The man who wrote the essay is a professor at UC Davis (about 12-20 miles from where I’m typing this): you could try asking him.
I guess I have to make the obligatory “it must be Gelli, 'cause jam don’t shake that that” crack here . . .
Gus Visser is perhaps best known for his tours with Jane Stanwyck in Barbara Frietchie.
. . . and this is why I love this place. No where else in the world do the jokes get this esoteric.
Did it echo?
Did it echo?
So that explains the picture I have of a man dressed as Stonewall Jackson with a duck under his arm…
Tonight’s the last of the three series. Especially looking forward to A Few Moments with Eddie Cantor (ca. 1923), though he probably won’t have his hand up a duck’s ass.
“Ohhh, Ida!”
Just watched the first hour of this program, and I have some comments:
What’s with the DeForest Phonofilms? The picture has a pixilated apperance.
Interesting seeing Joseph Jefferson as Rip Van Winkle.
Too bad that “Hands Up” is lost- the promo reel makes it seem interesting.
Why did they give away the Photoplay quiz solution?
I watched till Falling Leaves, then taped the rest and went to bed Though my tape was running low, and I’ll bet those “lost trailers” never got recorded, dammit. How was Eddie Cantor?
Bit strange to see and hear him so young. It felt a little like he was straining, trying to get someone to laugh at his jokes, in spite of the fact that there appeared to be no audience but the orchestra and technical crew.
He also felt a bit hyperactive, especially during his musical numbers.
But “hyperactive” was Eddie’s schtick! Bouncing about, rolling his eyes, clapping his hands. I just saw him this weekend in The Kid From Spain, and the movie skidded to a halt every time he wasn’t onscreen.
I do hope my tape didn’t run out before Eddie came on.
By the way, little “Trixie” from Falling Laves (1912)? Bet she grew up to be a helluva jazz baby!
True, but, for some reason, it looks a little silly when it’s just Eddie performing on a bare stage.
The other DeForest Phonofilm subject, President Calvin Coolidge, on the other hand, was anything but hyperactive.
Had they switched routines…
As was straining for a laugh. Damn, he was needy!
[Tries to picture Calvin Coolidge bouncing up and down and singing “Makin’ Whoopee!”]
I was thinking more along the lines of Cantor giving his all to a discussion of the tax structure, while President Coolidge sings “The Dumber They Are, The More I Like Them”, in his slow, somewhat wooden way.
dropzone- Indeed, and it stays a common thread throught his career.
For once, I saw the whole program. Does anyone care to discuss it with me?
Next week, after I’ve had time to play the tape (I thought the song was “When They’re Old Enough to Know Better, It’s Better to Leave Them Alone”).