Theater owners dodged construction costs, cutting corners and employing nonunion labor. Shoddy methods caused the death of vaudeville comedian Rube Dickinson in Kansas City. Booked at a brand-new venue, Dickinson stepped outside to have a smoke and was standing underneath the large wooden marquee advertising him when it collapsed. As the marquee caved, so too did his headkilled under the weight of his own name.
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About Kliph Nesteroff, The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy

Kliph Nesteroff, The Comedians: Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels, and the History of American Comedy.

Themes

  • Death — Contemplations on mortality, loss, and the legacy we leave

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