Harley Herman Sadler (September 4, 1892 – October 14, 1954) was an American showman, oilman, and state legislator from Texas.

[2] With little experience beyond the town band and teenage theatrical performances, Sadler dropped out of high school to follow the traveling tent shows passing through Stamford.

At the entreaty of a minister who also offered a scholarship, he returned to school to study law at Reynolds Military Academy in Albany, Texas.

During the following two years, he worked with several shows, including North Brothers Stock Company, the Renfro Jolly Pathfinders and the Wonderland Floating Theater, a Mississippi River showboat.

One performance she filled in for a leading lady who had fallen ill.[3] In the same year, Sadler was called up for military service, but rejected, due to poor health.

[3] The first few years, Harley, Billie and the troupe toured a vast territory: Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, New Mexico and Texas.

[3] According to a contemporaneous article in The New York Times, touring tent shows of the 1920s were "a more extensive business than Broadway and the rest of legitimate theater industry put together."

Billie acted as business manager and played leading ladies, her mother Louise (Mama Lou) was backstage director (seamstress and dresser), while her brother Burnie was boss canvas man.

Sadler's brother Ferd (short for Ferdinand) handled advance man duties; his wife Gladys ran the box office.

[3] Toby was a genial freckle-faced, red-wigged rube in a loud shirt, patched overalls, oversized worn-out boots and floppy hat.

[5] The character had its origins in Tobe Haxton, the folk hero of the 1912 play Clouds and Sunshine, first performed at the Magic Theater in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Among his most popular offerings were Saintly Hypocrites and Honest Sinners, The Awakening of John Slater, Laugh That Off and the temperance play Ten Nights in a Barroom.

Plays changed seasonally, excluding Honest Sinners and Saintly Hypocrites, which remained on the bill by popular demand.

[8] At the first intermission, Sadler, in his Toby costume, would don an usherette tray and stroll into the audience selling "bally" (for ballyhoo) candy, boxes of saltwater taffy.

These were purchased from local merchants to gain their good will and might include such items as small diamond rings, glassware, radios, rocking chairs, cake dishes or canning kettles.

For 10% of gross ticket sales, organizations such as the Veterans of Foreign Wars, American Legion, Lions, Shriners or the volunteer fire department would happily provide the "three L's (lot, license and ‘lectricity).

"[8] On "put up" days, Billie's brother Burnie led the crew erecting the large canvas tent; installing the marquee, stage, curtains and bleachers; constructing the ticket booth; and unloading chairs, costumes and scenery.

For local women, the finely-dressed actresses were a sort of fashion show, especially during the hard times when they sewed their own clothes from printed flour or feed sack fabrics.

[8] Late in the afternoon of opening night, Harley's uniformed all-male marching band would perform a concert in the town center.

Sadler would present a ballyhoo, a clamorous attention-getting exhortation (and tent show tradition) to attract customers.

[5] Sadler's repertoire was tailored to the unsophisticated taste of Texas and eastern New Mexico audiences, and featured relatable characters and situations.

For productions presenting vexing moral questions, a resolution, through simple virtues: charity, chastity, forgiveness and Christian love, was always found before the final curtain.

[1] Two financial disasters followed: Sadler's attempt at managing a circus and his staging of The Siege of the Alamo, a pageant for the Texas Centennial.

[3] To avoid declaring bankruptcy, he sold his remaining properties, made good on what bills he could and handed out IOUs for the rest.

He rented a dollar-a-day tent, formed a company of 12 and headed for West Texas and a series of one-night stands.

[9] Country musician Slim Andrews and B-Western film star and singer Monte Hale also traveled with the show.

A famous photograph shows the exterior of Sadler's tent and a truck with Jones' name emblazoned on the side.

[11] An Austin American-Statesman reporter wrote, "There has never been a milder, more sincere sort of man in the Legislature than Harley Sadler.

In this role, he represented the counties of Taylor, Borden, Dickens, Fisher, Garza, Howard, Jones, Kent, Mitchell, Nolan, Scurry, Shackelford and Stonewall.

He would readily agree to help any civic group asking for a favor, whether emceeing a benefit or working nonstop in other capacities.