Central Library

This portrait features an unknown vaudevillian actress dressed as Joan of Arc. She is shrowd in a linen garmet and head wrap that leave only her hands and face exposed. She turns away from the camera, offering a profile that is distinct against the black background. She holds a few long-stalked lilies to her torso with...

In this portrait a vaudevillian starlet strikes a bashful pose, positioning her hands over her chest and the scarf of sheer material draped over it. She wears a headscarf and haircut typical of the flapper style. Although she turns her face away from the camera, she keeps a sensuous eye directed at it. Photo manipulati...

Jack Laughlin was an actor, director, producer, and stage manager during the vaudeville era. He played in an ensemble in the Broadway musical "Sinbad" (1918) which featured the famed vaudevillian actor Al Jolson. This head and shoulders portrait captures Laughlin's profile as he looks off and into a light which illumin...

This is a portrait of Ole Olsen, one half of the vaudevillian comedy duo Olsen and Johnson. John Sigvand “Ole” Olsen and Harold Ogden “Chic” Johnson performed on radio, stage, in motion pictures, and on television. Olsen and Johnson partnered in 1914, perfecting their comedic style during the vaudeville era. Olsen and...

This is a portrait of a circus and vaudevillian performer who went by the name of Chief All O'Fire. It is speculated that he was actually Deaf Bull, a Crow chief active in the 1880s. Deaf Bull's sub name, Good Eye, was attributed to the one good eye he still had after a military prison guard hit him in the other eye wi...

This is a portrait of a circus and vaudevillian performer who went by the name of Chief All O'Fire. It is speculated that he was actually Deaf Bull, a Crow chief active in the 1880s. Deaf Bull's screen name, Good Eye, was attributed to the one good eye he still had after a military prison guard hit him in the other eye...

Julia Arthur, born with the name Ida Lewis, began acting at a young age. She began her professional acting career with the Bandmann Company in 1880 and began going by her industry alias Julia Arthur. After her majorly successful role as the Queen in "The Black Masque" (1892), Arthur was cast in many more leading roles...

Estrellita Castro Navarro was a Spanish singer and actress. She began singing at an early age in the streets of Sevilla, later going to school and gaining recognition from popular public figures that lead her to perform for King Alfonso XIII and Queen Victoria Eugenia at Sevilla Royal Alcázares at the age of 12. She th...

Emma Haig was born Emma Haig McGowan on 21 January 1898, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Haig was a theater performer during the vaudevillian era, whose career included many notable plays and venues. Some of Haig’s most well-known featured parts were in the following stage performances: the musical revue“Ziegfeld Foll...

This portrait depicts Janette Hackett, an acclaimed dancer of the early twentieth century. Hackett’s first career performance came as a teenager when she appeared in the Shubert’s "Passing Show". During this time, under the tutelage of Kitty Doner, Hackett learned to dance. After studying Hawaiian and Oriental' dance,...