Superman at the County Fair

by Erin Doane, Curator

“Look! Up in the sky!”

“It’s a bird!”

“It’s a plane!”

“No, it’s Superman!”

That’s what people were saying in Horseheads when tv’s Superman, George Reeves, made an appearance at the Chemung County Fair on August 14, 1956. The 6-foot 2 ½-inch tall, 195-pound actor played the title role in The Adventures of Superman from 1952 to 1958. He came to the fair as part of the “Kiddie Kapers” grandstand show that included another popular television star of the time, Lassie.

George Reeves making an appearance at the Chemung County Fair on August 14, 1956

A record overflow crowd of more than 5,000 people, mostly children, filled the grandstand for “Kiddie Kapers.” The show began with a clown act that finished with two clowns crawling through the grandstand, dusting off the children with feather dusters. Next came a small brass band, then an aerial trapeze duo. The Briants, a comedy pantomime team performed after that, then Cowboy Jim Phillips and his horse Smokey took the stage. Lassie was up next, performing clever tricks and stealing the children’s hearts. A bullwhip and knife-throwing demonstration by William Cody and Company followed the canine tv star. And then it was time for the final act – Superman.

George Reeves came onto stage as mild-mannered Clark Kent, but after a brief moment behind a backdrop he reappeared as Superman. While everyone was excited to see Superman, as he went about explaining how television shows were made, the children became restless and some began to boo when they found out Superman was not going to fly for them. Yet, when he offered free autographed pictures, hundreds of children rushed the stage.

George Reeves (left) and Lassie had never met until they were “introduced” at the Chemung County Fair, Star-Gazette, August 15, 1956

Reeves spoke to reporter Jim Morse of the Star-Gazette while he was here for the fair. Reeves didn’t seem surprised that children would be disappointed by him not flying. “It takes plenty of explaining,” he said, “when the kids ask me how I’m able to fly. If they’re real young, I tell then that’s Superman’s secret. If they’re 10 or older, and appear serious, not fresh, I tell them the truth. It’s best that way.” My guess is that “the truth” may have had something to do with explaining showbiz magic.

In the interview, Reeves also described how people, both children and adults, were always trying to test him as Superman. Grown men would take swings at him so they could brag that they punched Superman. He always refrained from getting into a fight in public and would run away from such encounters whenever possible. “A guy in my position never wins a public fight, even if it isn’t his fault,” he explained. “The publicity kills you.” Reeves also took his status as a role model for children seriously. He even gave up smoking so kids wouldn’t pick up the habit from seeing him do it.

Reeves also told a rather frightening story to Morse. One time when he was at an appearance in Denver as Superman a 7-year-old showed up with his father’s loaded .45 pistol. The boy wanted to see the bullets bounce off of Superman like they did on television. Reeves was able to talk the child out of shooting him by pointing out that when the bullets bounced off him they might hit someone in the crowd and the boy didn’t want anyone to get hurt.

At the Bur-le-que: Burlesque Shows in Elmira

by Erin Doane, Curator

Burlesque shows were a popular form of entertainment during the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries. Today, people may think of burlesque as a glorified striptease but the shows were different in the early days. Drawing from vaudeville theater, American burlesque shows included a variety of short skits and performances, comedians, and music, as well as, attractive young women. Many of the burlesques playing in Elmira theaters from the 1890s through the 1920s were even meant for the whole family.

Elmira Star-Gazette, February 19, 1916

A burlesque was originally a literary work or theatrical performance that would satirize or lampoon another more serious work for comic effect. Shakespearian and classical dramas were commonly parodied. Burlesque shows became popular in Victorian England beginning in the 1840s and quickly spread to the United States. The shows included short theatrical scenes that could be absurd and crudely humorous, comic skits, and dancing girls. By the end of the 1800s, the English were losing interest in burlesque but Americans were still fans. Nudity, sexually suggestive dialogue, exotic dancing, and quick-witted humor were becoming distinct features of American burlesque shows by the 1890s. Many shows became more risqué through the early 20^th century until burlesque became almost synonymous with striptease by the 1930s.

