Today is the birthday of Harry McCoy (1889-1937). After nearly a decade performing in stock companies and vaudeville, the Philadelphia native went to Hollywood in 1912 and performed in comedies for the Joker, Selig and American studios. 1913-17 were spent at Keystone and Keystone-Triangle. Then he bounced around between vaudeville and various studios as a performer, writer and director, returning to Sennett as a staff writer 1927-1932. He had just begun working for Walt Disney when he was felled by a heart attack in 1937.
For more on silent and slapstick comedy 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
To find out more about the variety arts past and present, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.
(Travalanche) 