What is Harry Steppe?

Information about Harry Steppe

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Promotional image for Harry Steppe and His Big Show - note the oversized clown shoes
Harry Steppe (Abraham Stepner, March 1888 – November 22, 1934, at Bellevue Hospital in New York, New York) was a Jewish-American actor, comedian and hobo clown who worked in Vaudeville and Burlesque. Harry coined such terms as "Razzle Dazzle," "Top Banana" (the headliner or top act on the bill), and "Second Banana." As one of Bud Abbott's first partners, Harry introduced Bud to Lou Costello in 1934.

Born in New York to Russian immigrant Orthodox Jewish parents, Harry was often billed as a Hebrew or Jewish-dialect comedian. His gags and skits were also performed by such well-known comedians as Phil Silvers, The Three Stooges, and Abbott and Costello. Although Harry had penned the "Pokomoko" (aka Niagara Falls) Routine ("Slowly I Turned, step by step, inch by inch...")" and performed it with The Three Stooges, other writers, including fellow Vaudevillians Joey Faye and Samuel Goldman each laid claim to the skit, too. "Lifting" routines from another performer was standard operating procedure in the early-to-mid 20th century, and the famed routine was performed, without originator credit, by... Phil Silvers credited Harry with "introducing the phrase "Top Banana" into show business jargon in 1927 as a synonym for the top comic on the bill. It rose out of a routine, full of doubletalk, in which three comics tried to share two bananas."1 Silvers further popularized the term "Top Banana" in his 1951 Broadway musical and 1954 film of the same name.

Harry performed at several well-known theatres on the Orpheum Circuit. According to a Loew's Weekly Theatre Program, in a June 18, 1928 performance at the Loew's Theatre in New York, he was billed with Lola Pierce. Reportedly, Lola was an actress he was linked to romantically. Other paramours of Harry Steppe included Vaudeville performers Victoria "Vic" Dayton, Edna Raymond and Leona St. Clair

Death

Pulmonary edema contributed to Abe's death, according to his death certificate. He was at Bellevue Hospital for two days and had been ill for a month, according to a story in Variety magazine, Nov. 27, 1934. Abe Stepner's obituary appears under "Feature News," Billboard magazine, Dec. 1, 1934, pg 5.

Stage Productions

Year Month Town Theatre Show
1912 OlympicGirls from the Follies
1913Cleveland, OHEmpireGirls from the Follies
1914Pittsburgh, PAVictoria Girls from the Follies
1914NovTrenton, NJGirls from the Follies
1914Baltimore, MDGayetyGirls from the Follies
1915Pittsburgh, PAVictoriaGirls from the Follies
1915Ft. Wayne, INMajesticGirls from the Follies
1915Rochester, NYCorinthianGirls from the Follies
1915Detroit, MICadillacGirls from the Follies
1915Detroit, MICadillacLady Pirates
1915Louisville, KYBuckinghamGirls from the Follies
1915 Razzier
1915Cleveland, OH Bijou  
1915Pittsburgh, PA VictoriaKeeny's Harry Steppe & George Martin
1915Philadelphia, PACasinoGirls from the Follies
1915Pittsburgh, PA Girls from the Follies
1915Cleveland, OHBijou  
1916Philadelphia, PACabaretGirls from the Follies
1916St. Louis, MO StandardGirls from the Follies
1916JanFt. Wayne, IN Girls from the Follies
1916Louisville, KYBuckinghamGirls from the Follies
1916Buckingham Cohn in the East side
1916Louisville, KYBuckinghamGirls from the Follies
1916Olympic   
1916Newark, NJLoewsHarry Steppe at the Loews
1916 LoewsStep Lively Girls
1916Louisville, KY Buckingham Girls from the Follies
1916Cleveland, OH EmpireCohen's Review
1916Philadelphia, PATrocaderoFollies
1916Milwaukee, WIGayety  
1917JanTrenton, NJHello Girls
1917Brooklyn, NYStar  
1917WisconsinGayety  
1918WisconsinGayety  
1919MarTrenton, NJRazzle Dazzle
1919Columbus, OHLyceum Razzle Dazzle of 1918
1919 Peoples TheatreAmerican Supreme
1920Columbus, OH Razzle Dazzle of 1919
1920  Tid Bits of 1920
1920 BuckinghamMisfit Cohen
1920 GayetyHarry Steppe and His Rumba Girls
1923New York, NYColumbia Playhouse 
1924NovBridgeport, CTHarry Steppe and His Big Show
1925New York, NY Columbia OK
1925OctZanesville, OHHarry Steppe and His Big Show
1928FebDecatur, ILMatrimony a la Carte with Lola Pierce
1929DecWashington, DC9th StreetHarry Steppe and His Show

