Jimmy Ritz Marries!

Amusing photo from Jimmy's wedding day.

Harry Speaks, Part 2

I forgot to post photos from "The Vaudevillians" by Bill Smith (see blog post Harry Speaks, July 2), his book describing the history of vaudeville as described by stars of that era, including Harry Ritz.  Following are the photos, neither of which, unfortunately, shows the boys on a vaudeville stage.  I find the Copacabana photo particularly interesting.

 

Leave it To Beaver - The Book Report

I recently told fellow Ritzhead Penny that the first time I had heard of the Ritz Brothers was when Billy Crystal's character in "Mr. Saturday Night" lectured a young woman on the importance of Harry Ritz to comedy.

I was wrong.

Actually, the first I heard of the Ritz Brothers was some years before on a rerun of the old sitcom Leave it To Beaver (Season 6, Episode 30).  If you are familiar with the episodes, the boys are featured (in name only) when Beav cheats on a Three Musketeers book report by watching the 1939 Ameche/Ritz version and reporting accordingly.  

Beaver got busted.  Bad.

I didn't know who the Ritz Brothers were at that time, but I suppose the Ritz reference in "Mr. Saturday Night" got the memory churning, the synapses firing, and ultimately the blogging commenced.

Leave It To Beaver, in my opinion, was one of the better shows to ever be broadcast. It portrayed relationships (adult and child) and their situations with very gentle irony, never so broad as to be parody, but nevertheless layered just below it's wholesome exterior.   I encourage you to revisit it with fresh eyes...it's brilliantly written and acted.

The Ritz Brothers and Leave It To Beaver.  What an unlikely and fun combination.  Here is the link to the episode on IMDB:  http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0630294/

Here is the LITB Season 6 link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Leave-Beaver-Season-Jerry-Mathers/dp/B001JAHQQ6/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310312990&sr=8-1

 

  

Moons Over Miami

From Alan King's "Name-Dropping" (Scribner, 1996), we learn that the Ritzes' zany behavior was not limited to just the stage and screen:

"I also loved the Ritz Brothers.  The two older ones, Al and Jimmy, belonged to a club with my uncle Hymie, and they danced at my mother's wedding.  Not Harry, he was too young.  Harry was the little guy in the middle, who rolled his eyes, and I think he was the funniest man who ever lived.  When the brothers were working in Miami, they'd stay in the penthouse at the Lord Tarleton Hotel, and every morning, the three of them would get up, walk out onto their balcony, and moon the public.  They'd stand there with their asses hanging over the edge, and everyone would say, 'the guy in the middle is the funny one.' "

Name-Dropping:  The Life and Lies of Alan King.  Alan King with Chris Chase.  Scribner 1996

Available from Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Name-Dropping-Chris-Chase/dp/068483278X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310227984&sr=8-1  

Mixed Nuts

Another interesting book I've recently read is "Mixed Nuts - America's Love Affair with Comedy Teams from Burns and Allen to Belushi and Ackroyd", by Lawerence J. Epstein, published by Public Affairs in 2004.  Epstein is also the author of "The Haunted Smile", a thoroughly researched and well-written study of Jewish comedians in America.

Mixed Nuts is a good read, filled with information on the careers of the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, etc.  He also gives attention to the careers of the largely forgotten teams of Wheeler and Woolsey, Olsen and Johnson, and Weber and Fields.  Sadly, Epstein gives little attention to the Ritz Brothers, seemingly undervaluing their importance in the history of American entertainment.  Standard biographical information on the Ritzes is mentioned in the book, but little more.

Having said that,  I still recommend this book, as well as "The Haunted Smile".  Epstein writes with a light touch, and clearly loves and respects his subject matter.  I think you will enjoy his work.  INTERESTING NOTE:  In the Acknowledgement sections of both books, Epstein thanks our community's Jeff Abraham for his knowledge and assistance.  In Mixed Nuts, Epstein writes, "Jeff Abraham, entertainment agent, knows an incredible amount about comedy and must be the world expert on the Ritz Brothers".  Awesome!

