Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-01-12
OLD VAUDEVILLE TEAMS
SOME HAVE BEEN At WORK OVER
THIRTY YEARS.
old-TImers and Their Turns Recalled
Changes In Their Sketches.
From the Chicago TImes-Herald


variety" Here are a few interesting
proofs of this knowledge which he let slip
I'm New Year talk the o,her evening:
The first man" he remar ied, Ito intro
GuCe a varsity specially into what is now
called farce-comedy was Willie Edouin. 1t
Happened in a Jolly mess named Dreams;
"r, Fun in a Photograph Gallery b. F.
Keith elevated the variety stage when he
conceived the idea of continuous PERFORM
aus,-s. It was Keith who changed the
word variety 10 vaudeville This comes
under the head of important If true. and
wiz vnuch for the truth part of it. You
may he surprised in this connection TO have
N, tell you that what ;h= public most like
are cnestuuts. I mean oil jokes. OLD songs
.nd old specialtIes. You don't believe it!
Wei. here goes to show it.
You never heard of Fox and Ward. did
YOU? Probably if you saw their names on
the bill of first-class vaudeville theater
You would ask, Who are they. and where
aid they come from? They have been
working together as a team for over thirty
three years. and are still together. and
" hat is more. they do Il 'corking good
urn Mcintyre and Heath a firm name
more familiar here. runs them close sec
ord, for they have been business partners
for twenty-nine years.
that never lost interest tn the theatergoer
FOR years that number a score or two.
Billy Emerson sang The Big SunhoWer
and Are You There, Moriarity? for over
thrty-fiye years. J. W. McAndrews sang
The Watermelon Man for the same length
OF time Cool Burgess won money and
good will for thirty years singing 'Nicode
mus Johnson L have idea that when
William Gillette wrote Too Much Johnson
hc had Cool Burgess in mind. John Kernel
tells the same jokes today that he did
tweUty-tiV years ago. He makes no bones
about 1t. either. He bluntly says: Why
mot? ] always give the public what they
want. Old gags are the proper thing. They
won't laugh at new ones. so every year i
turn mn with the same Old bunch
Flora Moore sang Come EaCk' for
twenty-five years She is still singing it in
England. Dick Sands did clog dance for
thirty Years without changing his step
Dave Reed sang Sally Come Up for nearly
thirty years. He taught the song to his
children, and the Reed family are singing
it to this day. Sam Dearin, the musical
moke. has been playing the same instru-
nents and the same old tunes on the same
old instruments for the past twenty-five
years.
An OId-Time sketch.
THE Russell brothers have done their
sketch. The Irish Chambermsid.' for over
twenty years. They are still a 1t. School
craft and Goes did Mrs. Didimus' Party
for twenty-five years. The Reynolds broth
crS. the Collins brothers the Barlow broth
and the Cogil brothers did the same
style of a song and dance act for over flf-
teen years. The Cogil brothers are now in
Australia pegging away at The Happy
Hotteutots.' Ella Wesner sang song call
ed The Captain for nearly thirty years
Maggie Cline has been singing Throw Him
Down, McClusky,' for fifteen years. The
audiences never satisfied with her new
songs. They yell for 'McCusky' and she
is always good-naturediy ready TO sing it.
"Dagmar. the yodler, has been yodlng
the same old yodles for the past twenty
years. The Olympia Quartet have been to-
gether for twenty-one years. They are the
only quartet in the show business today
with this record A feature Of their spe-
cialty is "a drill which drove them into the
business. and which they still do. Kitty
- NELL did the same jig for twelve years.
Happy Cal Wagner is entitled to the blre
ribbon for old joke telling. In his thirty
odd years in the minstrel business he Fever
changed joke or a song. Frank White.
the minstrel. is still doing a peculiar laugh
which he introduced in n sketch twenty
seven Years ago. The Four ShamrockS
lid q sketch, entitled The Hold Carriers
Strike about building house. for four
teen years. Billy COPYRIGHT sang 'Flewey
F'lewey. for nearly twenty-five years
Sweet Eyelina He sang this song for
over twenty years. and then wtlled it to
Bert Haverly Haverlv sang 1t until ten
years ago. when he got hold of an Italian
song Called ne flDe Bdndn, WHICH nt
has held 10 ever since.
Specialties That Wear.
Sol and Julia Aiken did sketch, katie
Don't Cry for twenty-one years. Pa
Rooney sang Pretty Peggy fer eighteen
years. Harry Watson has been doing the
same wooden shoe dance for twenty-si,
years. Tupack and Steele are doing I'll,
same knuckabout act they did twenty-five,
jS he u,f
stump speech he stumped thirty-twu year:
ago. Even Dan Rice once insisted re
turning to the circus ring and telling joke:
lie tnld f4rty years ago. Rice and Barton
doing song and dance they have beer
at for over twenty-seVen years. Charley
Banks sang A Poor Old Maid for twenty
years. Senator Frank Rell did the same
old stump speech for twenty-eight years
lie Is at present doing a dramatic stun
with play Of New England life. In tn,
'out of the season time he returns to tn,
vaudeville stage and springs that same OLE
stump speech. Billy Arlington, the min
strel. did imitation of u horse race will
set Of bones for over thirty-five years.
Does that look as if The people wanted
new gags and songs? Wen l guess not
Let man or woman who has been doin:
certain speciality for a number of year
Try new brand OF songs and jokes and Sc
how the average theatergocr will take il
This is about what they will say: Eyes
that's very good. but I'd rather see the ac
he or she did last year They want chest
nuts. tell you--chvs tnuts-and if you wan
70 get a good salary You must have an &C
the public are used to seeing.
When yOu hear a new joke in theate
You can make up your mind within tw
weeks il will have Travelled from New YER
I San Francisco. One can never tell VIII
originates II story or gag. You may hea
twenty different comedians tell the sam
gag or story, and every one of them Wi
lay claim TO it original. The Roger
brothers have suffered more from this crib
bling than any pair know of on the stage
They have method of their own, however
which separates their rendering of story
gag or song from imitators.
The Conversational Dance
Every now and then some one breaks OF
with claim that the popular converse
ttonal dance began with him. As a matte
~ fact. it was first done by Billy Gould an
Nellie Burt fourteen years ego and was nc
copied until 1872, and then 1t caught on an
spread like prairie fire. Eddie Foy orig
mated what Is termed finger dancing
Wills =. Sweatnam originated blaC k fac
monologue.' Frank F.. McNish originate
the acrubatic dancing act called silence an
fun This specially is done by nearly ever
comedian who knows how to throw "a fill
Hap.
Gus Mills was the first man who ev,