We moralize among ruins.

Benjamin Disraeli

Harry Steppe - Biography

Harry Steppe (born Abraham Stepner, March 16, 1888 – November 22, 1934 was a Jewish-American actor, musical comedy performer, headliner comedian, writer, librettist, director and producer, who toured North America working in Vaudeville and Burlesque. Steppe performed at several well-known theaters on the Columbia, Mutual and Orpheum circuits. As one of Bud Abbott's first partners, Harry introduced Bud to Lou Costello in 1934.

Contents

Early life

Born in Russia to Orthodox Jewish parents, Steppe emigrated from Moscow to the United States through Ellis Island with his family in 1892. Steppe became a naturalized citizen of the United States in 1899.

Steppe's father was a tailor. His brother Michael was a vocalist. One of Steppe's brothers was named Harry but it is not known if this was an inspiration for part of Steppe's stage name.

Steppe lived in Newark, New Jersey and in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. At the age of 29, Steppe claimed an exemption from the draft for World War I on the grounds that he supported his widowed mother.

Relationships

Steppe married twice. His first wife Beatrice, an actress in "Razzle Dazzle of 1918," died at the age of 25 from the Spanish flu, the same year they were married. This sudden loss may have contributed to speculation about Harry's personal struggles with depression.

Other paramours of Harry Steppe included Vaudeville performers Victoria "Vic" Dayton, whom he married in 1920, Edna Raymond and Leona St. Clair. Steppe was often billed with actress Lola Pierce, to whom he was also reportedly linked romantically.

Career

Known to theater patrons as "The Hebrew Gent," Steppe was billed as a Hebrew, Jewish-dialect or Yiddish-dialect character comedian. One of Steppe's alter egos Ignatz Cohen became a recurring and popular character based on an ethnic Jewish stereotype. Many of Steppe's variety shows featured musical revues and olios with dancing girls, comedy sketches and specialty acts. One performance of Steppe's "Girls from the Follies" featured "eight cycling models with thrilling stunts on wheels," operatic songs, ballroom dancing and chorus girls.

Phil Silvers and others credited Steppe 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." Silvers further popularized the term "Top Banana" in his 1951 Broadway musical and 1954 film of the same name. Steppe also claimed to have coined the phrase "Second Banana."

Steppe's sketches were performed by such well-known comedians as Phil Silvers, The Three Stooges, and Abbott and Costello. Steppe created the original "Lemon Bit," a skit built around a shell game that used lemons instead of peas. Abbott and Costello performed the "Lemon Bit" in their movie "In the Navy" and in their television program "The Abbott & Costello Show."

Although Steppe 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...

  • The Three Stooges in the movie Gents Without Cents (1944)
  • Abbott and Costello in the movie Lost in a Harem (1944)
  • Lucille Ball in the TV show I Love Lucy (1951), Season #1, Episode #19 ("The Ballet")
  • Abbott and Costello on TV in The Abbott and Costello Show (1952–1953)

Agents and Management

Harry Steppe was represented by several theatrical agencies during his career, including Cain & Davenport and Chamberlain and Lyman Brown. Some of his shows were produced by Sam N. Reichblum and well-known burlesque producer I.H. Herk. Steppe also secured theater bookings through the support of entertainment circuits, or "wheels," like the B.F. Keith Vaudeville Exchange, the Columbia Amusement Company (so-called "clean" burlesque) and the Mutual Burlesque Association.

Death

When Steppe became gravely ill and unable to work, his friends in show business staged a fundraiser on his behalf, however Steppe died in poverty. Pulmonary edema contributed to Steppe's death, according to his death certificate. He was at Bellevue Hospital in New York, New York for two days and had been ill for a month, according to a story in Variety magazine, Nov. 27, 1934. He is buried in New Jersey.

