Sunday, February 21, 2016

Countdown Day 8 - THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT IN THE OLD WEST



Post by Angela Raines-author

As we countdown to the "Leap Into Love" event, each author has contributed to our knowledge of this time period we all love. For myself, entertainers have always been a draw. Perhaps it is because I started performing in public at the age of two and a half, and never stopped. To this day, I still don the costume and take to the stage to act or sing. I thought this post would be a nice chance to look at the entertainers of yesteryear.

Let's start with Lotta Crabtree, November 7, 1847 - September 24, 1924. She began performing in California, where her father had moved to from New York, when she was about six years of age. She was known as "The Nations Darling". For more information here are two links: http://www.britannica.com/biography/Lotta-Crabtree,  http://www.sfmuseum.org/bio/lotta.html

Of course there was Lola Montez. Born in Ireland, the mistress to the King Ludwig I of Bavaria, she fled to the United States in 1848 at the start of the revolution in Germany. She became known as the "Spanish Dancer". She led a life that was one for the storybooks. An overview of her life can be found on Wikipedia at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lola_Montez

Who can forget Lily Langtry, the woman who captured the imagination of Judge Roy Bean? Born in England, her life also was one of grit, determination, and beauty. She also managed her own theatre company and did well for herself. There is an internet museum full of great information at: http://www.lillielangtry.com/

Lillie Langtry in character as the adventuress Lena Despard from the 1887 play "As in a Looking-Glass."
from Wilipedia
Let you think it was only women, although their lives are a major part of my historic research, there were a few men also.

One who fascinated me after I first read of him in the local newspaper is Blind Tom. Tom was a musical prodigy who traveled the world playing the piano. He was born a slave in Georgia in 1848. Some of the fascination may be due to my own love of playing the piano, especially when I was much  younger. An interesting perspective on this amazing talent can be found at http://www.blackpast.org/perspectives/confounded-enigma-blind-tom-wiggins

And make sure to watch this amazing video about Tom and his music: https://youtu.be/hNJDaNbilpw

I will end with Eddie Foy Sr., the patriarch of the Foy family. Eddie, like Lotta, started performing at the age of six in Chicago as a street performer to help support his family. At fifteen he took the name Foy and began traveling the country and shared the stage with many of the famous actors of the era. It is also rumored he was performing at the BirdCage theatre in Tombstone at the time of the OK Corral gunfight. More information on him and his family can be also be found on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eddie_Foy,_Sr.

There of course are many more who traveled and entertained in the West, this is just a few to whet your appetite.

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Day 8 of Countdown to Leap into Love featuring:

[Angela Raines]

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Angela Raines is the pen name for Doris McCraw. Doris also writes haiku posted five days a week at - http://fivesevenfivepage.blogspot.com and has now passed one thousand haiku and photos posted on this blog. Check out her other work or like her Amazon author page:  http://amzn.to/1I0YoeL

15 comments:

  1. Some of these I've heard of, Angela, some I haven't. I found them all interesting. Thanks for sharing, including the links to more information on each Western performer.

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    1. You are welcome Zina. I just find it so fascinating. They were the stars of their day, and what lives they had. Angela

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  2. I love reading about the 1880s, I just find that time so fascinating!

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    1. It was a most interesting time Beth. To think about the travel these performers went through, well it boggles my mind. Angela

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  3. What a great post, Angela. I didn't know any of those folks!

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    1. Thank you Penny. I find all of them pretty interesting, but Blind Tom was a unique find in my research. Thanks for stopping. Angela/Doria

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  4. Thank you. You know these bits of history you share fascinate me. Do you have any photos of you, as a preformer when you were little. Maybe a video of you now. Some day I'd like to see you preform in person. Cher'ley

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    1. Thank you Cher'ley. I don't have any photos. A lot of those taken when I was a child were lost in the fire at my parents home. I used to have a video but it also has gone by the wayside. Maybe some day. I love history, as you know, and performers...they are sometimes forgotten. Angela/Doris

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  5. Thank you. You know these bits of history you share fascinate me. Do you have any photos of you, as a preformer when you were little. Maybe a video of you now. Some day I'd like to see you preform in person. Cher'ley

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  6. 1850s I actually love it all..I love historical fiction, the clothes, the times, everthing

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  7. Karrie, it was a very interesting time. Lots of changes happening and oh the people. When you start digging into their stories, well, they just keep you enthralled. Thanks for stopping by. Angela/Doris

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  8. A day late, but very much enjoyed your post! Dancing/performing in many areas of the country was so varied and ethnic too. I'm thinking of "clogging" in the south, and the Italian opera in NYC in the 1890s--all wonderful cultural splashes of color.

    Thanks for a wonderful post!

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    1. So true Kathryn. Entertainment was so 'important' to people I think. Perhaps due to the nature of life back in the day. We all seem to need those moment of enjoyment, even if it's just reading a book. Thanks for stopping by. Angela/Doris

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  9. Thank you, Angela, for sharing these historical insights. I've just recently become aware how popular theater was in the 19th century American west. It makes sense, in an era without TV, movies, the ease of so much entertainment that people would seek out and enjoy live theater. It's one of my favorite forms of entertainment and becoming quite rare (though I hope high schools never stop performing school plays and musicals).

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  10. Kristin, Thank you. I agree, live theatre is getting harder and harder to find. We have some active companies here, but... not as many as in the early days. Like you, I hope high schools keep producing shows, we get some great actors who received their start there. Angela/Doris

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