Variety Shows ( #AtoZChallenge )

If all the world's a stage then a variety show is like a microcosmic representation of the universe in all of its infinite variety...

A holy grail of television variety shows

       One of the biggest attractions of the vaudeville stage show was the variety of entertainers presented.  In the span of a couple hours on the same stage one could enjoy singers, dancers, and comedians along with jugglers, magicians, acrobats, or whatever talent had been employed for that show.  It was an extravaganza intended for the delight of audiences who didn't get to see such things on a daily basis.

        While radio might have helped vaudeville in several ways, the advent of television was the death knell for vaudeville.  If movies had already taken a toll on the vaudeville show, television essentially sealed the deal.  The live stage variety show became a rare event in theaters while these shows became the mainstay of television.  Families in the fifties and sixties regularly gathered around their television sets to watch variety shows throughout the week.  For over two decades The Ed Sullivan Show was the most popular of them all.

          For performing acts like my family--The Juggling Jacksons-- an appearance on The Ed Sullivan show was synonymous with "hitting the big time."    A big break came in the spring of 1970 when the show's talent coordinator contacted our agent to have us come to Philadelphia to audition for the show.  It was uncommon for my father to accept an audition offer, but it was worth making the exception for a chance at Ed Sullivan.  

           Since we were living in Tennessee at the time, my father decided to take some time off from work and make the trip a vacation.  We visited NYC and DC among other places.  The audition went very well and it looked like we would be set for the upcoming season.  Then the show was cancelled from the CBS line-up.  After over 20 years and our chance to make it on national TV the Ed Sullivan dream vanished.  

          There are still variety revues being presented throughout the United States and other parts of the world--there likely always will be as long as there are entertainers with skills to present to audiences. There is not the organization in routing or organized tours like there were in the heyday of vaudeville, but there is certainly the potential to do so.  After all, with the resources available today a very organized tour could be put together--and some have been.

          Today's audiences are more sophisticated than a hundred or even fifty years ago. It's like they've seen everything and have access to anything they'd want to see by looking no further than their computer screens and television sets.  Still, people enjoy being entertained.  Variety shows have evolved in some cases in order to accommodate modern minds.  Then there are the retro shows that seek to recapture the flavor of the old shows.  Something for everyone is like a mantra for modern times.

          Perhaps there is something worth considering in this thought.  I am considering something.

          When is the last time you saw a live variety show, whether professional or amateur?  Are there any television variety shows that you still watch and enjoy?    Which bands have you seen that have incorporated elements of novelty entertainment?

Vaudeville Victim

           In the 1950s it was almost as though the United States was waking from a sleep sometimes filled with dreams and other times nightmares.  The second half of the 20th century saw the emergence of the victims of the first half.  There were the victims of wars, the Great Depression, and political and social change.  And then there were the victims of vaudeville.  My father was a victim of vaudeville.


         My father was born as vaudeville was dying.  November 16th of 1932, ten years after my father's birth, the famed Palace Theater in New York switched to a movies only programming schedule.  The live vaudeville shows were becoming a thing of the past as the popularity of talking pictures swept the nation.

        Some of the vaudeville stars made the successful transition from stage to screen.  Bob Hope, W.C. Fields, Al Jolson, Mae West, and many others did well in the new medium.  The biggest group of artists to suffer was the variety acts--the magicians, acrobats, animal acts, and jugglers.  The touring vaudeville circuit was no longer the lucrative guarantee for work that it had been prior to talking pictures.

         After leaving his stint in the Navy during World War Two and a couple of seasons on the basketball team of West Virginia University, my dad began pursuing a part time career as a juggler.  He still had the dreams that many entertainers of that era had:  Vaudeville was going to come back bigger than ever.  


         The shows he worked in the fifties almost seemed like vaudeville.  Veteran acts from that past era were booked on shows with newcomers like my dad.  Some of the acts were legends in the business.  The show line-ups were often much like those one might have seen twenty years earlier, except now the venues were different.  Instead of the grand old theaters of the heyday of the vaudeville era, now the shows were in nightclubs and at corporate functions.  The working entertainers were still living the dream.

          But that dream was dying.  Rock and roll had arrived and was here to stay.  And then there was the biggest vaudeville threat of them all--television.  The vaudeville dreamers no longer dreamed of getting booked on a "circuit" or of playing the Palace Theater.  Now it was The Ed Sullivan Show or one of the other television variety shows.  The dreams of the vaudevillian dreamer didn't die easily.

           My dad never made it to The Ed Sullivan Show--almost but no cigar.  We auditioned our act for the show producers and they were very interested.  Then the show went off the air.  We worked regularly and performed in some big time shows.  We made some pretty decent money for a job on the side, but my dad was no idle dreamer.  He always kept a good daytime job.  His juggling act was something he did because he loved it and he had a vaudeville dream that started in his childhood.

          Many people today may have never heard of vaudeville or may not have an idea of what it was.  Now vaudeville is mainly only of interest to a few historians or a handful of hobbyists who have an interest in the era.  Movies about vaudeville are not especially popular anymore and are only occasionally run on classic movie channels.  Vaudeville is dead and so are most of its victims.

