While this is not a comprehensive history see joe laurie, jr. Histories looking at the audiencehistory i you can pick the date, but somewhere in time between 1780 and 1820, europe and the united states opened the door to the modern era. History of vaudeville from roughly 1880 to 1930, vaudeville was the most important form of popular entertainment in the united states in terms of ubiquity even the smallest town would likely have a vaudeville house and employment at its peak, as. Book identifier nationalvaudevilnati identifierark ark. The book is structured as a vaudeville in five acts. There have been several books written about vaudeville this year, and more are expected. Before any publisher prints another word about the beginnings of vaudeville, lets get a couple of things straight. Actor and songwriter edward marble wrote and produced tuxedo for george thatcher and his minstrel troupe known as thatchers minstrels. Shows in vaudeville featured almost a dozen different artists, or acts, at a time.
This book has enthusiasm and humor in abundance, even as the subject matter projects its own warm glow. Smith and dale were one of vaudevilles most popular comedy teams. The lost and forgotten bygone stars of the vaudeville. Nov 09, 2017 history of vaudeville from roughly 1880 to 1930, vaudeville was the most important form of popular entertainment in the united states in terms of ubiquity even the smallest town would likely have a vaudeville house and employment at its peak, as many as 50,000 people made their living in vaudeville. Mar 12, 2012 the encyclopedia of vaudeville provides a unique record of what was once americas preeminent form of popular entertainment from the late 1800s through the early 1930s. Vaudeville is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in france at the end of the 19th. In the united states the term connotes a light entertainment popular from the mid1890s until the early 1930s that consisted of 10 to 15 individual unrelated acts, featuring magicians, acrobats, comedians, trained animals, jugglers, singers, and dancers. The history of blackface is long and complex, and deeply ingrained in our culture in vaudeville and minstrel shows and in movies.
Popular musicians and mass entertainment in american culture, 18701929, nicholas gebhardt is published by university of. They appear as brightly colored ghosts to a certain. Search the history of over 424 billion web pages on the internet. No applause just throw money the book that made vaudeville famous by trav s. Whether it is a solo performer or an entire production number, vaudeville audiences believed there must be some level of spectacle onstage. Charlotte vaudeville provides, in the first part of the book, kabirs biography in history and legend, his context, and information about his use of language. While most books on this period of american theater history focus on major names in vaudeville and the. The encyclopedia of vaudeville provides a unique record of what was once americas preeminent form of popular entertainment from the late 1800s through the early 1930s. The whole book is informative and very, very funny, with the first third concentrating on the ancient history of vaudeville and its beginnings, the middle third concentrating on its heyday, and the final chapters dedicated to its decline. The encyclopedia of vaudeville by anthony slide, hardcover. How a group of perhapsclueless farmgirls from iowa rose to theatrical fame and infamy at the same time.
Soon as the house lights go down and the band starts up, i could cry. May 27, 2015 a timeline of vaudeville my friend is opening a play with a vaudeville setting in a couple of weeks. An encyclopedia of variety performers in america, 2 volumes. Nonfiction books about vaudeville and vaudeville actsstars such as. Stealing pastors format, they instituted a policy of continuous multiple daily performances, which they called vaudeville. The later parts contain excellent modern translations of his verses, as well as brief selections from the verses of his contemporaries. My friend is opening a play with a vaudeville setting in a couple of weeks. The author, real name travis stewart, traces the brief period of vaudeville s ascendancy from its roots in variety shows, saloon shows, and burlesque as a cleanedup two audience women and children as well as male show. Read it if you have ever wondered where vaudeville came from and went, or where stars from mae west to cary grant got their start. Black vaudeville was based on performances that came out of the movement and style of african americans. The author, real name travis stewart, traces the brief period of vaudevilles ascendancy from its roots in variety shows, saloon shows, and burlesque as a cleanedup two audience women and children as well as male show. It opened in 1870 and was rebuilt twice, although each new building retained elements of the previous structure.