Program from the Opera House in Elmira, 
September 17, 1890 featuring Reeve’s Celebrated 
English Operatic Burlesque Company in an entirely 
original satire of Goethe’s immortal poem Faust

While these racier, cruder burlesque shows likely played in Elmira theaters, the shows advertised in the local newspapers tread a fine line between naughty and family-friendly. In 1899, Sam T. Jack’s Own Burlesque Co. played at the Globe Theatre in Elmira. Ads for the show promised “mostly girls” and “truly a great show Tobascoed with spicy decency.”  The three day run of the show broke house records. A review in the Star-Gazette praised the ladies of the show as being “young, vigorous and in goodly numbers” and wrote “of the men’s chorus – but who wishes to know much, if anything, about the men’s chorus? – it’s there, so let it go at that.” Despite the blatant focus on the “shapely maidens,” the reviewer pointed out that it was the type of show that elevated the standard of burlesque from the cheaper class of vaudeville houses to theaters that the more refined class of show goers would attend.

Advertisement for Sam T. Jack’s Own Burlesque Co. 
featuring “Mostly Girls” and “Liotta, Clothes in Light,” 
Elmira Star-Gazette, November 9, 1899

By the 1910s, burlesque shows seemed to have fallen out of favor in Elmira. In 1914, the manager of the Lyceum Theater announced that the Reis Circuit Company of New York City had been contracted to perform high-class burlesque shows at the playhouse in August. The shows were to be produced by talented musical comedy companies catering to both ladies and children with clean, up-to-date, attractive performances. Tickets to daily matinee performances cost just 25 cents (roughly $6 today) while evening show tickets ranged from 25 cents to 75 cents (about $18). Unfortunately, people were just not interested in the shows. The theater had barely covered its expenses because of the exceedingly small attendance. By October of that year, it was announced that there would be no more burlesque at the Lyceum.

I found no report on the actual quality of the shows at the Lyceum but other poorly reviewed shows may have turned the public off to further attendance and made them the stuff of open ridicule. In 1913, the Elmira Telegram ran a scathing review of the “Merry Burlesquers” show at the Colonial Theater. The entertainingly acerbic article criticized the age of the chorus girls, lamenting that it was a difficult to see the elderly matrons so scantily clad at their time of life, and called the show’s leading woman the “largest in captivity.” In closing, the reviewer wrote, “a number of our married men were present at both performances without their wives. However, there were no wrecked homes in Elmira because of the ‘Merry Burlesquers’ and all wives should be pleased to have the troupe play here again.”

Review of the “Merry Burlesquers” at the
Colonial Theater, Elmira Telegram, May 18, 1913

The Lyceum brought burlesque back to its stage in 1916 to fairly good reviews but the shows were discontinued again in 1921 because they once more proved to be unprofitable. In 1923, the Lyceum joined the Columbia wheel, one of the major burlesque circuits in the northeast. The Columbia Amusement Company organized refined burlesque shows that were not smutty or crude but still featured pretty girls. The Lyceum hosted a regular weekly series of Columbia Burlesques through 1925.

Lyceum Theatre program, November 13, 1923

Advertisement for Jimmie Cooper’s Revue at the 
Lyceum, November 13, 1923, Elmira Star-Gazette

Burlesque shows in Elmira received mixed reviews through the early 1920s. Mediocre shows were said to still have good attendance but critics were lukewarm, at best, in their appraisals. “Big Jamboree” was considered “okay but could be better” and “Hippity Hop” was declared not “the worst burlesque that has visited Elmira.” At some shows, children in the gallery would throw pennies at the actors on stage or cause other disruptions for their own amusement. By the late 1920s, Elmira theaters hosted few, if any, burlesque shows. Audiences found entertainment in other forms such as plays, musical theater, and movies. In January 1930, Elmirans could go to the Colonial Theater to watch “The Broadway Hoofer,” a movie about the romance of life behind the curtain of a traveling burlesque show. 

