h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Sorry, Muppet Show started in 1976.

Have you read Jack Finney's 'Time and Again'? If not, you should: he did amazing research into New York City in the 1880s. As I recall, he had a good chapter about early vaudevillians. You know, originally, those people mostly travelled from town to town, earning a meagre living with their 'party pieces'.

Nathan Birnbaum (George Burns) was one, so was Benny Kubelsky (Jack Benny), Minnie Marx's boys, those are the ones I remember offhand.

Jimmy Durante and Sophie Tucker were major vaudevillians as well. In the early 1960s, I saw a televised recital by Tucker, who by then was a not very little old lady who basically didn't sing. She spoke the lyrics for the most part.

The Seven Little Foys was a prominent vaudeville act. The ringleder of the act was Eddie Foy Senior, and his children were the "little Foys." Eddie Foy, Junior made the transition to Hollywood movies such as "Yankee Doodle Dandy," "Pajama Game, and "Bells are ringing." His brother Irvng was the last little Foy to die (in 2003.) Irving lived to be 95.

You can get a feel for the nomadic life of vaudevillians by watching "Calamity Jane" (1953), a movie about Deadwood City in which an entertainment-starved populace is waiting for Francis fryer to arrive and entertain them. They mistakenly think he's "Frances" (a woman). When he turns out to be a guy, the organizers of the theater make him dress up as a woman and sing falsetto. No one is fooled.

I keep foisting Doris Day movies on you, Dmitri, which only means that it's hard to find Day-free material on this subject.

Not really. Try the movie about the Seven Little Foys. Eddie Foy,Jr, is in it, I think. There's a cameo by Jimmy Cagney as George M Cohan.

Here's a Prelinger Archives silent clip of a vaudeville act. They were probably all nearly this bad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IblUzbSY3Og

Buster Keaton was in vaudeville as a kid. I've heard his dad got arrested on suspicion of child abuse, even though the kid actually liked being flung around the stage.

Here are most of the Foys in "Chips off the old block" [1928]
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1131583/?ref_=nm_dyk_trv7

The "movie" you are thinking of may have been been made for television
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0528233/?ref_=nm_flmg_act_15

Anyway, to be a true vaudevillian,you had to be born in a trunk in the Princess Theater in Pocatella, Idaho.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M2inytzqiBk

Oh, gack. Judy Garland.

That may be the one I was thinking of.

I just realised that this thread is supposed to be about ginger s. Apologies.

No more vaudeville Youtubes on this thread!

time for a potato varieties

you've got a "king Edward" but also a commentator

I'll get me coat

I agree with post 27 (sorry for high-jacking)

"I just realised that this thread is supposed to be about ginger cats." [Dmitri]

I will respect the topic and not post any more vaudeville links. I will also not explore the role of ginger cats in vaudeville, even though Lloyd Webber has seen fit to do so.

How about vaudevillains?

My mother thanks you for that. My father thanks you. My sister thanks you. And I thank you.

“It is a daily struggle for me to not buy more cats.” -- Taylor Swift

'Buy more cats.' BUY. MORE. CATS.

Who in the galaxy BUYS CATS???

She who can write songs criticizing her former boyfriends, of course.

It is unnecessary to buy cats. Cats deliver themselves to your door. For free.

The expense starts later... Cat food, litter, toys, furniture repair...

You know that, and I know that, Dmitri. But we're talking about a celebrity who lives in the Celebrity Universe. It is not at all like the universe that we live in.

Three years ago, the Celebrity Universe elected Hillary Clinton, and may not have noticed yet that their candidate didn't win. I'm not going to be the one to break the news to them -- not that they will believe me.

The movers and the shakers don't need our input. At all. Doesn't matter which party is involved. They know everything, so if you disagree with them, even a little bit, they'll just ignore you in the future.

Yes, but I am not interested in talking about celebrities. Only about s.

All cats are natural stars. They don't need likes on Twitter.

I could talk about celebrity cats. I think Morris would like that. he's a ginger cat to boot.

I think he died a while back. He was a pretty cat.

If you're into famous cats, do you watch 'Henri, le chat noir'?

Veteran actor John Mills was cast as Gus the Theater Cat in "Cats" in 1998

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNlxak-65Pc

In any event, orange tiger cats are my favorites.