Thomas Nocke (1873-1906) & Sadie West (1872-1906): Vaudeville Team Killed in 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Only known photos of Thomas Nocke & Sadie West

When the great San Francisco earthquake struck at 5:12 a.m. on April 18, 1906, thousands of lives were instantly altered or lost. Among the victims were two traveling vaudevillians—Thomas L. P. Nocke and Sadie West, known on stage as “The Marneys.” Their story, preserved in scattered newspaper accounts, offers a poignant glimpse into the fragile life of itinerant entertainers at the turn of the 20th century.

Thomas L. P. Nocke was a Newark, New Jersey–based actor who performed under several stage names, including Louis Marney and Louis Parvo. Before his Western tour, he lived with his wife and four children in Newark, N.J. earning modest fame on the vaudeville circuit for light comic sketches and musical routines. His stage partner was Miss Sadie West, an actress and singer who frequently toured with him as the female half of The Marneys.

"The Marneys" on Destroyed Marquee of Empire Theater (photo Thomas Estey, Oakland Public Library)

The pair’s Western trip seemed cursed from the start. According to reports in the Los Angeles Herald and East Coast papers, Nocke narrowly escaped death in a train tunnel collapse during the journey west. Later, a fire destroyed a boat carrying the troupe’s costumes and stage props, delaying their tour for weeks. Yet, ever resilient, Nocke and West pressed on, finally booking an engagement at Oakland’s Empire Theatre at 12th & Broadway, beginning April 17, 1906—just one day before the earthquake. [Some accounts incorrectly list the Empire Theatre in San Francisco].

The early-morning quake and ensuing fire destroyed much of downtown San Francisco and other parts of the Bay Area. Telegrams sent back East reported that both performers were killed in the catastrophe when the roof of the theatre collapsed. The Newark Evening News noted that Nocke’s brother-in-law, Edwin Musselman—also an actor touring in California—sent word confirming the tragedy. 

The only surviving account of their final moments mentions that three other people were killed who were traveling with the couple when the roof of the theatre collapsed. Oakland also sustained significant damage during the 1906 earthquake, including brick structures and water mains. Among the destroyed buildings was the Macdonough Theatre, located two blocks away at14th & Broadway, as well as the Albany Hotel, First Baptist Church, Prescott School and the 12th Street Dam.

Interior Damage of Empire Theatre (photo: Huntington Library)

Back home in Newark, Nocke’s family awaited news that never brought comfort. The Arlington Advertiser reported that the family initially refused to believe the telegram’s grim contents, hoping against hope that the actor might have escaped the flames. Sadly, later confirmations from an Oakland undertaker ended that hope. The same reports describe Nocke as “a man of good humor and courage, whose luck had run tragically out.”

With their deaths, The Marneys became two of countless anonymous artists who perished in one of America’s greatest natural disasters. Little remains of their work, but the few lines in old newspapers still testify to the vitality of a pair of performers who brought laughter to small-town stages across the country before meeting their fate on the biggest stage of all: the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

Little is known of Sadie West. 

Famously, the legendary Italian tenor Enrico Caruso, who was staying at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco when the quake struck escaped the disaster. The night before the quake, Caruso performed the role of Don José in Bizet’s Carmen at the Grand Opera House in San Francisco. 

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Sources: Los Angeles Herald, April 29 1906; Newark Evening News, April 1906; Arlington Advertiser, April 1906; contemporary wire dispatches preserved in newspaper archives; New York Times; Oakland Public Library; Huntington Library; Find a Grave; Ancestry.com