Joe Frisco (born Louis Wilson Joseph; November 4, 1889 â€" February
12, 1958) was an American vaudeville performer who first made his name
on stage as a jazz dancer, but later incorporated his stuttering voice
to his act and became a popular comedian.He was born Louis Wilson
Joseph in Milan, Illinois on November 4, 1889.In the mid and late
1910s he performed with some of the first jazz bands in Chicago and
New York City, including Tom Brown's Band from Dixieland, the Original
Dixieland Jass Band, and the Louisiana Five. He made his Broadway
debut in the Florenz Ziegfeld Follies in 1918. Frisco was a mainstay
on the vaudeville circuit in the 1920s and 1930s.His popular jazz
dance act, called by some the "Jewish Charleston", was a choreographed
series of shuffles, camel walks and turns. It was usually performed to
Darktown Strutters' Ball. It, or at least a minute or so of it, can be
seen in the film Atlantic City (1944). He typically wore a derby hat,
and had a king-sized cigar in his mouth as he danced. He often
performed in front of a backing danceline of beautiful women wearing
leotards, short jackets and bowler hatsâ€"and "puffing" on big prop
cigars.
12, 1958) was an American vaudeville performer who first made his name
on stage as a jazz dancer, but later incorporated his stuttering voice
to his act and became a popular comedian.He was born Louis Wilson
Joseph in Milan, Illinois on November 4, 1889.In the mid and late
1910s he performed with some of the first jazz bands in Chicago and
New York City, including Tom Brown's Band from Dixieland, the Original
Dixieland Jass Band, and the Louisiana Five. He made his Broadway
debut in the Florenz Ziegfeld Follies in 1918. Frisco was a mainstay
on the vaudeville circuit in the 1920s and 1930s.His popular jazz
dance act, called by some the "Jewish Charleston", was a choreographed
series of shuffles, camel walks and turns. It was usually performed to
Darktown Strutters' Ball. It, or at least a minute or so of it, can be
seen in the film Atlantic City (1944). He typically wore a derby hat,
and had a king-sized cigar in his mouth as he danced. He often
performed in front of a backing danceline of beautiful women wearing
leotards, short jackets and bowler hatsâ€"and "puffing" on big prop
cigars.
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