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[[Image:frisco.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Joe Frisco became a popular Hollywood star.]]FRISCO, Joe. (Rock Island, IL, 1890-Hollywood, CA, Feb. 12, 1958). Frisco, actually a Dubuque resident named Louis Joseph, developed celebrity status in Broadway vaudeville and later [[MOTION PICTURES]] by making the most of his pronounced stutter and his flashy jazz dancing.
[[Image:frisco.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Joe Frisco became a popular Hollywood star.]]FRISCO, Joe. (Milan, IL, Nov. 4, 1889--Hollywood, CA, Feb. 12, 1958). Born Louis Wilson Josephs, "Frisco" moved to Dubuque as a child while his father worked on the railroad. (1)  He later claimed that his nickname "Frisco" came from a westbound box car. (2) Working as a bellhop at the [[BIJOU ANNEX HOTEL]], he often met vaudeville players. To catch attention, he often tap-danced in front of the [[GRAND THEATRE]] during the early 1900s. (3)


Joe was barely into adolescence when he hit the road, hopping a freight train and winding up in Milwaukee where he was part of an act called "Coffee and Doughnuts." Joe was Doughnuts. Moving to New York, he claimed to be the “World’s First Jazz Dancer”, and “the Frisco dance” or “Frisco shuffle” became the most widely imitated dance in the country.
Joe was barely into adolescence when he hit the road at the age of sixteen, hopping a freight train and winding up in Milwaukee. He was part of an act called "Coffee and Doughnuts." He performed with some of the first jazz bands in Chicago and New York City, including Tom Brown's Band from Dixieland, the Original Dixieland Jass Band, and the Louisiana Five. (4) His first act was an imitation of Charlie Chaplain. According to ''Variety'' editor Abel Green, "Frisco" introduced the first "jazz dance" at Chicago's Green Mill Garden. (5) He claimed his “Frisco dance” or “Jewish Charleston” became the most widely imitated dance in the country. (6) Another crowd favorite called for "Frisco," wearing a derby hat and smoking a large cigar, to stop dancing at the front the stage. While the music continued, he would twirl the derby sending it rolling along one arm and down the other while frantically puffing perfect smoke rings until he resumed dancing. This was called "The Frisco Shuffle." (7)


The great American novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, mentioned him in ''The Great Gatsby'' when describing one of Jay Gatsby's parties:  
The great American novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, mentioned him in ''The Great Gatsby'' when describing one of Jay Gatsby's parties: (8)
             "Suddenly one of these gypsies in trembling opal  
             "Suddenly one of these gypsies in trembling opal  
               seizes a cocktail out of the air, dumps it down  
               seizes a cocktail out of the air, dumps it down  
               for courage and moving her hands like Frisco  
               for courage and moving her hands like "Frisco"
               dances out alone on the canvas platform.
               dances out alone on the canvas platform.
   
   
[[Image:frisco3.jpg|left|thumb|250px|]]In 1918, he broke into Ziegfeld’s Midnight Frolic, which he continued to play, along with the Follies, Earl Carol’s Vanities, and Big Time vaudeville into the early 1930s. (1) One of the highlights of this act was the dialogue he began to introduce. Despite the stuttering (or perhaps because of it), he developed a reputation as a great wit.
[[Image:frisco3.jpg|left|thumb|250px|]]In 1918, he broke into Ziegfeld’s Midnight Frolic, which he continued to play, along with the Follies, Earl Carol’s Vanities, and Big Time vaudeville into the early 1930s. (9) One of the highlights of this act was the dialogue he began to introduce. Despite the stuttering (or perhaps because of it), he developed a reputation as a great wit. (10) It was said that he was so widely impersonated that he was accused to stealing his own material.


           Once, when Bert Lahr was bragging at the Friar’s Club about taking numerous  
           Once, when Bert Lahr was bragging at the Friar’s Club about  
          curtain calls after a show in Kansas City (a town notorious for its  
          taking numerous curtain calls after a show in Kansas City  
          unresponsive audiences), Lahr wrapped up his story with an offer to buy the  
          (a town notorious for its unresponsive audiences), Lahr wrapped  
          drinks:
          up his story with an offer to buy the drinks:


           “What would you like, Joe?”
           “What would you like, Joe?”
Line 20: Line 20:
           “I’d l-l-like to see your act!”
           “I’d l-l-like to see your act!”


