Stars of Vaudeville #157: Fats Waller

Originally posted in 2010. 

Best known as an incomparable jazz piano and organ player, a hilarious showman, and songwriter of such hits as “Ain’t Misbehavin’”, “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Your Feet’s Too Big”, 300 lb. Thomas Wright “Fats” Waller worked throughout the 1920s in the all-black vaudeville circuit run by the Theatre Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.), often accompanying singers like Sara Martin and Bessie Smith. By the 1930s he was contributing songs to Broadway shows and a star of radio and record albums. He died of pneumonia in 1943 at the age of 39. Predictably, he was on tour at the time. His resurrection a few decades later in shows like Ain’t Misbehavin’ and Black and Blue was just as inevitable.

Here’s “Your Feet’s Too Big”!

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

For more on silent and slapstick comedy please check out my new book: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc

Stars of Vaudeville #660: Buddy Pepper

Today is the birthday of Buddy Pepper (Jack R. Starkey, 1922-1993). At age 13, the Kentucky native won Major Bowes Amateur Hour, which led to a tour of what was left of vaudeville by the mid ’30s, as well as presentation houses. In the late 30s and early 40s he appeared in numerous small film roles. After serving in World World 2, he worked as a songwriter, conductor and arranger for motion pictures. His most famous song (co-written with Inez James) is “Vaya Con Dios”. He also wrote songs for the films When Johnny Comes Marching Home, Pillow Talk, and Top Man, among others.

And now, from the pen of Pepper, the theme to Pillow Talk. I’m sorry. It’s really a terrible song.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

For more on silent and slapstick comedy please check out my new book: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc

Stars of Vaudeville #656: Roger Imhof

Roger Imhof (1875-1958) was part of the John Ford stock company, appearing in Judge Priest, Steamboat ‘Round the Bend, Three Godfathers, Drums Along the Mohawk, The Grapes of Wrath, and dozens of other pictures during his decade long movie career.

A native of Rock Island, Illinois, he started out as a clown with the Mills Orton Circus, then as an Irish comedian in vaudeville and burlesque. In vaudeville he worked with numerous partners in many different acts. In the late 1890s, he worked with Charles Osbourne, in a comedy contortion and burlesque acrobatics act. Around 1902 he began to work with Hugh Conn. The two were joined by Marcelle Corinne during the teens to form the act known as Imhof, Conn and Corinne. (Corinne was to become Imhof’s wife) The trio performed two comedy sketches in vaudeville for many years, ‘The Pest House” and “Surgeon Louder”. He also wrote numerous songs during his vaudeville career, including the popular 1906 tune “Old Broadway”.  He was to lose most of his money and investments in the stock market crash, at which he point he decided to try his luck in Hollywood.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

And please check out my new book: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc

Vaudephone #25: Trav S.D.

Hello and welcome again to Vaudephone, your one stop shopping for all the best contemporary variety acts!

Today we feature — me! With a very special message for  – you!

(Watch me muff the penultimate verse, but then, that’s only what you’d get in live performance! Rough ‘n’ ready, down ‘n’ dirty…)

And please note the swell theme music, by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. Don’t miss Vince and his swingin’ band for dinner and dancing every Monday and Tuesday at the Edison Hotel! (Details are here).

Vaudephone is a co-production of Travalanche/ the American Vaudeville Theatre, and Vaudevisuals.com.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

 

And then there’s my new book to buy: Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc

Vaudephone #24: Noah Diamond

Hello and welcome again to Vaudephone, your one stop shopping for all the best contemporary variety acts!

Today we feature the terrific Noah Diamond, a show biz Renaissance man: vaudeville performer, cartoonist, tour guide and creator of political cabarets (go here for my full biographical run-down on him). In this week’s Vaudephone, he performs his “United Nations  Song”, which was a hit of our show Travesties of 2012 in last years New York Musical Comedy Festival.

Please note the swell theme music, by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. Don’t miss Vince and his swingin’ band for dinner and dancing every Monday and Tuesday at the Edison Hotel! (Details are here).

Vaudephone is a co-production of Travalanche/ the American Vaudeville Theatre, and Vaudevisuals.com.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

Vaudephone #23: Michael Townsend Wright

Hello and welcome again to Vaudephone, your one stop shopping for all the best contemporary variety acts!  Today we feature the terrific Michael Townsend Wright, a show biz vet what IS a show biz vet (go here for my full biographical run-down on him). In this cool clip, he does the parts of both Smith and Dale in their famous Dr. Kronkite sketch (Michael sat at the feet of Joe Smith in his last days to learn from him).

Please note the swell theme music, by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. Don’t miss Vince and his swingin’ band for dinner and dancing every Monday and Tuesday at the Edison Hotel! (Details are here).

Vaudephone is a co-production of Travalanche/ the American Vaudeville Theatre, and Vaudevisuals.com.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

Vaudephone #22: The Lady Aye, Sweetheart of the Sideshow

Aloha! Here we are with this week’s Vaudephone! And a worthy one it is, containing as it does the great Lady Aye (for more info on this interesting performer go here).

Please note the swell theme music, by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. Don’t miss Vince and his swingin’ band for dinner and dancing every Monday and Tuesday at the Edison Hotel! (Details are here).

Vaudephone is a co-production of Travalanche/ the American Vaudeville Theatre, and Vaudevisuals.com.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

Vaudephone #21: Dandy Darkly

Well, we meant to take a couple of months off, but we ended up taking a year. That’s how it flies sometimes in this cockamamie chicken coop. Anyway, we’re back with our old school variety arts web series Vaudephone! Look for a new act every week (if the creek don’t rise!)

Helping us re-launch it, I can’t think of anyone more blindingly original than the one and only Dandy Darkly (go here for more background on this extraordinary performer).

Please note the swell theme music, by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. Don’t miss Vince and his swingin’ band for dinner and dancing every Monday and Tuesday at the Edison Hotel! (Details are here).

Vaudephone is a co-production of Travalanche/ the American Vaudeville Theatre, and Vaudevisuals.com.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

Rerun Vaudephone: Juliet Jeske

Our Vaudephone taping schedule is officially on hiatus as I work on my new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube. We will be resuming with a whole batch of new and exciting contemporary variety performers starting in June. In the meantime, please enjoy  the dynamite Princess Sunshine (Juliet Jeske)

ALSO: please note the swell theme music, by Vince Giordano and the Nighthawks. Don’t miss Vince and his swingin’ band for dinner and dancing every Monday and Tuesday at the Edison Hotel! (Details are here).

Vaudephone is a co-production of Travalanche/ the American Vaudeville Theatre, and Vaudevisuals.com.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.

Rerun Vaudephone: Carla Rhodes

Our Vaudephone taping schedule is officially on hiatus as I work on my new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube. We will be resuming with a whole batch of new and exciting contemporary variety performers starting in June. In the meantime, please enjoy rock and roll ventriloquist Carla Rhodes and her partner Cecil Sinclair:

Vaudephone is a co-production of Travalanche/ the American Vaudeville Theatre, and Vaudevisuals.com.

To find out about  the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.