Joe Weber (vaudevillian)
Encyclopedia
Joe Weber born Joseph Morris Weber was a vaudevillian
who, along with Lew Fields
, formed the comedy team of Weber and Fields.
Fields and Weber started performing in museums, circuses, and variety
houses in New York City
. The young men had a "Dutch act" in which both portrayed German
immigrants. They toured successfully in vaudeville for many years. In 1896, the partners opened the Weber and Fields Music Hall where they produced very successful burlesque
s of popular Broadway
shows. In the music hall's casts were some of the greatest performers and comics on the American stage at that time including Lillian Russell
, Fay Templeton
, and DeWolf Hopper
. The team broke up in 1904.
In 1923, Weber and Fields reunited for a short film made by Lee DeForest in the DeForest Phonofilm
sound-on-film
process, where the team recreated their famous pool hall
routine. This film premiered at the Rivoli Theater in New York City on 15 April 1923.
Weber and Fields also reunited for the 27 December 1932 inaugural show at Radio City Music Hall
, which proved to be the last stage appearance of the two performers as a team. They gave a cameo performance in the 1940 movie Lillian Russell
.
The backstage hostility in Neil Simon
's play and film The Sunshine Boys
is reportedly based on Weber and Fields or on Smith and Dale, another comedy team.
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
who, along with Lew Fields
Lew Fields
Lew Fields , born as Moses Schoenfeld, was an American actor, comedian, vaudeville star, theatre manager and producer....
, formed the comedy team of Weber and Fields.
Fields and Weber started performing in museums, circuses, and variety
Variety show
A variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is an entertainment made up of a variety of acts, especially musical performances and sketch comedy, and normally introduced by a compère or host. Other types of acts include magic, animal and circus acts, acrobatics, juggling...
houses in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. The young men had a "Dutch act" in which both portrayed German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
immigrants. They toured successfully in vaudeville for many years. In 1896, the partners opened the Weber and Fields Music Hall where they produced very successful burlesque
Burlesque
Burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects...
s of popular Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
shows. In the music hall's casts were some of the greatest performers and comics on the American stage at that time including Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell was an American actress and singer. She became one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th century and early 20th century, known for her beauty and style, as well as for her voice and stage presence.Russell was born in Iowa but raised in Chicago...
, Fay Templeton
Fay Templeton
Fay Templeton was an American stage actress.Her parents were actors/vaudevillians and she followed in their footsteps, making her Broadway debut in 1900. She continued to appear there until 1934...
, and DeWolf Hopper
DeWolf Hopper
William DeWolf Hopper was an American actor, singer, comedian, and theatrical producer. Although a star of the musical stage, he was best-known for performing the popular baseball poem Casey at the Bat. -Biography:...
. The team broke up in 1904.
In 1923, Weber and Fields reunited for a short film made by Lee DeForest in the DeForest Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
process, where the team recreated their famous pool hall
Billiards
Cue sports , also known as billiard sports, are a wide variety of games of skill generally played with a cue stick which is used to strike billiard balls, moving them around a cloth-covered billiards table bounded by rubber .Historically, the umbrella term was billiards...
routine. This film premiered at the Rivoli Theater in New York City on 15 April 1923.
Weber and Fields also reunited for the 27 December 1932 inaugural show at Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall is an entertainment venue located in New York City's Rockefeller Center. Its nickname is the Showplace of the Nation, and it was for a time the leading tourist destination in the city...
, which proved to be the last stage appearance of the two performers as a team. They gave a cameo performance in the 1940 movie Lillian Russell
Lillian Russell (film)
Lillian Russell is a 1940 biographical film of the life of the singer and actress. The screenplay was by William Anthony McGuire. The film was directed by Irving Cummings and produced by Darryl F. Zanuck. It starred Alice Faye in the title role, Don Ameche, Henry Fonda and Edward Arnold as Diamond...
.
The backstage hostility in Neil Simon
Neil Simon
Neil Simon is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that...
's play and film The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys
The Sunshine Boys is a play by Neil Simon that was produced on Broadway in 1972 and later adapted for film and television.-Plot:The play focuses on aging Al Lewis and Willy Clark, a one-time vaudevillian team known as "Lewis and Clark" who, over the course of forty-odd years, not only grew to hate...
is reportedly based on Weber and Fields or on Smith and Dale, another comedy team.