Summary of Kliph Nesteroff's The Comedians

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book.

Book Preview: #1 In the early twentieth century, the United States had around 5,000 vaudeville theaters. They were controlled by a small group of moguls who were extremely wealthy and sought only to maximize profit. They intimidated their competitors into submission.

#2 The Orpheum circuit had been Keith-Albee’s largest competitor, with theaters in Calgary, Champaign, Davenport, Decatur, Denver, Des Moines, Duluth, Fresno, Kansas City, Lincoln, Los Angeles, Madison, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Oakland, Omaha, Portland, Rockford, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle and Sioux City.

#3 Vaudeville was a rough life, and many of the acts lived in boardinghouses or did odd jobs to subsidize their meager incomes. Some comics were in demand not for their act, but for their connections.

#4 The burlesque and vaudeville comedy scenes were completely separate from each other, and burlesque relied on stock routines and characters. The most common burlesque comedy conventions were racial caricature and rampaging husbands.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: Feb 23, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669351689

IRB Media

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Insights on Kliph Nesteroff's The Comedians

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 4

Insights from Chapter 5

Insights from Chapter 6

Insights from Chapter 7

Insights from Chapter 8

Insights from Chapter 9

Insights from Chapter 10

Insights from Chapter 11

Insights from Chapter 12

Insights from Chapter 13

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

In the early twentieth century, the United States had around 5,000 vaudeville theaters. They were controlled by a small group of moguls who were extremely wealthy and sought only to maximize profit. They intimidated their competitors into submission.

#2

The Orpheum circuit had been Keith-Albee’s largest competitor, with theaters in Calgary, Champaign, Davenport, Decatur, Denver, Des Moines, Duluth, Fresno, Kansas City, Lincoln, Los Angeles, Madison, Memphis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Oakland, Omaha, Portland, Rockford, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, San Francisco, Seattle and Sioux City.

#3

Vaudeville was a rough life, and many of the acts lived in boardinghouses or did odd jobs to subsidize their meager incomes. Some comics were in demand not for their act, but for their connections.

#4

The burlesque and vaudeville comedy scenes were completely separate from each other, and burlesque relied on stock routines and characters. The most common burlesque comedy conventions were racial caricature and rampaging husbands.

#5

Burlesque comedy was risqué, while vaudeville had pathological sanctimony. Vaudeville houses posted warnings about verboten subject matter. The phrase working blue came into usage at the time.

#6

The attraction of rotten food was matched by the attraction of so-rotten-they’re-good performers. Child acts featuring Groucho Marx, Phil Silvers, and Buster Keaton were among the most popular forms of vaudeville comedy.

#7

The Three Keatons were an original stand out compared to the majority of vaudeville comedy featuring children. The schoolroom sketch was the most popular type of comedy in vaudeville from 1905 to 1920, and many comedians made their careers out of racial caricature.

#8

The protests against racial caricature in vaudeville led to changes, but not nearly enough.

#9

The Stooges were first billed as Ted Healy and His Three Southern Gentlemen, but when the act broke up in the early 1930s, the Stooges started getting offers for films.

#10

The first great comic emcee was San Francisco native Frank Fay. He not only became a celebrity, but developed the idea of an emcee, which was the first step in stand-up comedy.

#11

The Marx Brothers were the most famous family of comedians, and their influence can be seen today in the art form of stand-up comedy. They were also the first comedians to use egomaniacal monikers, like The Great Fay, The King and Broadway’s Favorite Son.

#12

The Marx Brothers had a very fast, manic