           On another occasion, while waiting in the wings at a benefit show for found  
           On another occasion, while waiting in the wings at a benefit  
          himself standing next to Enrico Caruso, the great opera singer. He turned to  
          show he found himself standing next to Enrico Caruso, the great  
          the famous tenor and said, “Hey, Caruso, don’t do ‘Darktown Strutters Ball’.  
          opera singer. He turned to the famous tenor and said, “Hey,  
          That’s my number and I follow you.”  
          Caruso, don’t do ‘Darktown Strutters Ball’. That’s my number  
          and I follow you.”  


           One of his remarks, “Don’t applaud, folks, just throw money” continues to be  
           One of his remarks, “Don’t applaud, folks, just throw money”  
          used by comedians.
          continues to be used by comedians.


In the 1920s, Joe Frisco played the major vaudeville houses and in the 1930s, the top restaurants clubs. In the 1940s, he moved to Hollywood. (2) The Darktown Strutters' Ball became Joe Frisco's theme. Once the orchestra started to play the tune as Frisco happened to enter a restaurant. Another happening occurred at a club when Bing Crosby sang the tune and Frisco danced. It was revived in the film "Atlantic City" in 1944, in a nightclub scene recreating Ziegfelds Follies. (3) In 1932 Frisco earned an estimated $4,000 weekly while making the movie ''The Gorilla''. He last appeared in ''Sweet Smell of Success'' in 1957 with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis.  
In the 1920s, Joe Frisco played the major vaudeville houses and in the 1930s, the top restaurant clubs. He developed celebrity status in vaudeville and later [[MOTION PICTURES]] by making the most of his pronounced stutter and his flashy jazz dancing. In the 1940s, he moved to Hollywood. (11) The "Darktown Strutters' Ball" became Joe Frisco's theme. Orchestras were known to start playing the tune as he entered a restaurant. This was revived in the film "Atlantic City" in 1944, in a nightclub scene recreating Ziegfelds Follies. (12) In 1932 Frisco earned an estimated $4,000 weekly while making the movie ''The Gorilla''. He last appeared in ''Sweet Smell of Success'' in 1957 with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis.


Despite his salary, Frisco's overdue bills, bets at the track, and income tax troubles were well known among his friends in the film industry. Although needing frequent loans from friends, an estimated twelve hundred well-wishers attended a testimonial dinner in his honor just weeks before his death.  
[[Image:FRISCOAD.png|left|thumb|250px|1920 advertisement. Photo courtesy: Telegraph Herald]]Frisco returned to Iowa several times with a group of entertainers to appear at the Dells of Durango under the sponsorship of the [[DUBUQUE CLUB]]. The first night of the two night engagement was reserved for Club members and their guests. The second night was open Club members and the general public. (13)


Frisco's earliest performances are believed to have been in front of the Grand Theater in Dubuque where, during the early 1900s, he tap-danced hoping to attract attention.
Despite his salary, Frisco's overdue bills, bets at the track, and income tax troubles were well known to his friends in the film industry. It was said he never took a club booking in a town that did not have a track in operation. He owned one of the first portable radios which was always turned on so that he could hear racing results. (14) Although needing frequent loans from those he knew, an estimated twelve hundred well-wishers attended a testimonial dinner in his honor just weeks before his death. Addicted to gambling, he died penniless. (15)


<youtube>AgXLrmUjcj0</youtube>
After his death, friends made a futile effort to gather enough funds for erect a life-size bronze memorial in his honor. It was intended to show Frisco reclining in an armchair while scanning racing forms and was to be inscribed with one of his favorite wisecracks:


<youtube>WlZaoL3P3f8</youtube>
                  I had a g-g-good day at the track yesterday.
                  I g-g-got a ride home. (16)
 
Films: (17)
 
1930 - The Song Plugger (Vitaphone)
1930 - The Hottentots
         
1930 - The Border Patrol
         
1930 - The Benefit
         
1931 - The Gorilla
         
1933 - Mr. Broadway (himself)
         
1938 - Western Jamboree (Frisco)
         
1940 - Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride
         
1944 - Atlantic City
         
1945 - Shady Lady
         
1946 - That's My Man
         
1950 - Riding High (himself)
         
1957 - Sweet Smell of Success [ DVD]
 
 
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgXLrmUjcj0
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlZaoL3P3f8


---
---
Line 42: Line 78:
Source:
Source:


