The New York
Public Library for the Performing Arts > Vaudeville
Nation
Teams
The Avon Comedy Four
(Joe Smith, Irving Kaufman
, Charlie
Dale, and Harry
Goodwin). Photograph by
Apeda, NY, Photograph
& Press
Bureau, Inc.,
Palace Theatre
Duos, trios and quartets of comics presented skits that
included word play, physical comedy and both ethnic and American
characterizations. Many of these groups were siblings, like
the Marx Brothers, but seemed to contain members of multiple
ethnic groups. Comedy teams frequently connected, broke
up, and re-assembled on the road.
Male-female teams played out comic variations on courtship
and marriage, depending on their ages. The mnost successful,
like the great George Burns & Gracie Allen, integrated
characterization and word play into their acts.
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