Description
Book SynopsisTake a journey back in time to an era when movie theatres were movie houses, jazz was king, and vaudeville was one of the premiere forms of entertainment. Lollipop is the late Reva Howitt Clar''s memoirs of her colorful career with the legendary brother and sister producing team of Fanchon and Marco and the first inside account to give detailed insight into the workings of this famous pair. A first-hand chronicle of the weekly shows, rehearsals, costumes, publicity stunts, and backstage intrigues that typified any vaudeville performer, Lollipop sweeps the reader into the jazz age, when live stage show entertainment served as the West Coast''s main link to the current music and dance trends in New York, detailing Clar''s ten-year association with Fanchon and Marco from 1923-1933, first as a dancer, then as co-director of their dance school. The text also highlights the eventual fade of vaudeville from the entertainment circuit, caused by the Great Depression. Supplemented with historical tidbits and anecdotes from her daughter, Clar''s memoir offers an intimate portrait of vaudeville life from the viewpoint of a non-headliner. This diverting and entertaining glimpse of a lost era in American culture is an enjoyable read for students of American popular culture, vaudeville, and theatre history.
Trade ReviewThe book is fascinating and dispels much of the glamour that was, and is, attached to "the business." * New Orleans Music *
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Debut Chapter 2 Amateur Time Chapter 3 Transition Chapter 4 Professional Life Chapter 5 Living Conditions Chapter 6 Working Conditions Chapter 7 Recollections Chapter 8 The Record Begins Chapter 9 Twenty-Four Shootouts Chapter 10 The Warfield Girls Chapter 11 The "San Francisco Beauties Idea" Chapter 12 Southern California Chapter 13 The "Yachting Idea" Chapter 14 A San Francisco Welcome Chapter 15 The "Book Idea" Chapter 16 Northward Again Chapter 17 And Southward Again Chapter 18 The "Polar Idea" Chapter 19 Goodbye, Los Angeles Chapter 20 Marquard's Café Chapter 21 San Francisco In 1928 Chapter 22 Change Partners Chapter 23 The Work Continues Chapter 24 The Boulevard Theatre Chapter 25 The "River Idea" Chapter 26 Flowing Northward Chapter 27 The "Gobs of Joy Idea" Chapter 28 Sailing Northward Chapter 29 New Territory Chapter 30 New York Chapter 31 The Palace! Chapter 32 Keith-Orpheum Time Chapter 33 Letters Chapter 34 Broadway Chapter 35 Washington, D.C. Chapter 36 Philadelphia Chapter 37 Loew's Southern Time Chapter 38 Atlanta and Memphis Chapter 39 New Orleans Chapter 40 Houston and Onward Chapter 41 Toronto, Montreal, and Boston Chapter 42 Fox-Poli Time Chapter 43 New York and "Gobs" End Chapter 44 Changes Chapter 45 The Pantages Theatre Chapter 46 More Pantages Chapter 47 Goodbye Dancing Chapter 48 The Booking Office Chapter 49 More Changes Chapter 50 Layoff Chapter 51 The Dancing School Chapter 52 Engagement Chapter 53 Marriage Chapter 54 One Last Bow