A Real Dog and Pony Show

By Kelli Huggins, Education Coordinator

 

Whenever you call something a “dog and pony show” today, you’re probably not referencing a literal dog and pony show. But travel back in time a mere 1o0 years or so and you would be surrounded by actual shows with dog and pony performers. In fact, in the late 19^th and early 20^th century, people wouldn’t understand any other meaning of this term. 

1897 ad for a Norris Brothers Dog and Pony show in Elmira.

Dog and pony shows were small travelling shows in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries comprised of trained domestic animal actors. They were different from other circuses of the era. Those often featured large wild animals, like elephants or lions. Starting a dog and pony show was easier than those larger circuses because the talent was cheaper and easier to acquire, even though a considerable amount of training and skill was still necessary to create a successful offering.

Some locals got in on the dog and pony show game. Elmiran George Carrier reportedly had a troupe of trained dogs that were “marvelously intelligent” and did shows in 1891. There are unfortunately, however, no further references to these dogs. Elmira’s Globe Theater manager Eugene Johnson served as the general agent of “Darling’s Little Darlings.”

1901 Darling's Little Darling's ad.

Elmira was also frequently host to dog and pony shows from around the country. The most famous dog and pony show proprietors were the Gentry Brothers of Indiana. Beginning in 1885, they grew their "Gentry's Equine and Canine Paradox” into an impressive force in the world of late 19^th century entertainment.  They had multiple touring groups operating at the same time, each with upwards of a few dozen dogs and ponies. 

The Gentry show frequently came to this area. An 1893 show included 16 ponies and some of their babies that drilled, danced, and answered questions. There was also “an army of dogs, poodles, greyhounds, pugs and all kinds of fine dogs. One of the most wonderful feats is the complete back somersault of Barney, a little fellow whose breed is doubtful. Three of the dogs ride ponies at full speed. The greyhounds do some wonderful high and distance leaping. The performance closes with a pyramid of dogs and horses.”

1893 Gentry show in Elmira.

The Gentry brothers weren’t the only game in town. Other shows came through the area with great frequency. One Professor Williams and his dog and pony show gave a performance to an audience of children from the Orphans’ Home children in 1896.

1896 advertisement

Children at the Orphan's home enjoyed a Professor Williams show

 The dog and pony shows ultimately fell out of fashion by the early 20^th century. Americans turned their attentions to other forms of entertainment, including vaudeville, larger circuses, and the newly emerging film industry. Now we’re just left with a phrase for which most people don’t even realize the real canine and equine origins.

Sherlock Holmes in Elmira

by Kelli Huggins, Education Coordinator

May 22 is Sherlock Holmes Day, a celebration of the birthday of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, the creator of the genius detective. That got me thinking: are there any local Sherlock connections? Happily, yes, yes there are!

On November 22, 1894, Arthur Conan Doyle delivered a speech in the chapel at Elmira College. Although a reporter from the Elmira Daily Gazette and Free Press stated that "knowledge of his books in this city is not as deep and broad as it might be," people filled the chapel to hear Doyle speak. Doyle shared some of his work, recounted his path to literary fame, and justified his decision to kill Sherlock so that the character didn't overstay his welcome.

If Doyle's work wasn't too popular in Elmira in 1894 as the reporter claimed, it didn't take too long for it to catch on. In fact, soon after, the local newspapers were filled with Sherlock references, jokes, and updates about the detective stories and plays. 

Advertisement from Star-Gazette, 3/2/1901

Advertisement from Star-Gazette, 10/19/1905

 In 1914, Elmira's Gosper-Kelly Shoe Store used the detective in one of its ads.

Elmira Star-Gazette, June 26, 1914.

There were also references to local Sherlock-like detective work (or the need for it). A satirical piece in early 1894 recounted a man's Holmes-esque attempts to solve the mystery of odd footprints in the snow in Wisner Park. In 1897, the Owego Record suggested the city might want to get a version of the famed sleuth to deal with its unsolved murder problem.

