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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 792
EAN num: 9780865479586
ISBN number: 0865479585
Label: Faber & Faber
Manufacturer: Faber & Faber
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 344
Printing Date: October 31, 2006
Publishing house: Faber & Faber
Release Date: October 31, 2006
Sale Popularity Level: 329611
Studio: Faber & Faber
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A seriously funny look at the roots of American Entertainment
When Groucho Marx and Charlie Chaplin were born, variety entertainment had been going on for decades in America, and like Harry Houdini, Milton Berle, Mae West, and countless others, these performers got their start on the vaudeville stage. From 1881 to 1932, vaudeville was at the heart of show business in the States. Its stars were America's very first stars in the modern sense, and it utterly dominated American popular culture. Writer and modern-day vaudevillian Trav S.D. chronicles vaudeville's far-reaching impact in No Applause--Just Throw Money. He 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, including its influence on everything from USO shows to Ed Sullivan to The Muppet Show and The Gong Show. More than a quaint historical curiosity, vaudeville is thriving today, and Trav S.D. pulls back the curtain on the vibrant subculture that exists across the United States--a vast grassroots network of fire-eaters, human blockheads, burlesque performers, and bad comics intent on taking vaudeville into its second century.
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Rated by buyers 
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Starting from the appalling pun name for Travis Stewart, this book descends, transcends and ascends the history of vaudeville. The author, real name Travis Stewart, traces the brief period of vaudeville's ascendancy from its roots in variety shows, saloon shows, and burlesque as a cleaned-up "two audience" (women and children as well as male) show.
The business of vaudeville is interestingly told as well, as a small handful of promoters and managers controlled hundreds of theaters and bookings for every artist to keep pay and costs down and increase the variety of acts, at the expense of the lives and lifestyles of the acts. Interestingly, he shows how four of the five early major movie studios grew out of this cabal of vaudevillian managers.
Vaudeville enjoyed barely a decade of unchallenged transcendence before radio, silent and then talking films, and finally economic Depression challenged and then "killed" it--but Stewart has something to say about that as well, showing how it lived on in early TV (think Ed Sullivan and Bob Hope), the street artistry of the 60s, and a current resurgence of "New"--but don't call it that--Vaudeville.
Rated by buyers 
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In the last five years, three unrelated books, the subject book, together with Seriously Funny by Gerard Nachman and Comedy at the Edge by Richard Zoglin, have been published which, together, comprise the history of American comedy since the American Civil War. All of them have their merits, but No Applause - Just Throw Money (NAJTM) is the best of them.
It is not just that vaudeville is broader than comedy alone and the vaudeville era was a lot more interesting in show business history than the periods that followed it. The other virtue to NAJTM is that, while the other books try to capture an age by induction - focusing on the lives of a handful of performers and drawing universal conclusions - NAJTM discusses the era and illustrates the author's points with references to individual performers. The result is that the uniqueness of each act, its independence and individuality is honored.
And unique and independent and individualistic they were! What a wonderful collection of oddballs, tyrants and crackpots and what a talented, original and creative bunch as well. As one surveys modern entertainment - the intellectual wasteland that comprises theater, television and, especially, American cinema today, one longs to slip into the Palace for just one day to see this bunch walk the boards one more time.
Rated by buyers -
From 1881 to 1932 vaudeville was the center of American show business, and modern-day vaudevillian Trav S.D. details its history and impact from early to modern times in a survey which traces the big names of vaudeville and the attraction and representation of its shows. Vaudeville was the very first major American equal opportunity employer, and it allowed even immigrants easy acess to American culture: chapters trace major players, acts, and influences.
Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch
Rated by buyers -
Like the History Channel on TV -- Trav S. D. certainly brings the history of vaudeville to life in this book!! His knowledge and storytelling is akin to sitting in the parlour listening to tales of a bygone era from your grandfather or favorite wise old uncle who himself lived through it! He leaves you smiling, laughing and always wanting to hear and read more.
If anything, the only thing found missing and lacking was in regards to what Trav calls "The New Vaudeville." Back in the early `70s was a bloke by the name of Roy Radin, who did his part in bringing vaudeville shows back to the masses. In Roy Radin's Vaudeville Review, which toured the country appearing in auditoriums, college campuses, and virtually anywhere the venue could be set up -- Many thousands of people, yours truly included, had their chance to meet the likes of Milton Berle, Donald O'Connor, Georgie Jessel and other great stars of the illegitimate stage up close and personal. These vaudeville shows were a great sucess for the time they ran; although Radin himself as it turns out would end up a mostly forgotten about and very tragic figure in the history of entertainment.
Hoping Trav could've given us some further background and more insight into Radin's touring follies would've made this whole vaudeville story that much better. Perhaps though, when and if the book comes out in paperback, he can/will go back and include some of these tales for us. Nevertheless...
Final Analysis: Do throw money at this book and this author. You'll get more bang for your bucks! And find yourself thoroughly entertained and greatly informed along the way!
Rated by buyers -
A terrific book, incredibly comprehensive and very well researched. Written with a sly sense of humor, the intro and background is really complete and wonderful, and the middle section about the heyday and performers is great reading. The last quarter strays into a great deal of opinion from Trav's own finely-honed Vaudeville sensibility; but all the same, it is a fabulous book, absolutely big time. I really appreciated that Trav gave us a lot of reading about the acts and actual performing. (Many books and info sources don't - concentrating more on the Managers and the business end.) As another said, if you want a book about Vaudeville, this is the one.
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