"The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville" provides a unique record of
what was once America's preeminent form of popular entertainment
from the late 1800s through the early 1930s. It includes entries
not only on the entertainers themselves, but also on those who
worked behind the scenes, the theatres, genres, and historical
terms. Entries on individual vaudevillians include biographical
information, samplings of routines and, often, commentary by the
performers. Many former vaudevillians were interviewed for the
book, including Milton Berle, Block and Sully, Kitty Doner, Fifi
D'Orsay, Nick Lucas, Ken Murray, Fayard Nicholas, Olga Petrova,
Rose Marie, Arthur Tracy, and Rudy Vallee. Where appropriate,
entries also include bibliographies. The volume concludes with a
guide to vaudeville resources and a general bibliography.Aside from
its reference value, with its more than five hundred entries, "The
Encyclopedia of Vaudeville" discusses the careers of the famous and
the forgotten. Many of the vaudevillians here, including Jack
Benny, George Burns and Gracie Allen, Jimmy Durante, W. C. Fields,
Bert Lahr, and Mae West, are familiar names today, thanks to their
continuing careers on screen. At the same time, and given equal
coverage, are forgotten acts: legendary female impersonators Bert
Savoy and Jay Brennan, the vulgar Eva Tanguay with her billing as
"The I Don't Care Girl," male impersonator Kitty Doner, and a host
of "freak" acts.
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