Babe Ruth: The Bambino in Vaudeville

Today is the Bambino’s birthday (born 1895). I wouldn’t even attempt to talk about Babe Ruth’s sports career. Just want to mention in passing that he worked the vaudeville circuits in the off-season. Baseball players didn’t make much money in the early part of the 20th century and it was a good way for a star to augment his income. During the 1920s, Ruth toured major cities talking about his career as a Yankee, often accompanied by a short film depicting “The House That Ruth Built”, i.e. Yankee Stadium. He also appeared (usually as himself) on radio and in films, notably in Harold Lloyd’s Speedy (1928) and The Pride of the Yankees (1942). He died of cancer in 1948.

To learn more about vaudeville, including athletes who performed there like Babe Ruth, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.