Armond Fields

"This book tells the stories of 80 women who were among the top vaudeville acts in the late 19th and early 20th century. The author summarizes the history of women in the performance industry and traces the lifespan of vaudeville. Biographies of the performers appear in order of the date they entered vaudeville"--Provided by publisher.

Eighty Biographical Profiles

Women Vaudeville Stars

Just a century ago Eddie Foy was the consummate stage comedian. A versatile performer, Foy contributed to the development of popular theater from the Civil War to the Roaring Twenties, from poverty-inspired Irish two-acts to lavish musical comedies. This first-ever biography of Foy tells the story of his indigent childhood in New York's Bowery and in Chicago, his tough uphill climb as a variety artist at Western outposts, his success in vaudeville and Broadway, and his arrival as a national icon with the Seven Little Foys. Foy's career mirrored the growth of popular theater entertainment in America. Exhaustively researched, this work contains many rare personal photographs from the Foy family archives.

A Biography of the Early Popular Stage Comedian

Eddie Foy

L. Marc Fields

This fascinating tour of Broadway's beginnings and the early days of the American popular theater features revealing anecdotes about a who's who of early Broadway, including Helen Hayes, Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart, and Fredric March--all discoveries of Lew Fields. 50 halftone illustrations.

Lew Fields and the Roots of American Popular Theatre

From the Bowery to Broadway

When he died in 1933, James J. "Gentleman Jim" Corbett was honored by two distinguished groups of people: the professional boxing public, who celebrated him as America's greatest boxing champion, and the world of popular theater admirers, who revered him as one of Broadway's top vaudeville headliners. Corbett was uniquely instrumental in making boxing and popular theater both justifiable commercial enterprises, to be enjoyed by all classes of people. He became America's first national sports hero and went on to formulate the theater world's star system. This is the first definitive biography of the man who knocked out heavyweight champion John L. Sullivan, and who also knocked out audiences who flocked to see him in vaudeville and silent pictures. The focus herein is on the real man, the influences on his life, and the social and commercial environment within which he functioned. The author reveals that Corbett was a complex, driven, enigmatic man whose dedicated participation in popular entertainment changed American social values and mores, and at the same time reinvented the notion of a national hero.

A Biography of the Heavyweight Boxing Champion and Popular Theater Headliner

James J. Corbett

Santa Barbara Museum of Art

A Montmartre Cabaret and Its Artists in Turn-of-the Century Paris

Le Chat Noir

Tells the story of a formidable crusader for women's equality, McCormick was a driving force in the battle for the women's vote, the birth control movement, and Planned Parenthood.

Pioneer for Women's Rights

Katharine Dexter McCormick

"This is a biography of a vaudeville and cabaret performer who saw herself as one of the first liberated women and the "Last of the Red Hot Mammas." It tells the story of her birth as her mother traveled to Boston from Russia, her childhood in Boston, and her first public performance at Poli's Vaudeville Theatre at the age of 13. It also recounts her troubled marriage to Louis Tuck and the birth of their son, her meeting with Willie Howard, a vaudeville veteran who encouraged her to go to New York and pursue a stage career, her discovery by Flo Ziegfeld, her rise to headliner status under the guidance of her agent William Morris, and her work in films."--BOOK JACKET.

First Lady of Show Business

Sophie Tucker

At a time when serious plays dominated the stages, Lillian Russell was one of the first to popularize musical theater. With her beauty, voice, and grace, she became the symbol of the new American woman. She used those attributes to attain power, social status and wealth, and then went on to become one of the earliest champions of womens equality. Her life and career are covered here in-depth.

Armond Fields

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