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No Applause--Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous

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"No Applause-Just Throw Money, or the Book That Made Vaudeville Famous" is as sassy as its title. As bold a writer as he is performer, Trav S.D.'s book is all the better for it. Critics have commented that it is amusing-and it is-very, but it also affords, within its 300 plus pages, a solid survey of vaudeville history from its roots through several stages of growth to its blossoming and institutional decline.
One of the book's greater strengths is the cultural context Trav S.D. provides without losing his story in academic meanderings. The marrying of high and low purpose in this book reflects vaudeville's eclectic (some might say indiscriminate) embrace of art forms, a formula that made it the most popular mass entertainment of its day--fit for both toffs and toughs--ladies and children invited.
One can quibble about several particulars-this is true of every book written about vaudeville, but Trav S.D. has captured the shape, size and feel of vaudeville by examining it as a business as well as an entertainment form peopled by beloved performers.
Trav S.D. is producer/performer with American Vaudeville Theatre and a writer whose work has appeared in various periodicals including The Village Voice, American Theatre, Time Out New York, and Reason.
Frank Cullen, merican Vaudeville M useum, "fcullen'

The whole book is informative and very, very funny, with the first third concentrating on the ancient history of vaudeville and its beginnings, the middle third concentrating on its heyday, and the final chapters dedicated to its decline. However, the text does contain some glaring errors with regard to Buster Keaton's life and abilities (probably owing to the author's unfortunate use of Marion Meade's atrocious "Cut to the Chase" as a resource). For the record, Buster Keaton was neither functionally illiterate nor abused. The final chapters are bogged down a bit with the author's own philosophy as to what is needed in vaudeville, rather than a straight telling of what has happened to it in the last 40 or 50 years. This is a shame, because the first two thirds of the book are uproariously funny and page-turningly readable, and I would have like to have seen this continue through to the conclusion. Even the acknowledgements are entertaining - not always the case.

In the last five years, three unrelated books, the subject book, together with Seriously Funny by Gerard Nachman and Comedy at the Edge by Richard Zoglin, have been published which, together, comprise the history of American comedy since the American Civil War. All of them have their merits, but No Applause - Just Throw Money (NAJTM) is the best of them.

It is not just that vaudeville is broader than comedy alone and the vaudeville era was a lot more interesting in show business history than the periods that followed it. The other virtue to NAJTM is that, while the other books try to capture an age by induction - focusing on the lives of a handful of performers and drawing universal conclusions - NAJTM discusses the era and illustrates the author's points with references to individual performers. The result is that the uniqueness of each act, its independence and individuality is honored.

And unique and independent and individualistic they were! What a wonderful collection of oddballs, tyrants and crackpots and what a talented, original and creative bunch as well. As one surveys modern entertainment - the intellectual wasteland that comprises theater, television and, especially, American cinema today, one longs to slip into the Palace for just one day to see this bunch walk the boards one more time.

Comprehensive and credible without being dull or academic, this lively book is funny, irreverent, and insightful. Balancing an enthusiast's ...well, enthusiasm, with a thorough, well-researched treatment, this author is never without an opinion. I thoroughly enjoyed it. Read this book and understand where all contemporary popular media all comes from.

This book is full of information, laughs, and a several "OH-MY-GOSH" responses to surprising tidbits I'd never heard before. I purchased this book for research in writing the Crack in the Moon show and it has quickly become one of my favorite sources of information and inspiration.
Those interested in theatre history should become familiar with the role of vaudeville and burlesque in the development of popular theatre; on that note, this is the book to read.

From 1881 to 1932 vaudeville was the center of American show business, and modern-day vaudevillian Trav S.D. details its history and impact from early to modern times in a survey which traces the big names of vaudeville and the attraction and representation of its shows. Vaudeville was the first major American equal opportunity employer, and it allowed even immigrants easy access to American culture: chapters trace major players, acts, and influences.

Diane C. Donovan
California Bookwatch

Like the History Channel on TV -- Trav S. D. certainly brings the history of vaudeville to life in this book!! His knowledge and storytelling is akin to sitting in the parlor listening to tales of a bygone era from your grandfather or favorite wise old uncle who himself lived through it! He leaves you smiling, laughing and always wanting to hear and read more.

