entertainment history

 Join Scott Jagow in Total Information AM Saturday as we journey through significant moments in history on March 2nd. From the iconic 1933 release of King Kong, where a chair fails to fend off the massive beast, to the enchanting 1944 Academy Award-winning film Casablanca, featuring the memorable line, "We'll always have Paris." Relive the astonishing sports feat of Wilt Chamberlain scoring 100 points in a single game in 1962 and the debut of comedian Jay Leno on the Johnny Carson Show in 1977. Explore the cultural impact of Frank Sinatra, who clinched a Grammy for Best Record in 1967 with the timeless "Strangers in the Night." 

On this day in 1985, “Garfield’s Halloween Adventure” aired for the first time on CBS.

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Tune in as Johnny Rabbit takes us on a journey through St. Louis' German heritage and the vibrant entertainment scene of the 1960s. Learn about the rich history of German breweries in the city, including the iconic Anheuser Busch and the now-extinct Falstaff. Discover the rise and fall of local beer brands and the enduring legacy of Schlafly. Delve into the entertainment district of the 1960s known as the "Gaslight Square," where legendary performers like Barbra Streisand, Woody Allen, and Lenny Bruce graced the stages of nightspots like Jay Fran and Fred Landis' Crystal Palace. Explore the stories of Dixieland jazz, progressive jazz, and other musical genres that flourished during that era. Journey back to the Playboy Club and the Chase Club, iconic venues that hosted memorable performances and brought glamour to the city. Don't miss this insightful look at St. Louis' past and its vibrant entertainment history.

Vander Clyde Broadway went by a few different names in his life, but Barbette is the one he got famous with. He was a female impersonator from Texas who became the toast of Paris in the 1920s.

Research:

•         Ninesling, Rosie. “Meet Barbette, Round Rock’s Cross-Dressing Performer From the 1920s.” Austin Monthly. December 2021. https://www.austinmonthly.com/meet-barbette-round-rocks-cross-dressing-performer-from-the-1920s/
•         Kendall Curlee, “Broadway, Vander Clyde [Barbette],” Handbook of Texas Online. Texas State Historical Association. https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/broadway-vander-clyde-barbette
•         Steegmuller, Francis. “An Angel, a Flower, a Bird.”  The New Yorker. Sept. 27, 1969. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1969/09/27/an-angel-a-flower-a-bird
•         Pryor, Thomas M. “Hollywood Arena: ‘Big Circus’ Troupe Works to Equal Big Top’s Authenticity and Color.” New York Times. January 11, 1959. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1959/01/11/83434437.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
•         Gils, Bieke. “Flying, Flirting, and Flexing: Charmion’s Trapeze Act, Sexuality, and Physical Culture at the Turn of the Twentieth Century.” Journal of Sport History, vol. 41, no. 2, 2014, pp. 251–68. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5406/jsporthistory.41.2.251
•         Dimock, Chase. “ “THE SURREAL SEX OF BEAUTY: JEAN COCTEAU AND MAN RAY’S ‘LE NUMÉRO BARBETTE.’” As It Ought to Be. June 2, 2011. https://asitoughttobemagazine.com/2011/06/02/the-surreal-sex-of-beauty-jean-cocteau-and-man-rays-le-numero-barbette/
•         “Barbette in Amazing Feats at the Palace.” New York Times. Feb. 8, 1927. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/02/08/110039993.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
•         Gallico, Paul. “Thinking Aloud: give a Cheer for an Artist.” The San Francisco Examiner. April 28, 1948. https://www.newspapers.com/image/458500827/?terms=vander%20barbette&match=1
•         Cole Brothers Circus Is Rehearsing in Louisville This Year for the Last Time.” The Courier-Journal. April 10, 1949. https://www.newspapers.com/image/110868149/?terms=vander%20barbette&match=1
•         “150 From Circus Recover After Food Poisoning.” Evening Star. June 19, 1943. https://www.newspapers.com/image/868025427/?terms=vander%20barbette&match=1
•         “New  Cole Brothers Circus Puts Emphasis on Beauty.” Globe-Gazette. July 8, 1949. https://www.newspapers.com/image/724153/?terms=vander%20barbette&match=1
•         Atkinson, J. Brooks. “Songs, Dances and Costumes.” New York Times. Feb, 13, 1927. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1927/02/13/98532388.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
•         “From Round Rock to the Moulin Rouge: The Story of Barbette.” Round Rock ISD. https://history.roundrockisd.org/from-round-rock-to-the-moulin-rouge-the-story-of-barbette/
•         “Vander Barbette Is Dead at 68; Trapeze Artist in the Twenties.” New York Times. Aug. 10, 1973. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1973/08/10/148684612.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
•         Estrada, John-Carlos. “#TBT: From Round Rock to the Moulin Rouge, meet aerialist and drag performer Barbette.” CBS Austin. Aug. 19, 2022. https://cbsaustin.com/newsletter-daily/tbt-from-round-rock-to-the-moulin-rouge-meet-aerialist-and-drag-performer-barbette-vander-clyde-broadway-female-impersonator-french-poet-jean-cocteau-paris-alfaretta-sisters-world-famous-aerial-queens-1969-new-yorker-article-strange-beauty-wire-walker

