Show Biz: From Vaude to Video - Green and Laurie Jr. - Joe Stevens Estate

Show Biz: From Vaude to Video (often stylized without the colon in some listings) is a seminal 1951 book co-authored by Abel Green and Joe Laurie Jr. It chronicles the evolution of American entertainment from vaudeville's heyday at the turn of the 20th century through the rise of radio, film, Broadway, burlesque, Tin Pan Alley, the circus, and early television ("video"). Drawing heavily from Variety magazine's archives—where Green served as editor—the book is celebrated for its vivid, slang-filled narrative in Variety's signature "fractured French" style (e.g., chapter titles like "Pix - Poor Man's Entertainment," "Burly is Hurly," and "Veni, Vidi, Video, Vaudeo"). It's packed with anecdotes, scandals, celebrity passings, box-office trivia, and a comprehensive 40-page index covering nearly 4,000 names, making it an essential reference for show business history up to 1950.

1951 HC 1stEd - No DJ - Price Written on front flyleaf, waterstaining on front cover, occasional annotations - Fair Cond