In perhaps the oddest story, in 1913, Elmira Humane Officer John Dilmore was hailed as a local Sherlock Holmes for his deductive skills. Investigating a residence on John Street, Dilmore confronted the owner about not feeding his duck. The owner asked how Dilmore knew he hadn't fed it and Dilmore replied that it hadn't snowed since five days past and there weren't any duck prints in the snow to the feeding area. Dilmore said the man needed to feed the duck or kill it, so the man killed it.

Falling Women: Elmira’s Lady Parachutists

By Rachel Dworkin, Archivist

 On August 19, 1920, 18-year-old Ruth Blackman of Elmira jumped from the wings of an airplane at an altitude of 3,500 feet.  Performing before a crowd of 43,000 nervous spectators at the Wyoming County Fair, she climbed out along the wing of the biplane piloted by her friend Leon ‘Windy’ Smith.  “It was so cold up there that my hands and legs seemed numb when I stepped out,” she later told a newspaper reporter.  “Added to this was the terrific force of the plane.”   Despite the cold and the wind, Blackman made it out and, after receiving the signal from the pilot, stepped off the wing and into thin air.

 

“I dropped like a rock for about 30 feet until I felt the parachute open and hold me securely.  Then it was just an easy drop downward….When I got nearer the earth, I saw that I was likely to fall on top of a barn.  I paddled with my feet to get away from that and then I had to do some maneuvering to avoid landing on a fence or in a tree.  Finally I plumped right down in a bean field.”

 

The jump was Blackman’s first from an airplane, but not her first time parachuting.  She had jumped from a hot air once balloon before, but found jumping from a plane much more thrilling.  Over the course of the summer, Blackman and Smith made 13 additional appearances and jumps at fairs throughout the Twin Tiers.  They tried spicing up the routine with tricks like jumping with an open bag of flour and jumping from one plane onto another.    In mid-October she and Smith traveled to Atlanta, Georgia where they performed aerial stunts for a movie which was being filmed there. 

Ruth Blackman and Leon 'Windy' Smith, 1920

 It was Blackman’s ambition to purchase her own plane and travel the country on the barnstormer circuit.  Maybe she did; she disappeared from the local papers after 1920.  By the summer of 1921, pilot Leon ‘Windy’ Smith had a new partner, the 17-year-old Elmira girl Irene DeVere.  She made her first jump over Mansfield, PA, and continued to work with him for the next few years.  When she wasn’t jumping out of airplanes, the petite, 92 pound daredevil worked as a stenographer. 

Irene DeVere, badass daredevil/stenographer

Charles Bradley: Chemung County's (and the World's?) Tallest Man

by Kelli Huggins, Education Coordinator

Awhile ago, faithful CCHS volunteer Kristen (you can read about her awesome work here) told me about something interesting she found while working with our collections.  It was a brief article transcribed from the Star Gazette in 1926 about a man named Charles Bradley.  At that time, Bradley was reported to be the tallest man in Chemung County and the second tallest in the United States.  His height was said to be 7' 4" (although some reports claimed he was upwards of 7' 7").  Given my long-standing interest in all things historical oddities/travelling show/spectacle/performance (which you can read about here, here, here, here, here, or here), I just had to know more.

Charles Bradley was born in Antrim, PA around 1892.  There isn't much information about the family other than they were farmers and that they were all tall.  Really tall.  John Bradley, Charles' father, was somewhere between 6' 9" and 7' 1" tall.  His seven brothers and sisters all measured over 6 feet tall.  One brother, Henry, was reported to be almost as tall as Charles.  Bradley's mother, however, was only 5' 6."

Bradley's height brought him considerable attention and fame.  In 1909, the then 17 year old and 7' 2" Bradley signed a contract to tour with the Barnum and Bailey Circus for a season that began in Champaign, Illinois in May of that year.  This was allegedly not his first offer to join show business.  Barnum and Bailey featured Bradley as the "Tallest Boy in the World" and made him wear a "Little Lord Fauntleroy" costume.  He was exhibited next to the "World's Smallest Woman."       

Headline from 1909 when Bradley signed with Barnum and Bailey.  They incorrectly report his age as 19 here (he was 17).