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Augustin Daly is often described as a foundational figure of the U.S. theater. He wrote, adapted, and produced dozens of plays in the 19th century, and he created a theater company that produced many stars of the New York stage.

Research:

• “Augustin Daly Enjoins Dixey.” New York Times. March 22, 1896. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1896/03/22/105744198.html?pageNumber=3
• “Augustin Daly Recovers From Illness.” New Yor Times. June 6, 1899. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/06/06/118938057.html?pageNumber=7
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Augustin Daly". Encyclopedia Britannica, 16 Jul. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Augustin-Daly
• Powell, Wiliam S., ed. “Dictionary of North Carolina Biography.” North Carolina Press. 1979-1996.
• “Dramatic Copyright.” New York Times. Dec, 18, 1868. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1868/12/18/issue.html
• “Augustin Daly’s Victory.” New York Times. July 11, 1885. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1885/07/11/103630354.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• Daly, Augustin. “Divorce: A Play of the Period in Five Acts.” ACTED AT THE FIFTH AVENUE THEATRE FOR THE FIRST TIME, SEPTEMBER 5th, 1871. NEW YORK: PRINTED AS MANUSCRIPT ONLY, FOR THE AUTHOR. 1884. https://archive.org/stream/divorceplayofper00daly/divorceplayofper00daly_djvu.txt
• Brown, Thomas Alston. “A History of the New York Stage From the First Performance in 1732 to 1901.” (Reprint) Legare Street Press. 2022.
• “Mr. Daly’s Opening Play.” New York Times. October 5, 1888. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/10/05/106197330.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• “Mr. Daly’s New Drama.” New York Times. Oct. 25, 1888. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1888/10/25/106200311.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• “Funeral of Augustin Daly.” New York Times. June 19, 1899. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/06/19/100446037.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• Dithmar, Edward A. “The Career of Augustin Daly.” June 18, 1899. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/06/18/117925544.html?pageNumber=30
• “Intimate Glimpses of Augustin Daly.” New York Times. October 7, 1917. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1917/10/07/96274408.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0
• Jaworowski, Ken. “Review: ‘Leah, the Forsaken’ is an 1862 Drama With Modern Resonance.” New York Times. Feb. 21, 2017. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/21/theater/leah-the-forsaken-review.html
• Eytinge, Rose. “The Memories of Rose Eytinge: Being Recollections & Observations of Men, Women, and Events, during Half a Century.” New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1905.
• Daly, Joseph Francis. “Life of Augustin Daly.” Macmillan. 1927.
• “Augustin Daly.” New York Times. June 9, 1899. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1899/06/09/101231584.pdf?pdf_redirect=true&ip=0

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After the 1844 Paris expo, Robert-Houdin turned his efforts to creating his own stage show. He created automata tricks that still delight today, and quickly became a very famous magician.

