An equally bad transfer as yesterday's footage of the Banana Man from the same live 1954 NBC broadcast of "Babes in Toyland", this time featuring an entree by Charlie Cairoli and, I believe, Paul Freeman.
The interplay between Charlie and Paul blurs the distinction between the comedy styles of circus, vaudeville, burlesque and music hall as Paul reminds me more than anything of, essentially, a musical Bud Abbott in traditional whiteface makeup and wardrobe while Charlie, by turns, evokes the spirits of Charlie Chaplin, Harpo Marx, Lou Costello and Stan Laurel.
The strength of the material hopefully excuses the poor quality of the video. I hope to be able to post better transfers soon.
Merry Christmas John Cooper!
2 comments:
And a Merry Christmas to you too. All of you.
I will confirm that the white face is Paul Freeman.
The good news from the Cairoli family is that Charlie Jr. is sufficiently well recovered from his recent health problems to be appearing in pantomime this season.
John.
Does anyone know what became of Paul Freeman,Paul King & Paul Connor,after they left Charlie Cairoli.
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