The “Artists and Models” Centennial

August 20, 1923 saw the debut of the Shuberts’Artists and Models revues on Broadway.

The concept for this show was adapted from theatricals put on by the Illustrators Society of New York (unknown whether it’s the same organization as The Society of Illustrators). The show’s art studio theme allowed the producers to push the envelope on female nudity beyond the present outlier in the field, which at the time was Earl Carroll’s Vanities. It was a risky gambit; some critics and audiences were unsparing in their disapproval. But it did well enough to hang on for five editions through 1930, replacing The Passing Show as the revue jewel in the Shubert crown. Frank Fay was the initial host; he was succeeded by Phil Baker. Performers over the life of the series included Jack Osterman, Aline McMahon, Sid Silvers, Lee Morse, Shaw and Lee, Gertrude Hoffman’s dance troupe, Lulu McConnell, Walter Woolf King, and many others; Gus Kahn, and J. Fred Coots were among those who supplied songs; Seymour Felix choreographed for it; designs by Erté were featured.

The Great Depression killed the original Artists and Models series of revues, but there were three reincarnations (or homages to its memory):

A 1937 movie directed by Raoul Walsh, with Jack Benny,Ida Lupino, Gail Patrick,Richard Arlen, Martha Raye,Ben Blue, Hedda Hopper,Dell Henderson, The Yacht Club Boys, the Canova Family, and bits with illustrators Rube Goldberg and Russell Patterson. Benny returned for the sequel Artists and Models Abroad (1938) with Joan Bennett, Charley Grapewin, Mary Boland, and Fritz Feld.

Lou Walters revived the concept for a 1943 Broadway show with Jane Froman, Jackie Gleason, and Frances Faye.

And of course, the version many of us probably know best, the 1955 movie, directed by Frank Tashlin, with Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis, with Dorothy Malone, Shirley MacLaine, Anita Ekberg, Eva Gabor,Eve Meyer, Sara Berner, et al.

With the popularity of “drink and draw” nights in the wake of the neo-burlesque revival, I’d like to gingerly suggest that the time is more than right for the concept’s revival!

For more on show business history,please see my book No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous; and keep an eye out for my upcomingElectric Vaudeville: A Century of Radio and TV Variety.