Gallagher and Shean
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Gallagher & Shean was a highly successful double act on vaudeville and Broadway in the 1910s and 1920s, consisting of Edward Gallagher (1873 - March 28, 1929) and Al Shean (real name Albert Schoenberg) (May 12, 1868 - August 12, 1949).
Having led separate careers in the vaudeville tradition, it was when they teamed up that they gained popularity. Most widely-known was their theme song Mister Gallagher and Mister Shean which was a hit at the Ziegfeld Follies in 1922. The song was written for them by Bryan Foy, son of Eddie Foy and eldest member of the "Seven Little Foys", and was regularly tweaked and updated with additional verses, so several different versions of the song are still extant. Though it has nothing to do with the song, the two appeared in Egyptian dress (Gallagher in pith helmet and white suit of the tourist, Shean in fez and oddly skirted jacket of a "native" Egyptian colonial) to tap into the post-King Tut craze for all things Egyptian. The song was recorded, was extremely popular and well-remembered: a parody of it was performed by Groucho Marx with Jackie Gleason on television in the late 1950s and Lenny Bruce was able to make off-handed reference to it in his nightclub act of the 1960s, all of them confident that audiences would recognize it right away.
Gallagher and Shean first paired up during the tour of "The Rose Maid" in 1912, but they quarreled and split up two years later. They next appeared together in 1920, through the efforts of Shean's sister, Minnie Marx. This pairing lasted until 1925 and led to their fame.
In 1921, they were sued by the Shubert organization for breach of contract. According to Shubert, they could not perform for the Ziegfeld Follies. The case claimed that Gallagher and Shean's act was "unique and irreplaceable." The comedians' defense was that their act was a mediocrity and the judge initially found in their favor, although the decision was later reversed.
Shean was also uncle to the Marx Brothers. Shortly before their breakup in 1925, they made an experimental sound film with Theodore Case at Case's studio in Auburn, New York.
[edit] References
- Marxology
- Marx-o-rama (see Sounds page)