Joe Frisco. YouTube user: AgXLrmUjcj0
1. 'Had a Good Day at the Track, Managed to Get a Ride Home," ''Telegraph Herald'', August 21, 1960, p. 9
 
2. "Story of Frisco's Debut is Written," ''Telegraph-Herald'', January 10, 1927, p. 2
 
3. Lowry, Ed; Charlie Foy; Paul M. Levitt, '''Joe Frisco: Comic, Jazz Dancer, and Railbird''', SIU Press, 1999, p. 12
 
4. "Mae West: Joe Frisco," http://maewest.blogspot.com/2011/02/mae-west-joe-frisco.html
 
5. "Had a Good Day at the Track, Managed to Get a Ride Home,'" ''Telegraph Herald'', August 21, 1960, p. 17
 
6. "Mae West..."
 
7. Tigges, John. '''They Came From Dubuque'''. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1983, p. 71
 
8. "Mae West: Joe Frisco."
 
9. "Marxology-Joe Frisco," http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/frisco.htm
 
10. "Joe Frisco," American Vaudeville Museum, http://www.vaudeville.org/profiles_A_H/index_files/Page375.htm
 
11.  "Marxology-Joe Frisco"
 
12. Ibid.
 
13. "Frisco Will Be Here Two Days," ''Telegraph-Herald'', April 15, 1936, p. 16
 
14. "'Had a Good Day at the Track..."


Joe Frisco. YouTube user: WlZaoL3P3f8
15. "Mae West: Joe Frisco," http://maewest.blogspot.com/2011/02/mae-west-joe-frisco.html


1. "Marxology-Joe Frisco," http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/frisco.htm
16. 'Had a Good Day at the Track, Managed to Get a Ride Home," ''Telegraph Herald'', August 21, 1960, p. 9


2. Ibid.
17. Sonny Watson's Sweetswing.com, http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2frisc1.htm


3. Ibid.




[[Category: Actor/Actress]]
[[Category: Actor/Actress]]

Latest revision as of 18:00, 11 March 2023

Joe Frisco became a popular Hollywood star.

FRISCO, Joe. (Milan, IL, Nov. 4, 1889--Hollywood, CA, Feb. 12, 1958). Born Louis Wilson Josephs, "Frisco" moved to Dubuque as a child while his father worked on the railroad. (1) He later claimed that his nickname "Frisco" came from a westbound box car. (2) Working as a bellhop at the BIJOU ANNEX HOTEL, he often met vaudeville players. To catch attention, he often tap-danced in front of the GRAND THEATRE during the early 1900s. (3)

Joe was barely into adolescence when he hit the road at the age of sixteen, hopping a freight train and winding up in Milwaukee. He was part of an act called "Coffee and Doughnuts." He performed with some of the first jazz bands in Chicago and New York City, including Tom Brown's Band from Dixieland, the Original Dixieland Jass Band, and the Louisiana Five. (4) His first act was an imitation of Charlie Chaplain. According to Variety editor Abel Green, "Frisco" introduced the first "jazz dance" at Chicago's Green Mill Garden. (5) He claimed his “Frisco dance” or “Jewish Charleston” became the most widely imitated dance in the country. (6) Another crowd favorite called for "Frisco," wearing a derby hat and smoking a large cigar, to stop dancing at the front the stage. While the music continued, he would twirl the derby sending it rolling along one arm and down the other while frantically puffing perfect smoke rings until he resumed dancing. This was called "The Frisco Shuffle." (7)

The great American novelist, F. Scott Fitzgerald, mentioned him in The Great Gatsby when describing one of Jay Gatsby's parties: (8) 

            "Suddenly one of these gypsies in trembling opal 
             seizes a cocktail out of the air, dumps it down 
             for courage and moving her hands like "Frisco" 
             dances out alone on the canvas platform.
Frisco3.jpg

In 1918, he broke into Ziegfeld’s Midnight Frolic, which he continued to play, along with the Follies, Earl Carol’s Vanities, and Big Time vaudeville into the early 1930s. (9) One of the highlights of this act was the dialogue he began to introduce. Despite the stuttering (or perhaps because of it), he developed a reputation as a great wit. (10) It was said that he was so widely impersonated that he was accused to stealing his own material. 

         Once, when Bert Lahr was bragging at the Friar’s Club about 
         taking numerous curtain calls after a show in Kansas City 
         (a town notorious for its unresponsive audiences), Lahr wrapped 
         up his story with an offer to buy the drinks:

         “What would you like, Joe?”