Here is Amazon's link to Mixed Nuts:

 http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=mixed+nuts+epstein&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Amixed+nuts+epstein&ajr=0 

       

Harry Speaks

I recently read a great book, The Vaudevillians by Bill Smith, published in 1976 by MacMillan.  The book is a sort of history of vaudevillian as told by many former vaudeville artists, including Milton Berle, George Jessel, Rose Marie, Edgar Bergen, and Harry Ritz.  

Harry's remembrance is a combination of chutzpah and humbleness.  I think he reveals himself to be very warm, even a bit sentimental, and his love and pride for his brothers and their collective career is quite evident.  I would have loved to have known Harry.

Following is the text of Harry's entry in "The Vaudevillians" with introductory remarks by the editor, Bill Smith.  By the way, the book is available on Amazon, and here is the link:

 http://www.amazon.com/Vaudevillians-Bill-Smith/dp/0026118904/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1309617847&sr=1-3 

Bill Smith -

The Ritz Brothers, Al, Harry, and Jimmy, were outstanding for their precision dancing.  But it wasn’t until they added knockabout comedy that they became vaudeville favorites.  The burden of comedy was carried by Harry.  A special material song, “The Man in the Middle is the Funny One”, became their trademark.  It lead to Harry’s persistent bellowing plea of “Don’t holler-please don’t holler”, as the brothers would argue as to which was really the funny one.  Much of their comedy was physical.  The brother would push each other around while Harry wandered around the stage screaming, “Don’t Holler!”

Harry Ritz -

“We broke into vaudeville in the late 1920s; I think it was 1929 – a hell of a time to break in.  But what did we know about stock markets or whatever?  Anyway, the stock market was busting wide open and there we were trying to become actors.  It wasn’t so much that we wanted to become actors as we wanted to make money – to eat, and maybe to meet girls.  Our first break-in was at the Fox’s Folly.  I forget who our agent was, if we had an agent, but we got $50 for the week-that was for the three of us, Al, Jimmy, and me.

We worked joints; we worked wherever we could get a job.  Our real name is Joachim and we changed it:  Al’s got an extra’s job in Brooklyn’s old Vitagraph studio near Coney Island for 75 cents.  They asked for his name and he gave Al Joachim.  The guy said the name was too long.  Al then looked out the window and saw a truck marked “Ritz Crackers” – so his name became Ritz.  When we started there was a kind of fashion in show biz for brother teams – there were the Slate Brothers, The Condos Brothers, the Reo Brothers.  Now there was the Ritz Brothers.

The most wonderful thing about vaudeville was the respect people had for actors.  We had fans who would follow us.  And if the early small-time days were bitter, and if sleeping atop radiators to keep warm and staying up many long nights on dirty trains to make jumps were tough, they taught us many things.  Working to many different audiences also taught us our trade.  Like most brother acts around then, we started as hoofers.  We could dance, but who knew from talking?  Sure, we picked up some jokes, but basically we were hoofers.

Well, about a year after we broke in, we made the Palace.  And was that a thrill.  The headliner was Frank Fay and his wife Barbara Stanwyck.  Fay was a star.  She just came out for a little drama bit.  Nobody on the bill, certainly not us, ever guessed that girl would someday become a big movie star.  But then again, why would we?  We were interested in ourselves, out spot on the bill, our music, where we were booked next, etcetera.  The sort of thing that every actor was interested in.

Oh sure, between vaude dates we worked in Shubert shows.  We had long routes; we played with the biggest headliners of the day.  But that goes without saying.  After all, we were the Ritz Brothers and there wasn’t a big-time bill that we didn’t fit and make better.  We made a lot of friends.  And if some of them copied us, what of it?  Sid Caesar used to say we were his idols.  That was nice to hear.  Our idol was Charlie Chaplin.

We have been credited with being the forerunners of many a comedy act – Jerry Lewis for one – but every actor learns from another.  It isn’t imitation so much as the acquisition of certain mannerisms.  Later you develop your own abilities and somebody copies you.  And so it goes.”  

    

The Colgate Comedy Hour - starring The Ritz Brothers

From the following February 22, 1953, the Ritz Brothers' appearance on The Colgate Comedy Hour is described.  It looks like great fun...don't we all wish we could have seen it.