If anything, the only thing found missing and lacking was in regards to what Trav calls "The New Vaudeville." Back in the early `70s was a bloke by the name of Roy Radin, who did his part in bringing vaudeville shows back to the masses. In Roy Radin's Vaudeville Review, which toured the country appearing in auditoriums, college campuses, and virtually anywhere the venue could be set up -- Many thousands of people, yours truly included, had their chance to meet the likes of Milton Berle, Donald O'Connor, Georgie Jessel and other great stars of the illegitimate stage up close and personal. These vaudeville shows were a great success for the time they ran; although Radin himself as it turns out would end up a mostly forgotten about and very tragic figure in the history of entertainment.

Hoping Trav could've given us some further background and more insight into Radin's touring follies would've made this whole vaudeville story that much better. Perhaps though, when and if the book comes out in paperback, he can/will go back and include some of these tales for us. Nevertheless...

Final Analysis: Do throw money at this book and this author. You'll get more bang for your bucks! And find yourself thoroughly entertained and greatly informed along the way!

A terrific book, incredibly comprehensive and very well researched. Written with a sly sense of humor, the intro and background is really complete and wonderful, and the middle section about the heyday and performers is great reading. The last quarter strays into a great deal of opinion from Trav's own finely-honed Vaudeville sensibility; but all the same, it is a fabulous book, absolutely big time. I really appreciated that Trav gave us a lot of reading about the acts and actual performing. (Many books and info sources don't - concentrating more on the Managers and the business end.) As another said, if you want a book about Vaudeville, this is the one.

Several weeks ago I read a notice in our local newspaper that an author calling himself Trav S.D.would be appearing at a locally owned and operated bookstore to promote his brand new book about the history of vaudeville "No Applause--Just Throw Money". A little more than a year ago I had read Lawrence J. Epstein's superb book "Mixed Nuts: America's Love Affair With Comedy Teams from Burns and Allen to Belushi and Akroyd" and I enjoyed it tremendously. It left me wanting to learn all I that I could about the storied history of what we refer to as "vaudeville". I was all set to go to the book signing when I learned that the time had been changed. I was out of luck. Fortunately, I spotted the book the other day at my local library. I spent virtually the entire weekend reading it. This was a book I simply could not put down.

I found "No Applause--Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous" to be treasure trove of information. Trav S.D.(aka Travis Stewart) has been the head of the American Vaudeville Theater in New York City for nearly a decade now. He is also a very accomplished writer which is quite evident in this book. Trav S.D. introduces us to the legendary performers of the vaudeville circuit. We have all heard of the Marx Brothers, Burns and Allen, W.C. Fields and Buster Keaton, but I really appreciated learning about so many of the acts I had never even heard of before. It was also interesting to learn about the men who would emerge as the moguls of vaudeville. Tony Pastor is generally credited with having much to do with putting "vaudeville" on the map. His seemingly revolutionary insistance on variety shows that offered "fun without vulgarity" would prove to be a winning formula for five decades. Now women and children could attend these shows and as a result the potential audience for such offerings expanded dramatically. Over the next several decades savvy businessmen like B.F. Keith, Edward Franklin Albee, F.F.Proctor and the Hammersteins would come to dominate this growing industry. It seemed that Americans could not get enough of "vaudeville". This would continue to be the case until the early 1920's when new technologies like the phonograph, radio and movies would gradually erode the appeal of "live" entertainment.

I really appreciated the meticulous research Trav S.D. did for this book. There were so many interesting tidbits of information sprinkled throughout "No Applause--Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous". I particularly enjoyed learning the origin of so many of the terms associated with the vaudeville scene. A few days after the author appeared in my city I was talking to an elderly Catholic priest about the book. It turns out that he had actually appeared many, many times in a vaudeville venue here in town some 70 years ago. Without having actually read the book at that point I strongly recommended that he pick up a copy. Now having read it from cover to cover I strongly urge anyone who is even remotely interested in this subject to get themselves a copy of this book. I can assure you that you will not be disappointed. Very highly recommended!

Well-researched and scholarly work, but written with a deft sense of humor. If you could only own a single volume about American Vaudeville, this is it.