AMERICAN MASTERS: VAUDEVILLE (TV)
Summary
One in this documentary series that explores the lives and achievements of America's most celebrated native-born and adopted artists and performers. This documentary uses archival photos and film footage as well as interviews with former performers and historians to examine the history of vaudeville from the 1880s to the 1930s. Narrator Ben Vereen begins by defining vaudeville, explaining its appeal to the working classes; its immigrant performers and audience; and its origins in other art forms such as the English music hall, street performers, clowns, the Yiddish theater, and burlesque. He then looks at the wholesome, family aspects of vaudeville as dictated by impresario Tony Pastor and the rise of the child star on stage, as well as the "gimmick" needed to make an act succeed and the view of most performers that vaudeville was a business, not an art form. Vereen discusses the importance of the vaudeville circuit owners and the constant need of vaudevillians to travel across the country. Next, he outlines the usual sequence of acts on a vaudeville show and the resulting hierarchy of performers, and he talks about the love/hate relationship vaudevillians had with their audience. Vereen then takes an extensive look at members of minority groups in vaudeville, particularly Black performers, stressing the difficulty of overcoming stereotypes begun by minstrel shows and blackfaced white performers. The program's final segment looks at the demise of vaudeville as it was threatened by radio, movies, and television, and it discusses the ways in which vaudevillians reacted to these new media. It also points to the remnants of vaudeville's legacy in today's entertainment. Vereen's guests include Studs Turkel, Gerald Marks, Eddie Lane, John Lahr, Bill Irwin, June Havoc, Morey Amsterdam, Fayard and Harold Nicholas, Joey Faye, Bobby Coltman, Rose Marie, Gerald Marks, Eddie Lane, Julian Eltinge, Billy Barty, Violet Carlson, Coralee Jr., Leonard Reed, June Taylor, Arthur Tracy, Carl Ballantine, Bobby Short, Jeannie Silver, Thelma White, Sally DeMay, George Abbott, Al Hirschfeld, Jack LaMaire, Morton Gould, Maurice Tony Millard, Mel Watkins, and Robert Townsend. Throughout the program, scenes from acts of the following performers are shown: Gus Visser; Eddie Cantor; Blossom Seeley and Benny Fields; Weber and Fields; Harry and Max Nesbitt; Puck and White; Little Tich; Wilson, Keppel and Betty; Chaz Chase; Josef Buloff; Molly Picon; Joey Faye; Bert and Mercedes Lahr; the Liberty Quartet; Chick Sale; Freehand and Love; Zeb Carver and His Country Cousins; Trixie Friganza; Levan and Doris; the Spanish Goldinies; Hadji Ali; A. Robins, the Banana Man; Joe Friscoe; Harry Rose; W.C. Fields; Eddie Peabody; George Burns and Gracie Allen; Ross and Stone; the Mayo Brothers; Teddy Brown and His Orchestra; Joey Faye; Frances White; Iron Eyes Cody; Will Rogers; Jack Spoons; Harry and Max Nesbitt; the Nicholas Brothers; Baby Rose Marie; the Ponce Sisters; Brown, Rich, and Ball; Fuzzy Knight and His Little Piano; Clayton, Jackson, and Durante; Gallagher and Shean; Van and Schenck; Ho Li Wun and His Orchestra; Ming and Toy; Fanny Brice; Pat Rooney; Carson Robison's Pioneers; the Duncan Sisters; Eunice Wilson and the Five Racketeers; Pigmeat Markham; Stump and Stumpy; Moms Mabley; Ethel Waters; Reed and Bryant; Eubie Blake; Bert Williams; Witt and Bert; Rudy Vallee and His Orchestra; Leo Fuchs and Yetta Swerling; Napier and Yvonne; Ruth Etting; Raquel Meller; Toy and Wing; Jack Benny and Larry Adler; Jimmy Cagney; Carl Ballantine; Ginger Rogers; Thelma White; Frank Fay and Beatrice Lillie; the Muppets; and Bill Irwin.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by Rosalind P. Walter, 1999.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS
