[2] Harry ran away and joined a traveling circus at age 14, where he adopted his mother's maiden name as his own, seeking to make it sound even classier by tacking on a "Von.

[3] Harry proved successful playing piano and calliope and writing new tunes and incidental music for shows.

He continued doing this for burlesque and vaudeville shows for some years, writing many tunes which were not published or which he sold to entertainers for one or two dollars.

In 1898, he sold his song "My Old New Hampshire Home"[1] to a publisher for $15, and watched it become a national hit, selling over two million copies of the sheet music.

[5] Harry Von Tilzer's hits included "A Bird in a Gilded Cage," "The Cubanola Glide," "Wait 'Til The Sun Shines Nellie," "Old King Tut," "All Alone," "Mariutch," "The Ragtime Goblin Man," "I Love My Wife, But Oh You Kid!"