celebrities – Page 27 – A New Yorker State of Mind

The Roaring Twenties were all about fads and crazes, ranging from flagpole sitting to dances such as “The Shimmy,” “The Charleston,” or “The Black Bottom.” These dances were appropriated from Black culture, with many New Yorkers getting their first exposure in places such as Harlem’s famed Cotton Club.

Screen Shot 2016-01-08 at 1.35.03 PM — June 26, 1926 cover by **Julian de Miskey.**

The June 26, 1926 issue of The New Yorker was all abuzz over the Broadway debut of George White’s eighth annual Scandals. The Scandals were a long-running string of Broadway revues that ran from 1919-1939. Modelled after the Ziegfeld Follies, the Scandals launched the careers of many entertainers, including W.C. Fields, the Three Stooges, Rudy Vallée and Louise Brooks. Composer George Gershwin’s early work also appeared in the earliest editions of the show.

a257e06b8b87fdf0d0f851e9b7586642 — Actress **Louise Brooks** got her start in the *Scandals* and later the Ziegfeld Follies. Here she portrays the “Duchess of Sidebottom” in George White’s *Scandals* of 1924. By 1925 Brooks would have a movie contract with Paramount, and go on to become a popular star of the late silent era and gain fame as the iconic symbol of the flapper. (Flickr)

Like Florenz Ziegfeld, White must have been a master at marketing, since tickets for the Scandals opening sold for $55, which today would be the equivalent of about $725:

The editors of “The Talk of the Town” were a bit skeptical of all the hype:

The 1926 Scandals show featured “The Black Bottom,” danced by Ziegfeld Follies star Ann Pennington and Tom Patricola. In this dance-crazed era, “The Black Bottom” became a national phenomenon and even surpassed “The Charleston” in popularity.

It_illustrates_the_Black_Bottom_dance_and_features_Ann_Pennington,_George_White_and_Tom_Patricola,_all_of_whom_are_Wiki,_as_is_GEORGE_WHITE%22S_SCANDALS — **Tom Patricola** and **Ann Pennington** dance “The Black Bottom” in 1926 as *Scandals* producer George White looks on (Wikipedia)

Ann-Pennington-and-Felix2 — **Ann Pennington** “teaching” Felix the Cat how to dance “The Black Bottom.” Image scan from *Photoplay* magazine spread, January 1927.

“The Black Bottom” was popularized in New York by the 1924 Harlem stage show show Dinaah. Although the dance moves originated in New Orleans in the early 20th century, Jelly Roll Morton gave it a name when he wrote Black Bottom Stomp in 1925, referring to Detroit’s Black Bottom district.

In typical fashion, The New Yorker was less than impressed with the spectacle. In his theatre review column, Charles Brackett made this observation:

On to other things, “The Talk of the Town” also featured this curious note about George Custer’s widow, reminding us that 1926 was a very long time ago. Here are excerpts:

aow.img.RG3126-2-58 — **Elizabeth Bacon Custer** in 1876, the year of the Battle at Little Bighorn (Nebraska State Historical Society)

The New Yorker editors continued to remark on the changing face of Fifth Avenue…

…and on the progress of the city’s infrastructure improvements, as in this excerpt from a humorous piece by the Robert Benchley:

holland-tunnel-1926 — New York Governor **Al Smith** and New Jersey Governor **A. Harry Moore** shake hands at the state border inside the Holland Tunnel in 1926. (grayflannelsuit.net)

Next Time: Wild & Woolly…

The cover of the May 8, 1926 issue featured this Bauhaus-style rendering of a baseball player by Victor Bobritsky in anticipation of the 1926 season:

Screen Shot 2015-12-11 at 9.24.00 AM — May 8, 1926 cover by Victor Bobritsky.

After a terrible 1925 season (and Babe Ruth’s infamous stomach ache), in 1926 the New York Yankees would begin to form a batting lineup that would become known as “Murderers’ Row.” They won the AL pennant in 1926 (losing to the St. Louis Cardinals in a seven-game World Series) and in 1927 they would go 110-44 and sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates in the World Series. More on that when we actually get to 1927.

The May 8 issue offered more coverage of Spanish actress-singer Raquel Meller’s first-ever visit to America, which caused quite a sensation:

Meller arrived in New York via the SS Leviathan, on which she apparently attempted to book a deluxe suite for her five Pekingese. After New York she also visited Philadelphia, Chicago, Boston, Baltimore and Los Angeles, where she attracted the attention of Charlie Chaplin. Although Chaplin was unsuccessful in landing Meller as a co-star, he did incorporate the melody of her most famous song, La Violetera, as a major theme in his 1931 film City Lights.

Raquel_Meller_Time_magazine_cover_April_26,_1926 — Meller’s visit landed her on the cover of the April 26, 1926 *Time* magazine. (Wikipedia)

Theodore Shane reviewed the film Brown of Harvard and pondered the accuracy of this portrayal of Harvard student life:

Screen Shot 2015-12-16 at 11.52.18 AM — (Wikipedia)

The issue also featured more unique mapmaking by John Held Jr:

And this W.P. Trent cartoon with a common theme of early New Yorker issues: the comic imbalance of rich old men and their young mistresses:

And finally, this advertisement in the May 8 issue caught my eye. Although cars crowded the streets of New York, they were still a recent enough invention to evoke the days of horse-drawn carriages. Even with all of the advances in automobiles in the late 20s, this landau-style Rolls Royce still exposed the driver to the weather, a design feature that signaled class, not practicality.

Next Time: Nize & Not So Nize…

Category: celebrities

Black Bottom & Other Scandals

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