He was still touring the country in 1911, although he was likely not still working for Barnum and Bailey.  He billed himself as the tallest man in the world, although this was likely untrue.  Bradley always wore his signature Uncle Sam costume, which "accentuated" his height.  He cause quite a stir in New Ulm, Minnesota while on tour, walking down the town's streets in his Uncle Sam outfit.  The local newspaper reported that the hotel even had to give him a special bed that was open at the foot so he would fit.  According to the report, he was in town to advertise a brand of tobacco.

Bradley left show business by the 1920s.  He reportedly got "tired of the life" and decided to try "industrial pursuits" instead.  During this time, he lived in Corning, Elmira, and Elmira Heights.  He did still get special recognition for his height.  For example, he was a member of the Loyal Order of the Moose, and he was considered to be the tallest member of that fraternal organization in the world.  He participated in Moose parades and events, often marching with Marguerite Morgan of Elmira, who at 40" tall, was believed to be the smallest Mooseheart member.

Notice of an appearance in 1927.

I'm not sure what happened to Bradley after the 1920s.  Presumably, he tried to live his life as normally as possible.  I'm not surprised that Bradley left show business.  People have a long, nasty history of exploiting people with physical differences for entertainment.  We don't know much about the circumstances that led to Bradley joining the circus, but an article from 1909 contains some language that makes me wonder how much of this was his idea and how much was his family's.  According to the article, Bradley was to be "turned over to the managers" and would be "sent to join the circus."  The report also stated, "This is the first time Bradley has submitted to becoming an exhibit."  Bradley apparently hadn't been able to do much manual labor on the farm due to his unusually rapid growth.  Perhaps, joining the circus was the way that he could best help support his family.  Whatever, his reasons for joining the circus, he was lucky that he was able to leave when "he got tired of the life."  Not all performers and "exhibits" could.  

In the Spotlight: Theatrical Makeup from the 1930s

by Erin Doane, curator

Every once in a while, I come across a box tucked away in storage that I haven’t opened in my almost four years here. Sometimes, such a box contains unexpected treasure. Recently, I found one that contained a collection of theatrical makeup used at a local theater in the early 1930s. There were greasepaint sticks and powders and even little boxes of hair. I don’t know much at all about early 20^th century theater makeup so I did a little digging.

Various colors of hair for creating theatrical mustaches, beards, and sideburns

There were quite a few pieces made by E.M. Stein Cosmetic Company in the box. The narrow cardboard tubes contain sticks of greasepaint in a variety of colors from skin tones to blues, greens, and pinks. Greasepaint became widely used by stage actors once gaslights became standard in theaters in the late 19^th century. The powder makeup that had been used up until that point did not look good under the new brighter lights. If actors went without makeup at all, they looked washed-out and unexpressive. Applied correctly, greasepaint made actors look more natural under gaslight and under newer electric lights.

Collection of Stein’s greasepaint sticks, early 1930s

Stick greasepaint is made of dry pigments, such as zinc oxide, ochre, and lampblack, mixed with a waxy base, like lard, tallow, beeswax, or paraffin. To apply greasepaint, actors first covered their faces with an oily base like Vaseline so that the makeup would come off more easily later. A flesh-tone base color was applied first followed by darker and lighter shades for shadows and highlights. Then color was added to the eyes and lips. Finally, loose powder was dusted all over the face to set the makeup.

Face powder was needed to set the greasepaint and keep it from smearing.

Commercial greasepaint first became available in the 1890s. The makeup moved from stage to screen in the early days of motion pictures. Traditional greasepaint, however, proved to be too heavy and did not look good on film. In 1914, Max Factor developed a lighter cream greasepaint for use in movies. His new formulation was sold commercially as Supreme Greasepaint. Max Factor is also credited with coining the term “makeup.” Before the 1930s, proper women did not wear cosmetics but as Hollywood starlets began wearing makeup in public, regular women followed suit.

Max Factor makeup, including Supreme Greasepaint, early 1930s

Color chart and instructions for applying Max Factor greasepaint, 1930s

This collection of theatrical makeup was a wonderful find. I can just imagine actors at a local theater putting on their costumes and makeup so they could step out on stage and entertain a packed house.