Stage Productions

Performances
Year Month City & State Theater Show Title Players & Notables Media Coverage
1911 Apr Majestic Theater The Two Strollers
Musical Comedy
Harry Steppe
Toney Murphy
Smuckler Sisters
Portsmouth Daily Times
May   Kenyon Theater Loveland Harry Steppe (as Ignatz Cohen)
Ben Masten
Jack Daily
Leona Thompson, singer
Berti Wyatt, dancer
Gertie Fay, dancer
Pittsburgh Press
1912 Apr Marion, OH Sun Theater Girl from Daffydill Harry Steppe (as Ignatz Cohen) Marion Daily Star
    Olympic Girls from the Follies  
1913 Sep     Girls from the Follies   Indianapolis Star
Oct Chicago, IL   Girls from the Follies   Suburbanite Economist
Nov Boston, MA Howard Athenaeum Girls from the Follies   Boston Globe
Cleveland, OH Empire Girls from the Follies  
1914 Jan Pittsburgh, PA Victoria Girls from the Follies   Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Mar Toronto, ON Canada Star Theater Girls from the Follies   Toronto Sunday World
Apr Boston, MA Howard Athenaeum     Boston Daily Globe
May Hartford, CT Poli Palace Theater
Main and Gold Streets
Those Kissing Girls
Musical Comedy
Hartford Courant
Jun   St. James Kissing Girls Harry Steppe
Oscar Lorraine, violinist
Ed and Jack Smith, dancers
Boston Evening Transcript
Aug   Murray Hill Theatre Girls from the Follies Harry Steppe
Charles Quinn
Vesta Lockard
Gertrude Balston
Forrest G. Wyre
Jessie Quinn
Annie Goldie
Marie Revere
Harry Fisher
William Harris
New York Times
Sep Pittsburgh, PA Victoria Girls from the Follies Harry Steppe
Charles Quinn
Vesta Lockard
Gertrude Balston
Forrest G. Wyre
Jessie Quinn
Annie Goldie
Marie Revere
Harry Fisher
William Harris
Pittsburgh Press
Nov Boston, MA Howard Athenaeum Girls from the Follies   Boston Daily Globe
Baltimore, MD Gayety Girls from the Follies  
1915 Jan Toronto Star Theater Girls from the Follies
Two-act Musical Farce
Harry Steppe
Vesta Lockard
Gertude Walston
Mabel Reflow
George L. Wagner
William M. Harris
Billy Moore
Harry Fisher
Solly Hito
Dan Pierce, Star Theater Manager
Toronto World
May   Victoria Girls from the Follies Harry Steppe
Vesta Lockhard
Gertude Ralston
Mabel Reflow, dancer
George L. Wagner
William M. Harris
Harry Van
Harry Fisher
Solly Hito, dancer
Pittsburgh Press
Sep Pittsburgh, PA Victoria Lady Pirates   Pittsburgh Press
Oct Trenton, NJ    Trenton Evening Times
Cleveland, OH Bijou    
Louisville, KY Buckingham Girls from the Follies 
Detroit, MI Cadillac Girls from the Follies 
Detroit, MI Cadillac Lady Pirates 
Philadelphia, PA Casino Girls from the Follies  
Rochester, NY Corinthian Girls from the Follies  
Ft. Wayne, IN Majestic Girls from the Follies  
  Razzier  
Pittsburgh, PA Victoria Girls from the Follies  
Pittsburgh, PA Victoria Keeny's Harry Steppe & George Martin  
1916 Jan Ft. Wayne, IN Girls from the Follies   Ft Wayne Daily News
Jan Ft. Wayne, IN   Cohen in Chinatown
Two-act musical comedy
  Ft. Wayne Journal-Gazette
  Philadelphia, PA Cabaret Girls from the Follies  
  St. Louis, MO Standard Girls from the Follies  
  Louisville, KY Buckingham Girls from the Follies
Cohen on the East Side
Two-act musical burlesque
  Reedy's Mirror
    Olympic    
  Newark, NJ Loews Harry Steppe at the Loews  
    Loews Step Lively Girls  
  Louisville, KY Buckingham Girls from the Follies  
  Cleveland, OH Empire Cohen's Review 
  Philadelphia, PA Trocadero Follies  
  Milwaukee, WI Gayety   
1917 Jan Trenton, NJ Hello Girls   Trenton Evening Times
Feb Brooklyn, NY Howard Athenaeum     Boston Daily Globe
Brooklyn, NY Star    
1918 Aug Philadelphia, PA Gayety
5th below Vine
Razzle Dazzle Girls Harry Steppe
Grace Fletcher
Evening Public Ledger
Oct   Star Theater Razzle Dazzle of 1918 Harry Steppe
Bunnie Mack, comedian
Grace Fletcher, soubrette
Percie Judah
Mike Fertig, singer
Sydia Dunn, singer
Palmer Hines, straight man
Toronto World
1919 Jan Pittsburgh, PA Victoria Razzle Dazzle of 1919 Harry Steppe
Lew Denny
Mike Fertig, singer
Billy Halperin
Percie Judah
Sydia Dunn, singer
Grace Fletcher
Pittsburgh Press
Feb Washington, DC Razzle Dazzle Harry Steppe
Grace Fletcher
Washington Post
Mar Trenton, NJ Razzle Dazzle  
Columbus, OH Lyceum Razzle Dazzle  
  Peoples Theatre American Supreme  
1920 Columbus, OH   Razzle Dazzle of 1919 
    Tid Bits of 1920 
  Buckingham Misfit Cohen  
  Gayety Harry Steppe and His Rumba Girls  
1921 Jun New York, NY Loew's Metropolitan   Harry Steppe, headliner