A small, glassenclosed broadcasting booth had been erected on the stage w. William morris and the hidden history of show business by. Publication date 1928 topics vaudeville publisher vaudeville managers protective association collection mediahistory. Publication date 1961 topics vaudeville, theater, toneel publisher new york, citadel press collection. Their routines were corny but funny, relying on slapstick gags and carefully timed dialogue. From the 1880s to the 1930s, the most popular form of entertainment in the united states was the live variety show known as vaudeville. Nonfiction books about vaudeville and vaudeville stars 42 books.
Vaudeville, a collection of disparate acts comedians, jugglers, and dancers marketed mainly to a family audience, emerged in the 1880s and quickly became a national industry controlled by a few businessmen, with chains of theaters extending across the country. This is one book you wont easily put downin the groove magazine. Biographies of the performers in each category appear in order of the date they entered vaudeville, an arrangement that allows the reader to trace the history of vaudeville itself. Nov, 20 vaudeville, when it began, was more closely associated with variety than the lyceum. A new edition of the long outofprint classic chronicle. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. The vaudeville theatre is a west end theatre on the strand in the city of westminster. The store is associated with the clothing styles of punk rock and various other counter culture movements, and has been a leading source of.
Several wars waged during that period jumpstarted the industrial revolution, and the political revolutions in american colonies and france preached that all men were. But there was more money to be made from the growing middle class families of america, and due to the vision of a few businessmen, vaudeville cleaned up its act. Anubis weighing the soul of the scribe ani, from the egyptian book of the dead. It includes entries not only on the entertainers themselves, but also on those who worked behind the scenes, the theatres, genres, and historical terms.
Africanamerican vaudeville and race politics in the swing era, a new book by brenda dixon gottschild, deals with the artistic, social, and racial climate for africanamerican vaudevillians working from the late 1920s through the 1940s. Keith didnt even originate the idea of continuous vaudeville, a rap a lot of folks would like to hang on him. Jul 01, 2016 broome countys vaudeville history inspires new novel. As stated in andrew erdmans book blue vaudeville, the vaudeville stage was a highly.
Erdman tells eva tanguays remarkable life story with verve. A new edition of the long outofprint classic chronicle of the rise and fall of vaudeville in america, from the early minstrel shows and showboats to the emergence and decline of broadways palace theater as the mecca of the entertainment industry. Keith did not invent vaudeville, nor was he the first vaudeville. The big time theaters along with the small time began to feature more and more motion pictures. The vaudeville years were the early 1880s until the early 1930s. List of books and articles about vaudeville online research library. National vaudeville artists year book 1928 by national vaudeville artists. Most of these artists are not profiled in other reference books and the author has done deep research, including archival work and personal interviews, to uncover the rich history of this american artform. The book that made vaudeville famous 2005 and chain of fools. Vaudeville was produced in boston decades before keith was born. The source in the citation included with each entry confirms their appearance and cites information in the performance notes section. Singers, singercomediennes, comediennes, dancers, sister acts, actresses, male impersonators and novelty acts are covered as separate categories. History of vaudeville wife of fred allen old time radio.
Trash and vaudeville is a store located at 96 east 7th street between avenue a and first avenue in east village in manhattan, new york. National vaudeville artists fund year book 1929 by national vaudeville artists. He adopted the concept from the continuous loop of performances that was the modus operandi of the circus sideshow and dime museums, where he began his career. These acts were unique on the vaudeville scene because the performers brought in different experience that the white performers could not convey. These acts were unique on the vaudeville scene because the performers brought in different experience that. A pictorial history of vaudeville by sobel, bernard. The term vaudeville, adopted in the united states from the parisian boulevard theatre, is probably a corruption of vauxdevire, satirical songs in couplets, sung to popular airs in the 15th century in the valdevire vaudevire, normandy, france. Most libraries with sizable popular performing arts collections will be interested in acquiring the encyclopedia of vaudeville.
