Jones University #Archive #BJU #Ish-ti-opi #1939 #Artist Series #Wesley Leroy Robertson

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