Helene Anna Held (Warsaw, 1873?– New York, August 12, 1918), known as Anna Held, was one of the most inventive, beautiful and engaging stars of the beginning of the 20th century. Her birth date is uncertain, variously reported to have occurred in Warsaw or Paris anywhere from 1865 to 1878. She is usually thought to…Continue Reading Anna Held: The Trend-Setting Star from “Paris” by David Soren
Category: Story
Annette Hanshaw: The Personality Girl by David Soren
Annette Hanshaw (Manhattan, October 18, 1901 – Manhattan, March 13, 1985) was born Catherine Annette Hanshaw. A number of her family members were in vaudeville and she was brought up to love the entertainment business although she studied art and design and wanted to be an artist and portrait painter. She was an exceptionally beautiful…Continue Reading Annette Hanshaw: The Personality Girl by David Soren
African-American Vaudeville: Separate and Unequal by Amber Kearns
The Vaudeville genre was particularly popular in the United States and Canada from the late 1900s until its decline in the 1920s. Including musicians, dancers, actors in short scenes, comedians, magicians, animals, and many other acts, these performances were various and unique, often having little relation to one another, yet grouped on one bill. The…Continue Reading African-American Vaudeville: Separate and Unequal by Amber Kearns
Aida Overton Walker: Female African-American Superstar by David Soren
Aida Overton Walker is a name that should be more familiar to vaudeville and theater lovers than it is for she was the foremost African-American star of her generation which comprised the early years of the 20th century. Her national and even international fame was such that she was a living legend of black show…Continue Reading Aida Overton Walker: Female African-American Superstar by David Soren
Cliff Edwards: The Voice of Disney’s Jiminy Cricket by David Soren
If Cliff Edwards (Hannibal, Missouri, June 14, 1895 – Hollywood, July 17, 1971) is remembered at all today it is for two reasons. First is his nickname during his career of Ukulele Ike and the second is his voice-over of the role of Jiminy Cricket in the Walt Disney cartoon Pinocchio of 1940 in which…Continue Reading Cliff Edwards: The Voice of Disney’s Jiminy Cricket by David Soren
Burns and Allen: America’s Favorite Comedy Duo- by Frank Cullen
George Burns (1896–1996) & Gracie Allen (c.1896–1964) Flirtation acts were big in 1920s vaudeville, and some remained big into decades of television sitcoms. Burns & Allen became the best known of them because of their years of popularity in network radio, in movies and on television. Among their better contemporaries—and good friends—were Jesse Block (1900–1983)…Continue Reading Burns and Allen: America’s Favorite Comedy Duo- by Frank Cullen
Autographs, Celebrity
Included here are autographs of various celebrities who are not otherwise represented in this archive. An autographed sheet music of Al Jolson is included within his entry and there is another in the Harry Carroll entry. Some of the autographs collected on the music are not from vaudeville stars: DAVIS, EDDIE, SHE CAME ROLLIN’ DOWN…Continue Reading Autographs, Celebrity
Al Jolson: Ultimate Vaudeville Superstar by David Soren
No vaudeville collection would be complete without a commentary on the greatest of all vaudeville and Broadway stars of the 1910s and 1920s, Al Jolson. The University of Arizona collection has a large number if not a complete number of Jolson sheet music including one piece signed by him personally. Jolson was a vaudeville…Continue Reading Al Jolson: Ultimate Vaudeville Superstar by David Soren
Arthur McWatters and Grace Tyson: Singing Vaudeville Comedians by David Soren
Grace Tyson ca. 1910 Arthur McWatters (1871-1963) grew up in Saginaw, Michigan, and returned there throughout his life to hunt and fish in the area. He taught piano and organ there as a young man, and advertised himself as a “tenor balladist” already with several compositions to his name. In the mid-1890s he and three…Continue Reading Arthur McWatters and Grace Tyson: Singing Vaudeville Comedians by David Soren
B. F. Keith: Controversial Vaudeville Entrepreneur by Christopher B. Vasquez-Wright
Benjamin Franklin Keith (B. F. Keith) was a vaudeville entrepreneur and known as the father of the “bigtime” entertainment. B.F. Keith was born in January 26, 1846 in Hillsborough Bridge, New Hampshire. He died in March 26, 1914, at The Breakers, Palm Beach Florida. Mr. Keith is best known for gentrifying vaudeville entertainment, from preceding…Continue Reading B. F. Keith: Controversial Vaudeville Entrepreneur by Christopher B. Vasquez-Wright