Research:

• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Jun. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Eugene-Robert-Houdin
• “How to Do the Classic Cups & Balls Trick.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVXNCMdKs-Y&t=124s
• “ROBERT-HOUDIN TRIPLE MYSTERY CLOCK.” JACQUES NÈVE HORLOGER D'ART. https://www.horloger.net/purchase-sales/mystery-clocks/74-robert-houdin-triple-mystery-clock/
• Robert-Houdin, Jean-Eugène. “Memoirs of Robert-Houdin : ambassador, author, and conjurer.” Geo. G. Evans. Philadelphia. 1859. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42916/42916-h/42916-h.htm
• Evans, Henry Ridgely (2010) "Robert-Houdin. Conjuror, Author, and Ambassador.," The Open Court: Vol. 1903 : Iss. 12 , Article 3. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ocj/vol1903/iss12/3
• “Houdin and the Arabs.” Scientific American, vol. 80, no. 13, 1899, pp. 202–202. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26121253
• “Witchcraft as Stagecraft.” New York Times. 1999. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/millennium/m1/teller.html
• Houdini, Harry. “The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin.” NEW YORK
  THE PUBLISHERS PRINTING CO. 1908. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42723/42723-h/42723-h.htm
• ONES, GRAHAM M. “Modern Magic and the War on Miracles in French Colonial Culture.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 52, no. 1, 2010, pp. 66–99. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40603072
• Fechner, Christian. “The Magic of Robert-Houdin: An Artist's Life.” Editions N.C.F.

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Robert-Houdin was the magician that Houdini named himself after, his story is hard to pin down, because even his own memoir is written to be entertaining, not accurate. Part one covers his early life, marriages, and beginnings in magic. 

Research:

• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin". Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 Jun. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Jean-Eugene-Robert-Houdin
• “How to Do the Classic Cups & Balls Trick.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVXNCMdKs-Y&t=124s
• “ROBERT-HOUDIN TRIPLE MYSTERY CLOCK.” JACQUES NÈVE HORLOGER D'ART. https://www.horloger.net/purchase-sales/mystery-clocks/74-robert-houdin-triple-mystery-clock/
• Robert-Houdin, Jean-Eugène. “Memoirs of Robert-Houdin : ambassador, author, and conjurer.” Geo. G. Evans. Philadelphia. 1859. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42916/42916-h/42916-h.htm
• Evans, Henry Ridgely (2010) "Robert-Houdin. Conjuror, Author, and Ambassador.," The Open Court: Vol. 1903 : Iss. 12 , Article 3. https://opensiuc.lib.siu.edu/ocj/vol1903/iss12/3
• “Houdin and the Arabs.” Scientific American, vol. 80, no. 13, 1899, pp. 202–202. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26121253
• “Witchcraft as Stagecraft.” New York Times. 1999. https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/library/magazine/millennium/m1/teller.html
• Houdini, Harry. “The Unmasking of Robert-Houdin.” NEW YORK
  THE PUBLISHERS PRINTING CO. 1908. https://www.gutenberg.org/files/42723/42723-h/42723-h.htm
• ONES, GRAHAM M. “Modern Magic and the War on Miracles in French Colonial Culture.” Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol. 52, no. 1, 2010, pp. 66–99. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40603072
• Fechner, Christian. “The Magic of Robert-Houdin: An Artist's Life.” Editions N.C.F.

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Theda Bara is often referenced as the first sex symbol, or the first celebrity to have an entire persona crafted by a PR team. Photos of her are synonymous with the word vamp, and 100 years later, still have a certain mysterious appeal. But what was she really like?

Research:

• “Theda Bara at Quimby’s.” The Times Recorded. Oct. 26, 1915. https://www.newspapers.com/image/284870168/?terms=%22theda%20bara%22%20%22Louella%20parsons%22&match=1
• “Gordon Theater.” Democrat and Chronicle. Jan. 10, 1915. https://www.newspapers.com/image/135289009/?terms=%22theda%20bara%22&match=1
• “An Interviewer Sees Theda Bara, the Mysterious.” Waco Morning News. Nov. 5, 1915. https://www.newspapers.com/image/43896475/?terms=%22theda%20bara%22&match=1
• Britannica, The Editors of Encyclopaedia. "Theda Bara". Encyclopedia Britannica, 3 Apr. 2022, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Theda-Bara
• Wasserman, Suzanne. “Theda Bara.” Jewish Women’s Archive. The Shalvi/Hyman Encyclopedia of Jewish Women. https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/bara-theda
• Golden, Eve. “Vamp: The Rise and Fall of Theda Bara.” Vestal Press. 1998.

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