Neil simons the sunshine boys was inspired by these masters of vaudeville laughter. In the tumbling turner sisters, 4 girls from johnson city enter world of showbiz in 1919. He has written for the ny times, the village voice, american theatre, time out ny, reason, the. Messeger, and william shakespeare, as well as the history of puppets and automata. The vaudeville houses had bad reputations for attracting drunks, prostitutes, and the common rabble. Vaudeville asked only that you own an animal or an instrument, or have a minimum of talent or a maximum of nerve. Nov 01, 2005 the whole book is informative and very, very funny, with the first third concentrating on the ancient history of vaudeville and its beginnings, the middle third concentrating on its heyday, and the final chapters dedicated to its decline. His book, which concludes with a list of library and museum resources, a bibliography, and a detailed index, captures and documents the many components of this bygone era of american entertainment. As the name suggests, the theatre held mostly vaudeville shows and musical revues in its early days.
Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation. History early history 18861893 the orpheum circuit was started by the vaudeville impresario gustav walter, who opened the orpheum opera house in san francisco in 1886. List of books and articles about vaudeville online research. With these dubious assets vaudeville offered fame and riches. A pictorial history of vaudeville book thriftbooks. Phipps, the vaudeville theatre opened in 1870 and, at the time of its opening, was as the name suggests largely used for the vaudeville style of entertainment, with shortform performances by a variety of entertainers including dancers, singers, comedians and actors. Similar to the english music hall, american vaudeville was a live entertainment consisting of unrelated songs, dances, acrobatic and magic acts, and humorous skits and sketches by a variety of performers and acts, each on stage for. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. A pictorial history of vaudeville by bernard sobel and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Media history digital library contributor media history digital library language english volume.
Starting from the appalling pun name for travis stewart, this book descends, transcends and ascends the history of vaudeville. This first orpheum seated 3500 and quickly became one of the most popular theaters in san francisco attracting a wide variety of people. Fields has blessed showbiz aficionados with a series of exceptional biographiesvaudeville times. Vaudeville was a form of live entertainment that began in the early 1900s. Broome countys vaudeville history inspires new novel. This is a one of akind reference work to the history of vaudeville, performance art, burlesque, revue, and comic opera. She asked me to make a little vaudeville timeline for her program, and it turned out to be a kind of fun, instructive exercise, and a possibly useful one, so i thought i would share it here.
This is a oneofakind reference work to the history of vaudeville, performance art, burlesque, revue, and comic opera. A pictorial history of vaudeville bernard sobel covers vaudeville history from the midnineteenth century to the 1960s with jack benny and george burns and bing crosby. Tuxedo is a vaudeville with minstrelsy in which the song tarara boomdeay was interpolated. In 1896 motion pictures were introduced into vaudeville shows as added attractions and to clear the house between shows. This book was a good historical view of the people that defined vaudeville over its time as an entertainment form. The show debuted in lincoln, nebraska, on july 23, 1891. The cherry sisters were considered the worst vaudeville act of all time. Spectacle was the basis for maintaining most audiences attention. Scanningcenter nj source print sponsormhdl john mcelwee year 1929 yearend 1929. Silent comedy and its legacies from nickelodeons to youtube 20.
He explores the many ways in which vaudevilles story is the story of show business in america and documents the rich history and cultural legacy of our countrys only purely indigenous theatrical form, including its influence on everything from uso shows to ed sullivan to the muppet show and the gong show. Inclusion on this list indicates that the subject appeared at least once on the north american vaudeville stage during its heyday between 1881 and 1932. Like the vaudeville performers that preceded her, kane used her littlegirl voice to deliver lyrics that would have been shocking in the mouth of another singer. Born into the family of a country doctor in rural quebec and raised in a new england mill town, tanguay found a home on the vaudeville stage. What has been lacking is a book about the business of vaudeville and the men. Beck also built the palace theatre in new york, which from 19 to 1932 was the outstanding vaudeville house in the united states.