Vaudeville…where’s that? Yeah, right! Okay, we’ve all heard of it, but how educated are you on vaudeville? Admittedly, I know very little about it. My perception has always been it was like a comic relief show of its day.
However, vaudeville was more than a smoke-filled night spot for comedians. It was the melting pot of entertainment from the 1880s through the 1920s hosting 25,000 performers. It was the most popular form of entertainment in America in its time.
Vaudeville was home to singers, plate-spinners, ventriloquist, dancers, musicians, magicians, acrobats, animal trainers, and yes, comedians alike. In short, anyone who could keep an audience’s attention for more than a couple of minutes found employment in a vaudeville show.
Who were these performers? Here is a sample of names, I recognized at a glance:
- Don Ameche (Trading Places)
- Abbott and Costello
- Andrew Sisters
- Irving Berlin
- Milton Berle
- W.C. Fields
- Judy Garland
- Bob Hope
- Harry Houdini
- Jules Vernon (Ventriloquist)
For more famous vauder performer, you can check wikipedia for a complete list here and here.
A piece of living history from vaudeville…
The golden Victoria era with its vaudeville has faded from our society. The slap stick humor, risqué burlesque dancers, amazing animal tricks, or mystifying magic acts are now replaced with newer versions of entertainment.
As Larry Gelbart said, “If vaudeville had died, television was the box they put it in.” Now, ain’t that the truth? Sorry, Miss Jenny…isn’t that the truth?
The letter V is sponsored this week by Alphabe-Thursday and hop over to give a passing grade to fellow valedictorians for completing today’s assignment!
1) What do you like best about past entertainment?
2) What do you like best about today’s entertainment?
Thanks Amanda for hosting Thursday Two Questions!