Vaudeville on Vitaphone May 15, 2008

Trav S.D., modern-day vaudevillian and author of 'No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous' presents an evening of rare and hilarious comedy shorts from the late 1920s starring vaudeville's top comedians, including Burns and Allen, Bert Lahr, Joe E. Brown, Fred Allen, J.C. Flippen, Baby Rose Marie, and more! Trav S.D. explores the many ways in which vaudeville's story is the story of show business in America and documents the rich history and cultural legacy of our country's only purely indigenous theatrical form. The arrival of sound movies was the final blow that knocked vaudeville from the top of the entertainment world but ironically it also preserved many of vaudeville's greatest acts. Right around when they were making 'The Jazz Singer' (1927), Warner Bros. brought countless vaudeville performers into its Vitaphone studios. Newly restored by UCLA Film and Television Archives, these amazing short films offer an eye-opening, side-splitting window into a lost world of delightful American entertainment. Trav S.D., modern-day vaudevillian and author of 'No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous' presents an evening of rare and hilarious comedy shorts from the late 1920s starring vaudeville's top comedians.