Dick Lancaster
New York Tribune
Jun New York, NY Loew's American   Harry Steppe, headliner
Chappelle and Stinnett
New York Tribune
Sep New York, NY Columbia
Broadway & 47th St.
Jingle Jingle Harry Steppe
Harry O'Neal
New York Times
  Washington, DC     Harry Steppe
Harry O'Neal
Frank Anderson
Washington Post
1923 Apr Los Angeles, CA Hillstreet Just a Debate Harry Steppe
Harry O'Neal
Los Angeles Times
  New York, NY Columbia Playhouse    
1924 Sep   Gayety Theater Columbia Burlesque Harry Steppe and His Big Show Harry Steppe
Harry O'Neal
Vic Casmore
Solly Hito, dancer
Mabel Reflow, dancer
Canadian Jewish Chronicle
The Axe (Montreal)
Nov Bridgeport, CT Harry Steppe and His Big Show   Bridgeport Telegram
Dec   Gayety Harry Steppe
Dorothy Golden, dancer
Pittsburgh Press
1925 Jan   Gayety Theater Columbia Burlesque Harry Steppe and His Big Show Harry Steppe
Harry O'Neal
Mabel Reflow
Lola Pierce
Pittsburgh Press
March   Harry Steppe and His Big Show Harry Steppe
Harry O'Neal
Chicago Tribune
Apr Empire Theater
Temperance Street
Columbia Burlesque
(Columbia Circuit)
Cain and Davenport present
Harry Steppe and His Big Show
Week of April 13
Harry Steppe
Harry O'Neal
Vic Casmore
Hite and (Mabel) Reflow, singer
George McClennon, comedian
Canadian Jewish Review
May New York, NY Columbia Theater
Times Square
(Columbia Circuit)
O.K. Harry Steppe
Harry O'Neal
Mabel Reflow, singer
Lola Pierce, singer
George McClennon, dancer
Miller and Ryan, dancers
Three Golfers, acrobats
Solly Hito, juvenile
and a whistler
New York Times
Aug (New) Lyric Theater O.K.
Harry Steppe
George McClennon
Owen Martin, straight man
Vic Casmore
Mite
Mabel Reflow, singer
Bridgeport Telegraph
Sep   Gayety Harry Steppe and His Big Show Harry Steppe
Vic Casmore
Pittsburgh Press
Oct Cleveland, OH Columbia Steppe's Own Show Harry Steppe
George McClennon
Afro-American
Oct Zanesville, OH Weller
Columbia Circuit
Harry Steppe and His Big Show Harry Steppe
Owen Martin, straight man
George McClennon, jazz clarinetist
Jacque Wilson, blues singer
Carmen Sisters, dancers
Rube Walman, whistler
Zanesville Times Signal
Zanesville Signal
Zanesville Times Signal
1926 Apr Boston, MA Casino Theater
(Columbia Circuit)
Steppe's Own Show   Afro-American
June New York, NY   The Lemon Bit   New York Times
  Boston, MA Gaiety Theater Harry Steppe's OK   Gaiety Theater Study Report
1927 Oct Atlanta, GA The Supper Club
The Debate
Harry Steppe
Lola Pierce
Atlanta Constitution
1928 Feb Decatur, Illinois Matrimony à la Carte with Lola Pierce  
June New York, NY Loew's Theater     Loew's Weekly
1929 Sep Gayety Harry Steppe and His Own Big Show   Canadian Jewish Review
Dec Washington, DC 9th Street Harry Steppe and His Show   Washington Post
Dec Pittsburgh, PA Academy Theater Harry Steppe and His Show
Monte Carlo
Fortune Hunters
Harry Steppe
Betty and Bud Abbott
Billie Holmes, blues singer
Frances Knight, ingenue
Rube Walman
Lee Baird, second comedian
Gertie Foreman
Jerry DeVere
Pittsburgh Press
1930 Sep   Orpheum Theatre Harry Steppe and His Show   Reading Eagle
Oct Pittsburgh, PA Academy Theater Harry Steppe and His Big Show Harry Steppe
Jeanne Steele, jazz singer
Ann Clair, ingenue
Lloyd and Ardell
Wilbur Dobbs, comedian
George Raymond, baritone
Dixon and Morrell, sister act
Pittsburgh Press
1931 Mar   Orpheum Theater
(Mutual Circuit)
Fashion Parade Harry Steppe
Sonny Kest, ingenue
Lee Hickman
Dorothy Alexander
Reading Eagle
Oct Pittsburgh, PA Academy Theater
(Columbia Circuit)
Rumba Girls Harry Steppe
Jerri McCauley
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
1933 Apr   Ritz   Harry Steppe
Max Furman
Lew Patel
Eddie Dale
Harry Burns
Olsen and Johnson
Syracuse Herald
Nov Hartford, CT Parsons Theater Harry Steppe
Eddie Lloyd, comedian
Lew Denny, straight man
Hartford Courant
1934 Sep   Variety Red Hot Harry Steppe
Joe DeRita
Happy Hyatt
Abe Sher
Al Golden, director
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Pittsburgh Press


Sources

  • "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..."
  • American song: the complete musical theatre companion‎, by Ken Bloom, 1985, Page 130

External links

  • Bananas in Entertainment, cites Harry as originator of "Top Banana." Citation derived from newspapers and playbills in the Harvard Theater Collection.







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