- DATE: November 26, 1997 Wednesday 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:56:45
- COLOR/B&W: Color/B&W
- CATALOG ID: T:58328
- GENRE: Arts documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: African-American entertainers; Comedy; Music, popular (songs, etc.); She Made It Collection (Fanny Brice); Vaudeville; Indigenous Peoples Collection
- SERIES RUN: PBS - TV series, 1986-
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- For KCTS Television:
- Gary Gibson … Executive Producer
- Nolan Lehman … Production (Misc.), Production Manager
- For "American Masters":
- Susan Lacy … Executive Producer
- Jac Venza … Director of Cultural and Arts Programs
- Tamar Hacker … Senior Producer
- Karen Bernstein … Associate Producer
- Thomas Wagner … Theme Music by
- For "Vaudeville":
- Rosemary Garner … Producer
- Shannon Gee … Associate Producer
- Martha Reynolds … Production (Misc.), Assistant Producer
- Rachel Price … Researcher
- Greg Miller … Researcher
- Spencer Adams … Research
- Ned Palmer … Research
- Greg Palmer … Writer
- David Duvall … Composer
- Carey Black … Instrumentalist
- Joe Bichsell … Instrumentalist
- Matthew Cowan … Instrumentalist
- Dewey Marler … Instrumentalist
- Bruce Monroe … Instrumentalist
- Steve Mostovoy … Instrumentalist
- Gary Schutes … Instrumentalist
- Ben Vereen … Narrator
- George Abbott
- Larry Adler
- Gracie Allen
- Hadji Ali
- Morey Amsterdam
- Carl Ballantine
- Billy Barty
- Jack Benny
- Eubie Blake
- Fanny Brice
- Brown Rich and Ball
- Teddy Brown
- Josef Buloff
- George Burns
- Jimmy Cagney
- Eddie Cantor
- Violet Carlson
- Carver, Zeb, and His Country Cousins
- Chaz Chase
- Lou Clayton
- Iron Eyes Cody
- Coralee Jr.
- Bobby Coltman
- Sally DeMay
- Duncan Sisters, The
- Jimmy Durante
- Julian Eltinge
- Ruth Etting
- Frank Fay
- Joey Faye
- Benny Fields
- Lou Fields
- W.C. Fields
- Freehand and Love
- Trixie Friganza
- Joe Friscoe
- Leo Fuchs
- Edward Gallagher
- Morton Gould
- June Havoc
- Al Hirschfeld
- Ho Li Won
- Bill Irwin
- Eddie Jackson
- Fuzzy Knight
- Bert Lahr
- John Lahr
- Mercedes Lahr
- Jack LaMaire
- Eddie Lane
- Levan and Doris
- Liberty Quartet, The
- Beatrice Lillie
- Little Tich
- Moms Mabley
- Rose Marie
- Pigmeat Markham
- Gerald Marks
- Mayo Brothers, The
- Raquel Meller
- Maurice Tony Millard
- Ming and Toy
- The Muppets
- Napier and Yvonne
- Harry Nesbitt
- Max Nesbitt
- Fayard Nicholas
- Harold Nicholas
- Tony Pastor
- Eddie Peabody
- Molly Picon
- Ponce Sisters, The
- Puck and White
- Reed and Bryant
- Leonard Reed
- Robins, A., The Banana Man
- Carson Robison
- Ginger Rogers
- Will Rogers
- Pat Rooney
- Harry Rose
- Ross and Stone
- Chick Sale
- Blossom Seeley
- Al Shean
- Bobby Short
- Jeannie Silver
- Spanish Goldinies, The
- Jack Spoons
- Stump and Stumpy
- Yetta Swerling
- June Taylor
- Robert Townsend
- Toy and Wing
- Arthur Tracy
- Studs Turkel
- Rudy Vallee
- Van and Schenck
- Gus Visser
- Ethel Waters
- Mel Watkins
- Joe Weber
- Bert Williams
- Wilson Keppel and Betty
- Wilson, Eunice, and the Five Racketeers
- Frances White
- Thelma White
- Witt and Bert