Varieties On Parade 1951
After a live orchestra opens the show, master of ceremonies Eddie Garr greets the audience from a theater stage and tells them about his trip to Los Angeles, where out-of-work actors are always “acting” while working in their service-industry jobs. Garr then introduces The Diacoffs, a mother and daughter team who perform bicycle feats. Next, The Johnson Brothers, Duke and Harry, perform a juggling act with pins and hats. After Garr introduces comedian Jackie Coogan, the two provide humorous dialogue; however, Garr steals Jackie’s punch lines. Harmonica players Jimmy and Mildred Mulcay perform next, followed by comedian Al Mardo with a trick pit bull. Next, when magician Ormond McGill performs his East Indian Miracle Show and makes five female baton twirlers appear from behind a trick door in the middle of the stage, Garr tries the trick. BettyJane appears with comedians Boyce and Evans, who are costumed as a horse and perform a comedy and dance routine. Next Paul Gordon rides various trick bicycles and unicycles. When Garr brings Lyle Talbot on stage and discovers that Lyle is a smoker, he introduces him to “Doctor” Jean Carroll, who promises a cure but actually only uses Lyle’s smoking as the butt of her joke. Cowboy Eddie Dean then sings “Ole Lazy Moon” but is interrupted by Lyle, who fires his stage gun. Garr then joins them on stage and they sing a trio. The Lee Sisters perform a three-woman trampoline act next, followed by a ballroom dancing slapstick routine by Armando and Lita. Eddie then introduces comedian Iris Adrian to the audience. When Iris announces that she is looking for a romantic lead, Jackie introduces her to Tom Neal; however, her forward behavior stuns him. Next, The Bobby Harrison Trio performs a number of tap routines accompanied by piano, harmonica and accordion. Iris then introduces an act that parodies Charlie Chaplin’s film “The Kid,” which is followed by the Darling Sisters singing a number. As the show closes, The Russ Saunders Troupe performs a teeterboard acrobatic routine and then all of the entertainers return to the stage to perform segments of their routines.
