You just think you don’t know who Paul Hartman is. Ironically, his greatest professional successes occurred in his parody dance act with his wife Grace (pictured above), through 30 years of vaudeville, Broadway, films and tv (they even had their own sit com at one point). Ironically, the odds are very good you know him for another reason, however: he was a minor regular on The Andy Griffith Show and Mayberry RFD, playing a character called “Emmett”, viz:
As my high school Latin teacher used to say: “EYDILC: Everything You Do in Life Counts.” Because, geez, you never know WHAT you’ll end of being remembered for.
To learn about the roots of variety entertainment, 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 don’t miss 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
