Al Reeves (May 31, 1864 – February 26, 1940) was an American

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and

minstrel show The minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, was an American form of theater developed in the early 19th century. The shows were performed by mostly white actors wearing blackface makeup for the purpose of portraying racial stereotypes of Afr ...

entertainer, vocalist, and

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

player. Catch phrase: "Give me credit, boys." He began performing in 1878, and was heavily involved in the

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

scene. He later toured with his own company, Al Reeves' Specialty Co. and produced his famous "Big Beauty Show" ("99% Girls 99%") which bragged packed houses for twenty years. He was later known as the "King of Burlesque." Reeves made his only known recordings with

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

and

Edison Records Edison Records was one of the early record labels that pioneered sound recording and reproduction, and was an important and successful company in the early recording industry. The first phonograph cylinders were manufactured in 1888, followed by ...

from 1891 and 1893, and around the same time had an inadvertent influence on the young

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

's interest in show business. Vaudeville performers the

Griffin Sisters The Griffin Sisters, Emma (1874–1918) and Mabel (1877–1918) Griffin, were American vaudeville performers in the late 1800s and early 1900s who became entrepreneurs and social activists and opened one of the first booking agencies owned by B ...

worked for Reeves early in their career.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reeves, Al 1864 births Place of birth missing 1940 deaths Place of death missing American burlesque performers American vaudeville performers Vaudeville producers