Bob Hope and American Variety

Image
Cover, Life Magazine, February 4, 1946
Annotation

This tribute to Bob Hope examines his contributions to American culture and entertainment. The site includes a short (1,000 words with 150 photographs) history of vaudeville in the United States and four essays (1,000 words each) examining vaudeville's legacy. There is a 3,000-word biography of Hope, covering most of his 70-year career, and sections that deal with each of his many careers specifically. His early radio work, his long movie career, and his many television appearances are all documented.

Of particular interest are the 26 Bob Hope caricatures in photograph, cartoon, and sculpture. The Joke File includes six pages (out of a massive collection that exceeds 85,000 pages) of Hope's seasonal material. On the Road: USO Shows documents Hope's commitment to America's armed forces by highlighting his many trips overseas to entertain American troops. Although the essays are useful in explaining the relationship of vaudeville to American culture, the strength of the site is its approximately 250 primary sources (mostly photographs and documents).

American Swedish Institute [MN]

Description

The American Swedish Institute is a historic house museum, cultural center, and history and culture museum dedicated to the history, culture, and accomplishments of Swedish Americans. The institute is located within an early-20th century chateauesque mansion. Exhibit topics include immigration, craft traditions, homeland nostalgia, historical Swedish populations in Minneapolis and St. Paul, and Swedish-American vaudeville.

The institute offers period rooms; exhibits; group tours; children's language and culture classes; summer day camps; a Lucia choir; customizable school tours; student educational programs; and student outreach programs, including role-playing, living history, and storytelling presentations. Reservations are required for group tours and all student programs.

Take Me Out To The Ball Game: 100 Years of Musical History

Description

This Electronic Field Trip takes a look at the song, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," written by Jack Norworth and Albert Von Tilzer a century ago. Today, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" is synonymous with a baseball game's seventh-inning stretch, but the song was originally written to be performed on home pianos and the vaudeville stage.

Broadcast from Brooklyn, NY, this presentation explores not only the history of "Take Me Out to the Ball Game", but also the influence of various musical styles of the past 100 years from vaudeville and swing to rock and hip hop.

Unpublished, as the page no longer exists.