Kevin C. Fitzpatrick

Rudolph Carpos, the Clown of Vaudeville Days

Kensico Vaudeville Project #: 10 Name: Rudolph Carpos Act: Clown Born: 9 Sept 1875, Vienna, Austria Died: 4 Nov 1935, New York City There are two different gravestones for Rudolph Carpos, a professional clown who was beloved by vaudeville audiences. He was […]

Kevin FitzpatrickApril 30, 2015April 30, 2015

Exploring

Follies Girl and Sister Act, Showgirl Victorinne Coscia

Kensico Vaudeville Project #: 9 Name: Victorinne Coscia Act: Dancer Born: 18 April 1898, Pennsylvania Died: 8 May 1961, New York City This is the grave of a Ziegfeld Follies showgirl who was in two of the greatest casts ever assembled, the […]

Kevin FitzpatrickApril 23, 2015December 22, 2016

Exploring

Sig Mealey: From the Follies to Babe La Tour’s Bed

Kensico Vaudeville Project #: 8 Name: Sig Mealey Act: Acrobat Born: 20 June 1881, possibly Sweden Died: 1951 Sig Mealey was an accomplished acrobat who appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1909, on the same bill with headliners Nora Bayes and Eva […]

Kevin FitzpatrickApril 16, 2015April 16, 2015

Books

Algonquin Round Table and National Poetry Month

April is National Poetry Month. This is a good time to remember the poets who were members of the Vicious Circle: Franklin P. Adams, Dorothy Parker, and John V.A. Weaver. I thought about adding Frank Sullivan to the list, since he wrote […]

Kevin FitzpatrickApril 10, 2015April 9, 2015

Exploring

The Kid Acrobat James Bird

Kensico Vaudeville Project #: 7 Name: James Bird Act: Acrobat Born: About 1875 Died: 21 August 1935, New York City In 1890 James Bird’s name appeared in the New York Times, and it wasn’t in the theater department. The headline says it […]

Kevin FitzpatrickApril 9, 2015April 8, 2015

Research

The Mysterious Soldier, Andrew Joseph Basso

Kensico Vaudeville Project #: 6 Name: Andrew Joseph Basso Act: None Born: 16 November 1892, New York City Died: 22 March 1943, New York City There is only one gravestone in the National Vaudeville Association plot that was given by the Veterans […]

Kevin FitzpatrickApril 2, 2015April 2, 2015

Exploring

From Mississippi to Stage and Screen with Charles Barney

Kensico Vaudeville Project #: 5 Name: Charles Barney Act: Actor-Writer Born: 12 October 1884, Columbus, Mississippi Died: 30 April 1929, New York City Comedy actor and writer Charles Barney (aka Charlie Barnes and Charles Burns) played the vaudeville circuit from New York […]

Kevin FitzpatrickMarch 26, 2015March 23, 2015

Research

Sad Demise of Dorothy Parker’s Uncle on the Titanic

The sinking of the RMS Titanic 103 years ago next month is a milestone never forgotten. The disaster also had a huge impact on the life of Dorothy Parker, who lost her uncle in the tragedy at sea, an event that in […]

Kevin FitzpatrickMarch 25, 2015March 25, 2015

Research

Incredible 1920s Documentary Discovered

A new video surfaced recently that’s just sensational to watch for anyone that adores the 1920s and the Algonquin Round Table era. It is called New York in the Twenties, and first aired on American TV in 1961. This has to be […]

Kevin FitzpatrickMarch 24, 2015

Exploring

Thomas Banahan, The Forgotten Stage Dad

Kensico Vaudeville Project #: 4 Name: Thomas Banahan Act: Juggler Born: 9 March 1883, Chicago Died: 24 April 1929, New York City The juggler Tommy Banahan was a star in the era before World War I and was the father of silent […]

Kevin FitzpatrickMarch 19, 2015March 18, 2015