         “I’d l-l-like to see your act!”

         On another occasion, while waiting in the wings at a benefit 
         show he found himself standing next to Enrico Caruso, the great 
         opera singer. He turned to the famous tenor and said, “Hey, 
         Caruso, don’t do ‘Darktown Strutters Ball’. That’s my number 
         and I follow you.” 

         One of his remarks, “Don’t applaud, folks, just throw money” 
         continues to be used by comedians.

In the 1920s, Joe Frisco played the major vaudeville houses and in the 1930s, the top restaurant clubs. He developed celebrity status in vaudeville and later MOTION PICTURES by making the most of his pronounced stutter and his flashy jazz dancing. In the 1940s, he moved to Hollywood. (11) The "Darktown Strutters' Ball" became Joe Frisco's theme. Orchestras were known to start playing the tune as he entered a restaurant. This was revived in the film "Atlantic City" in 1944, in a nightclub scene recreating Ziegfelds Follies. (12) In 1932 Frisco earned an estimated $4,000 weekly while making the movie The Gorilla. He last appeared in Sweet Smell of Success in 1957 with Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis.

1920 advertisement. Photo courtesy: Telegraph Herald

Frisco returned to Iowa several times with a group of entertainers to appear at the Dells of Durango under the sponsorship of the DUBUQUE CLUB. The first night of the two night engagement was reserved for Club members and their guests. The second night was open Club members and the general public. (13)

Despite his salary, Frisco's overdue bills, bets at the track, and income tax troubles were well known to his friends in the film industry. It was said he never took a club booking in a town that did not have a track in operation. He owned one of the first portable radios which was always turned on so that he could hear racing results. (14) Although needing frequent loans from those he knew, an estimated twelve hundred well-wishers attended a testimonial dinner in his honor just weeks before his death. Addicted to gambling, he died penniless. (15)

After his death, friends made a futile effort to gather enough funds for erect a life-size bronze memorial in his honor. It was intended to show Frisco reclining in an armchair while scanning racing forms and was to be inscribed with one of his favorite wisecracks: 

                 I had a g-g-good day at the track yesterday.
                 I g-g-got a ride home. (16)

Films: (17)

1930 - The Song Plugger (Vitaphone)

1930 - The Hottentots

1930 - The Border Patrol

1930 - The Benefit

1931 - The Gorilla

1933 - Mr. Broadway (himself)

1938 - Western Jamboree (Frisco)

1940 - Ride, Tenderfoot, Ride

1944 - Atlantic City

1945 - Shady Lady

1946 - That's My Man

1950 - Riding High (himself)

1957 - Sweet Smell of Success [ DVD]


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgXLrmUjcj0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlZaoL3P3f8

---

Source:

1. 'Had a Good Day at the Track, Managed to Get a Ride Home," Telegraph Herald, August 21, 1960, p. 9

2. "Story of Frisco's Debut is Written," Telegraph-Herald, January 10, 1927, p. 2

3. Lowry, Ed; Charlie Foy; Paul M. Levitt, Joe Frisco: Comic, Jazz Dancer, and Railbird, SIU Press, 1999, p. 12

4. "Mae West: Joe Frisco," http://maewest.blogspot.com/2011/02/mae-west-joe-frisco.html

5. "Had a Good Day at the Track, Managed to Get a Ride Home,'" Telegraph Herald, August 21, 1960, p. 17

6. "Mae West..."

7. Tigges, John. They Came From Dubuque. Dubuque, Iowa: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 1983, p. 71

8. "Mae West: Joe Frisco."

9. "Marxology-Joe Frisco," http://www.marx-brothers.org/marxology/frisco.htm

10. "Joe Frisco," American Vaudeville Museum, http://www.vaudeville.org/profiles_A_H/index_files/Page375.htm

11. "Marxology-Joe Frisco"

12. Ibid.

13. "Frisco Will Be Here Two Days," Telegraph-Herald, April 15, 1936, p. 16

14. "'Had a Good Day at the Track..."

15. "Mae West: Joe Frisco," http://maewest.blogspot.com/2011/02/mae-west-joe-frisco.html

16. 'Had a Good Day at the Track, Managed to Get a Ride Home," Telegraph Herald, August 21, 1960, p. 9

17. Sonny Watson's Sweetswing.com, http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2frisc1.htm

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