Smith and Dale were the archetypical vaudeville male two-act. When one thinks of a “vaudeville comedy team”, one thinks of something like Smith & Dale. Neil Simon based his play The Sunshine Boys on their act, although their offstage relationship wasn’t as dire as depicted—that part was based on Gallagher and Sheen. Joe Smith and Charlie Dale grew up in the Jewish ghettos of New York City. Sultzer and Marks met as teenagers in 1898 and formed a partnership. They named their act Smith and Dale because a local printer gave them a good deal on BUSINESS CARDS reading Smith and Dale (intended for a vaudeville team that had dissolved). Joe Sultzer became Joe Smith, and Charlie Marks became Charlie Dale. (Album below released in 1961)
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 05:10:16 +0000
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