Stars of the American Musical Theater in Historic Photographs

Stanley Appelbaum, James Camner

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2013
• ISBN:
  9780486149301
• Topic: Arte
• Subtopic: Storia della fotografia

Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Richard Rodgers — the names of composers of great American musicals are household words. But many of the stars who introduced these songwriters' classic triumphs and whose names were on everybody's lips a few decades ago have been all but forgotten. Now, with this book, you can take a fascinating journey into the days when Lillian Russell and Frank Daniels, or Marilyn Miller and William Gaxton, were as celebrated as the superstars of television and film are today.
This volume is the most complete collection of its kind. Its 361 vivid portraits of over 400 star entertainers of the past cover the whole spectrum of nearly a century of American musical theater. The portraits, many by the finest celebrity photographers of their day, and many of which are autographed presentation copies, are complemented by full captions exceptionally rich with information; together, they constitute a history of the American musical, its stars and supporting casts, its remembered and forgotten successes.
Brimming with life and personality, these portraits capture yesterday's stars in their most characteristic moods and postures. Along with scores of charming views of personalities as well-known on the screen as on the stage — Bob Hope, W. C. Fields, Ann Sothern, Fred Astaire, to name but a few — are shots of hundreds of performers who have been virtually or entirely forgotten because they were stars only — or at least primarily —`of the stage` Emma Trentini, Donald Brian, Nora Bayes, Fritzi Scheff, Lew Fields, Vernon and Irene Castle, Edith Day, Eugene and Willie Howard, Mary Ellis, Dennis King, Elsie Janis, Ray Middleton, Jack Whiting, Todd Duncan, and many, many more.
More than just a stunning portrait gallery, this book will challenge the imaginations and knowledge of musical-theater and nostalgia buffs. Among its hundreds of facts and photos are such special treats as shots — grouped together — of the original stars of Show Boat, Oklahoma! and South Pacific; portraits of composers who also performed in their own shows, like George M. Cohan, Eubie Blake, and Irving Berlin; fascinating views of today's television and film stars in their youth, along with information on their early, often little-known stage appearances; and notes on the first performances of song classics like `I Wonder Who's Kissing Her Now,` `Night and Day,` and `Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered.`
Unfortunately, in this age of electronics and breathless change, the days of vaudeville, operetta, revue, and early musical comedy have been too quickly forgotten. This book makes them a joy to remember. Besides being an invaluable aid to theatrical scholars, it will delight musical-theater enthusiasts and anyone wishing to revive the excitement of a fascinating segment of American entertainment history.

PICTURE SOURCES

The publisher and the two editors are most grateful to the following lenders of pictures. In a sense, this book is dedicated to the energy and generosity of these private collectors and dealers, who have made such a volume possible at a moment when public institutions are sorely tried. (The numbers are those of the illustrations.)

Eubie Blake: 194.

Robert Connally: 153, 159, 193, 195, 206, 215, 220, 231, 235, 254, 288, 301, 308, 335.

Dover Publications picture archive: 62, 65, 78, 167, 237, 238, 269, 270, 309.

Diane Koszarski: 163.

Lim M. Lai: 150.

W. Neale Lanigan: 168.

La Scala Autographs, Inc.: 101, 113, 164, 166, 184, 198, 207, 214, 222, 223, 232, 2.50, 251, 253, 296, 302, 306, 337, 356, 357.

Robert Tuggle: 114.

The following 83 autographed photos in this book come from M. Wesley Marans’ International Gallery of Autographed Photos (This Is My Favorite Photograph of Myself) © (the collection includes all occupations and interests from all over the world, e.g. aviation, politics, sports, women’s liberation, literary, the arts, inventors, etc.; competent authorities say no other similar collection compares with this in quality or scope; the Boston Athenaeum had a two-week exhibition in May of 1981 devoted entirely to the showing of 125 of the 5000 autographed photos in this collection): 57, 61, 71, 80, 86, 88, 95, 115, 117, 121, 127, 135, 138, 143, 146, 149, 151, 172, 174, 177, 178, 192, 197, 199, 200, 201, 203, 204, 208, 209, 216, 227, 228, 241, 242, 246, 247, 248, 252, 256, 257, 260, 261, 268, 271, 273, 274, 276, 279, 281, 282, 283, 285, 286, 289, 291, 293, 294, 300, 303, 304, 305, 307, 310, 311, 315, 316, 318, 319, 320, 323, 328, 329, 330, 345, 346, 347, 348, 350, 351, 354, 358, 359.

All the other pictures are from the collection of co-editor Appelbaum.

The unprecedented social upheaval and flow of money attendant on the Civil War left American audiences receptive to the more daring entertainments already current in Europe. The Black Crook of 1866 (not a musical but a romantic play with ballet sequences) and its spinoffs familiarized New Yorkers with pretty girls in tights. Then in 1868 the American conception of burlesque (a musical spoof of literature or history with parody lyrics fitted to standard tunes) was broadened by the arrival of Lydia Thompson’s British Blondes. The three stars, all English, are shown on this page.

1. PAULINE MARKHAM (ca. 1847–1919) was the chief beauty of the troupe. She continued to appear in N.Y. burlesque and variety (the earlier phase of vaudeville) and starred in the Black Crook revivals of 1870 and 1873. In the later 1870s she headed her own troupe but by the 1880s was connected only with seedier attractions. (Photo: Mora, N.Y.) 2. LYDIA THOMPSON (1836–1908). On stage in England from 1852 in burlesque and pantomime (not a wordless show, but a musical clown extravaganza based on children’s literature). Appeared in burlesques and other musicals in N.Y. 1868–74, 1877, 1888, 1891–92. 3. HARRY BECKETT (1839–1880), chief comedian of the troupe. Had appeared earlier in Liverpool. With Lydia Thompson until 1872; then, until shortly before his death, principal low comedian of the leading N.Y. stock company—Wallack’s.

4. JENNIE WORRELL (ca. 1850–1899). 5. SOPHIE WORRELL (died 1917). The Worrells (there was another sister, Irene) were the outstanding American exponents of burlesque (preceding Lydia Thompson’s arrival) and also prefigured the French opéra-bouffe craze that hit the U.S. hard in 1869. They first appeared in N.Y. in 1866 as dancers and general performers in variety and had their own theater in 1867. In the 1870s the sisters went their separate ways, Sophie enjoying the longest career as Mrs. George S. Knight; with Knight, whom she married in 1879, she appeared in straight comedies and some musicals. Knight died at the outset of the 1890s; Sophie’s last N.Y. appearance was in 1893. (Photos: Black & Case, Boston.) 6. WILLIAM HORACE LINGARD (ca. 1838–1927; born in England). In N.Y. variety from 1868 as singer, actor in his own sketches, quick-change artist and burlesque performer. Introduced many English music-hall song hits to America, including “Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines.” In full-length plays by 1872; not seen in N.Y. after 1882. (Photo: London & Provincial Photographic Co., Londo...