Archive
Various Places: nd [c. 1900's-40's]. A substantial archive of materials relating to the early 20th century comedy team Clark and McCullough, documenting their remarkable trajectory across several popular 20th century theatrical forms- from Circus, to Vaudeville to Burlesque to popular film.
The two had been high school friends n Springfield, Ohio, where they practiced tumbling and gymnastics together. After leaving school, they began work on the circus circuit before becoming performers together on the vaudeville circuit. During the White Rat Strike of 1916 the duo entered the world of burlesque, and eventually hit the Great White Way. Their 1926 show The Ramblers was adapted by Wheeler and Woolsey into their hit movie The Cuckoos, and in 1928 yhe two signed with Radio Pictures and began to release a staggering number of films during the summer months, while working on Broadway at other times.
The routines which the duo performed were characterized by their fast pace and dark sense of humor (one of their films involves cooking a pet dog and feeding it to the owner) and though the duo made at least 38 films, their remarkable successes on all variety of stage had some difficulty translating to the screen, garnering mixed critical attention. After the 1935 season, McCullough was interred in a Massachusetts sanitarium for treatment for severe depression. After Clark picked him up from the sanitarium, McCullough asked to visit a barber on the way home, and after getting his haircut, took the barber's razor and killed himself by slashing his neck and wrists. Item #26713
Price: $12,500.00