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         Have you voted for Alex J Cavanaugh's book trailer yet?  Alex is one of the A to Z co-hosts. The trailer for his book CassaStar is part of the You Gotta Read Reviews Book Video Contest.  Make sure you click on over and vote for his trailer.   Voting will close 11:59 PM Central April 26--that's tonight if you are reading this today!  Show your support for our gracious A to Z co-host Alex J. Cavanaugh and if you've never visited his blog now is a good time to do so.


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If you haven't heard yet, there will be an A to Z Challenge Reflections Mega Post on Monday May 2nd.  Read more about this post here.
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Are you a fan of vaudeville?   Do you have any favorite vaudeville inspired movies?  What is your favorite genre of performance entertainment?




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My Life As A Televison Show

            Today I'm taking a break from music and movies, but I'm not straying far.   Jennee Thompson at Cheap Therapy has offered up a little blog challenge that makes an interesting proposal:

           ".... Compare your life to one of your favorite TV shows growing up. Is it anything like your life then or now? Are you a main character? If the show was still on would you watch it."

            I like this challenge.  As I child I did tend to watch a goodly amount of television.  I grew up in the 1950s and 60s so my television choices may be dated, but I think most people will be familiar with them since they have been in such wide syndication.

            Overall my favorite TV show when I was young was The Twilight Zone.  There may have been some times of my life when it seemed like I was in The Twilight Zone, but overall I guess my life wasn't that weird.  The great writing of Twilight Zone episodes probably had as much influence on my own aspirations as a writer as anything else.  Since its original run, The Twilight Zone has reappeared in other incarnations, but I've never really gotten interested in those.  Nothing has taken the place of those old black and white original installments.

           Another favorite program that I did identify with in many ways was Leave It To Beaver.  Part of the great popularity of this show in its day was the way it effectively captured the lifestyle of many typical American families.  I easily identified with Beaver Cleaver since I was about his age.  I didn't have an older brother, but when my father came home from work each evening he was wearing a suit and tie and my mother was always at home with me and my siblings.  The events depicted in the show were not rip-roaring ridiculous, but very real in a humorous way.  The parents were kindly and wise, and the kids were mostly obedient and faced the music when they weren't.  In the end a lesson was always learned.

          Leave It To Beaver still shows up in syndication and whenever I happen across it I usually watch it.  The show still holds its charm for me.  In the 90s the show was revived with Jerry Mathers, the original Beaver Cleaver, as a grown man with kids of his own.  I anxiously tuned in when it first came on and I still enjoyed the updated version.  The show still had some of the original characters and Jerry Mathers was still the Beaver except older.  However, not being much of a TV watcher I didn't keep up religiously with the program, but I watched and enjoyed it when I did turn it on.

           The favorite show that I would most compare my life to is The Ed Sullivan Show.   This was a variety show that came on every Sunday evening.  All sorts of entertainers were showcased in this one hour throwback to vaudeville.  Ed Sullivan's show showcased singers, comedians, and variety acts.  Through the show American audiences were introduced to Elvis Presley, The Beatles, and many other huge stars of the rock and pop era.  You can still see reruns of Ed Sullivan episodes on television and I'll always stop to watch when I run across one.  I even have some of the Ed Sullivan DVDs that have been put out.

           In the movie musical Bye Bye Birdie the family's dream is to be on the Ed Sullivan Show, which becomes the denouement of the story.  The Ed Sullivan Show was a cultural touchstone for the era.  Since my family did a professional juggling act, an appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show was one of my father's biggest dreams. It never happened.  Back then my role on the show would have been an appearance as a performer.

            Throughout my life the Ed Sullivan Show influence has been felt as I pursued my own show business career in the late 70s and 80s.  Now I feel like Ed Sullivan on my blog.  Every week I feel like I'm trying to present a blog version of Ed Sullivan's variety show as I present topics of a wide range.  I'm not content to stick to one single subject.  It's not over til the fat lady sings, and even then it's not really over.  Next week I might have puppets, circus acts, an up and coming comedian, or a scene from the latest Broadway musical. 

          Ed Sullivan used to say, "Tonight we have a really big shoe."   When he said "show" it sounded like "shoe".    That's what I try to envision on my blog--"a really big shoe".  If I'm trying to follow in Ed Sullivan's footsteps then I've got some really big shoes to fill.

           I have one more scheduled mini blog fest which will be happening next Monday July 5th.  I don't think I'll get much participation on this one since it has to do with music influenced by Spanish and Latin American culture.  But don't just dismiss it thinking you don't know enough about it.   Don't forget about artists like Santana, Shakira, Richie Valens, and Julio Iglesias.  The Spanish / Latin influence in music goes way back and covers many fads and styles.  There is the dance music like tango, cha cha, salsa, and rumba.  Cuban and Brazilian (okay Portuguese is okay) music have been staples to many of our ears.  This might be more fun than you think so I hope you'll join us.   Linky list should be going up tomorrow.

Music Playlist at MixPod.com