About
“The Warmest and Screwiest People in the World.”
Part escapism and part reality, vaudevillians were a band of performers who met the needs of a growing American entertainment industry. The Cleveland Colby Colgate Archives at Colby-Sawyer College has a collection on the history of vaudeville as well as detailed records on vaudeville performances. Harlan Bradford, author and creator of the collection, penned note cards detailing the performances of vaudeville players throughout the United States with a focus on the Northeast, specifically New England. Many of the vaudevillians documented in Bradford’s collection, especially those on the smaller circuits, do not appear in many of the books describing vaudeville’s history–as a result, Bradford’s documentation provides a rare glimpse at these performers.
Bradford’s collection emphasizes the importance of vaudeville in US history and illustrates that vaudeville was not simply filling an entertainment gap between radio and TV. Popular from the 1880s until the early 1930s, vaudeville was representative of the American experience for entertainers and consumers alike. For some performers, vaudeville was the path to fulfillment of the American dream as many film had their start in the vaudeville circuits.
Vaudeville was also reflective of the social climate at the time. Acts would customize their performances based on the demographic of the town they were playing. The status of women, race relations and segregation, Jim Crow laws, politics, and power all unfolded on the vaudeville stage just as they did across the country.
Click here to see the collection of digitized Harlan Bradford Vaudeville material
Works Cited
1 . Roosevelt, Franklin D. Bing Crosby at Scrap Rubber Drive During World War Two, 1942. 1942. Photograph. Wikipedia.Bradford, Harlan. Singer-Crosby, Bing . Harlan Bradford Collection. Cleveland Colby Colgate Archives, New London NH. 2015
2 . Studio publicity portrait for film You’ll Never Get Rich. 1941. Photograph. Wikipedia. Bradford, Harlan. Dancer- Astaire. Fred Harlan Bradford Collection. Cleveland Colby Colgate Archives, New London NH. 2015
3. Bachrach, Ernest .Publicity Photo of Ginger Rogers. 1935. Photograph. Wikipedia.Bradford, Harlan. Dancer- Rogers, Ginger. Harlan Bradford Collection. Cleveland Colby Colgate Archives, New London NH. 2015
Harlan Bradford Vaudeville Collection 
