The Banana Men

Clips of both A. Robins and Sam Levine, the performers known to audiences as "The Banana Man".

First up is a clip of A. Robins (although this is in dispute as Robins would have been 61 years old when this 1947 film was made 1947 and the performer seen here doesn't look a day older than the A. Robins seen in the 1939 Red Skelton short SEEING RED), originally known to vaudeville audiences as "The Walking Music Store" or "The One Man Music Store".

Robins, a talented NY area toy and prop maker as well as vaudeville and circus clown built all of his own props. Over time he added big bunches of his spring-loaded fruit to the enormous list of musical intruments he could load into his oversized coat, including (seemingly) hundreds and hundreds of bananas, hence the change in billing to "A. Robins: The Banana Man".

Robins passed away in the early 50s. It is uncertain if he trained his successor, Sam Levine, personally or Mr. Levine was trained by their agent, Max Roach.

Either way, Mr. Levine assumed the mantle of "The Banana Man" in the early 50s and kept Mr. Robins' unique brand of visual comedy alive on many, many television programs throughout the 50s, 60s and into the early 70s. He is probably best remembered for his numerous appearances on "Captain Kangaroo" throughout those years.

The clip of Mr. Robins (or Mr. Robins' unknown immediate successor) is taken from the 1947 film MOTHER WORE TIGHTS.

The clip of Mr. Levine is from late in his career and is believed to be from an early 70s (possibly his final) appearance on CAPTAIN KANGAROO.



For more information on The Banana Man act and character, please click the title of this post to be taken to Rhett Bryson's excellent tribute page.