References

  • New York Times (Newspaper), Aug 16, 1914. Excerpt: "Burlesque Season On: The Columbia and the Murray Hill Are at It..."
  • Fort Wayne News (Newspaper) - January 27, 1916. "Sunday Burleque Matinee..."
  • The Bridgeport Telegram (Newspaper) - November 28, 1924. "Harry Steppe and His Big Show"
  • Zanesville Times Signal (Newspaper), October 18, 1925. "Harry Steppe Show"
  • The Times Recorder (Newspaper), October 14, 1925, Zanesville, Ohio. "Harry Steppe and his Big Show"
  • Harry Steppe and His Show on Ninth Street. Washington Post, Dec 8, 1929 Section: Amusements
  • Theatre Magazine, edited by W. J. Thorold, et al., 1931, pg. 36. Excerpt: "In fact, Harry Steppe, one of the leading burlesque comedians, remarked to me the other day that there is more to be seen on the streets today than there..."
  • 1 "About:Bananas," by John Wilcock. New York Times, March 30, 1958.
  • "Lou's on First: The Tragic Life of Hollywood's Greatest Clown Warmly Recounted by His Youngest Child," by Chris Costello, St. Martin's Griffin, 1982, pg.23, cites Harry as creator of the famous "Lemon Bit." ISBN 0-312-49914-0.
  • "Really The Blues," by Mezz Mezzrow and Bernard Wolfe, Citadel Press (Trade Paper), 1990, pg.27. ISBN 0-8065-1205-9. Excerpt: "You could see most of the celebrities of the day, colored and white, hanging around the De Luxe. Bill Robinson, the burlesque comedian Harry Steppe, comedian Benny Davis, Joe Frisco, Al Jolson, Sophie Tucker, Blossom Seeley, a lot of Ziegfeld Follies actors..."

External links

8th century - 9th century - 10th century
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885 886 887 - 888 - 889 890 891

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Subjects:     Archaeology - Architecture -
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November 22 is the 1st day of the year (2nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 0 days remaining.

Events


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19th century - 20th century - 21st century
1900s  1910s  1920s  - 1930s -  1940s  1950s  1960s
1931 1932 1933 - 1934 - 1935 1936 1937

Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV
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View from outpatient's room IA. Aug 4, 1950

Location
Place New York City, New York, (US)

Organization
Care System Medicaid, Medicare, Public
Hospital Type Teaching

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For other uses, see Vaudeville (disambiguation).


Vaudeville was a genre of variety entertainment prevalent in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s.
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Burlesque refers to theatrical entertainment of broad and parodic humor, which usually consists of comic skits (and sometimes a striptease). While some authors assert that burlesque is a direct descendant of the Commedia dell'arte, the term 'burlesque' for a parody or comedy of
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"Top Banana" has multiple meanings.
  • Top Banana is the starring act in a Vaudeville performance. Originally, the phrase "Top Banana" was coined by comedian and Vaudeville Performer Harry Steppe.
  • Top Banana (game) is a computer game.

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Bud Abbott

Bud Abbott and Lou Costello
Birth name William Alexander Abbott
Born September 2 1895(1895--)
Asbury Park, New Jersey  United States
Died
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Lou Costello, born Louis Francis Cristillo, March 6, 1906 - March 3, 1959), was an American actor and comedian best known as half of the comedy team of Abbott and Costello, with Bud Abbott.
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Orthodox Judaism is the formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts ("Oral Torah") and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim,
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Phil Silvers

Phil Silvers
Birth name Philip Silver
Born 11 May 1911(1911--)
New York, New York, United States
Died November 1 1985 (aged 74)
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The Three Stooges were an American vaudeville and comedy act of the mid 20th century best known for their numerous short subject films. They were commonly known by their first names: 'Moe, Larry, & Curly', and 'Moe, Larry, & Shemp', among other lineups.
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Abbott and Costello William (Bud) Abbott and Lou Costello (born Louis Francis Cristillo) were an American comedy duo whose work in radio, film and television made them one of the most popular teams in the history of comedy.
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"Slowly I Turned" is the most common name associated with a popular vaudeville sketch that has also been performed in cinema and on television. Comedians Harry Steppe, Joey Faye and Samuel Goldman each laid claim to this timeless classic of show business, also commonly referred to
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IMDb profile
Lost in a Harem is a 1944 film starring the comedy team of Abbott and Costello.

Plot

When a traveling vaudeville show becomes stranded in the Middle East, their singer, Hazel Moon (Marilyn Maxwell), takes a job at a local cafe.
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Lucille Ball

Pin-up photo of Lucille Ball in Yank, the Army Weekly.
Birth name Lucille Désirée Ball
Born July 6 1911(1911--)
Jamestown, New York, USA
Died
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The Abbott and Costello Show, a half-hour television sitcom starring the popular comedy team of Bud Abbott and Lou Costello that originally aired 1952-1954, is regarded among the most influential comedy programs in history.
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Orpheum Circuit, Inc. was a company started by Martin Beck who owned a series of vaudeville theatres and motion picture theatres.

Orpheum Circuit, Inc. was incorporated on December 22, 1919, under the laws of the State of Delaware with a perpetual charter.
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An intimate relationship is a particularly close interpersonal relationship. It is a relationship in which the participants know or trust one another very well or are confidants of one another, or a relationship in which there is physical or emotional intimacy.
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Pulmonary edema
Classification & external resources

ICD-10 J 81.
ICD-9 514

DiseasesDB 11017
MedlinePlus 000140
eMedicine med/1955   radio/581 Pulmonary edema
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Variety is a daily newspaper for the entertainment industry. It has been published since 1905, starting by covering vaudeville with offices in New York, then opening a Los Angeles bureau in the 1930s by Sime Silverman.

It publishes three paper editions and a Web site.
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Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis.
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