Thursday, November 04, 2010

Mae West: Burlesque Babes

No prude, MAE WEST did not hide the fact that she had worked in Burlesque as well as in Vaudeville.
• • An interesting article by Divinity Rose discusses these forms of popular entertainment and their individual appeal. Divinity Rose writes: One of the first specific applications of "vaudeville" to describe a variety show was by "Sargeant's Great Vaudeville Company" in Louisville in 1871. The word “vaudeville” carried with it the sophistication and romance associated with Paris. We have seen one theory for the word's origin, the troubadours of the Val-de-Vire region of France. Another theory is that it comes from voix de ville, meaning “voice of the city.” Seen in this light, the phrase reminds us of vaudeville's identity as a folk form, an expression of the people's voice. The word “vaudeville” distinguished the new business from variety, which was used by some people like a curse word. Vaudeville is where Marx and Chaplin — — along with Mae West, Harry Houdini, Milton Berle, and countless others got their start.
• • Divinity Rose adds: Burlesque was a little different than Vaudeville. Burlesque had a lot of comedy, charm, and girls taking off their clothes. When it began, it was about witty and charming women and clever comedy. Although, performers in Vaudeville often looked down on Burlesque, many great comedy acts polished their performances there. Burlesque offered stable work during tougher times, and so many bigger acts performed in burlesque shows under aliases. . . .
— — Excerpt: — —
• • Article: "Vixens and Vaudeville Part 1: The history of Vaudeville, Burlesque and the Vixens"
• • Written by: Divinity Rose
• • Published on: Monday, 1 November 2010
• • Published by: Louisville.com

• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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1 comment:

  1. awesome :D a google alert brought me to your page :D My graphic novel "Diaries of a Godling: The Promise" also references Mae West...

    :D Nice job on the blog <3 xoxoxo

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