Edward Jackson (February 19, 1896 – July 16, 1980)The San Bernardino County Sun, 17 July 1980, Page 9 (obituary) was an American leading

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 ...

performer, actor and musician, and longtime colleague and partner of

Jimmy Durante James Francis Durante ( , ; February 10, 1893 – January 29, 1980) was an American comedian, actor, singer, and pianist. His distinctive gravelly speech, Lower East Side New York accent, accent, comic language-butchery, jazz-influenced son ...

. He appeared in vaudeville with Durante and Lou Clayton as the team Clayton, Jackson & Durante, known as the "Three Sawdust Bums." Born in Brooklyn, New York, Jackson began his show business work as a singing waiter at New York City and Coney Island clubs. At the Alamo Club in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

, he met Durante. They played together in a number of clubs and opened Club Durant in 1923. In 1924, their act was joined by Lou Clayton. The trio made their vaudeville debut at Loew's State theater in March 1927, with an act that literally included breaking up furniture. Durante sang of the virtues of wood, while Clayton and Jackson grabbed wood items and smashed them on the stage. By April 1928 they were headlining at the Palace Theater, breaking the house record for receipts, and making $5500 a week. They then moved to

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, appearing in the Ziegfeld production, ''Show Girl'' in 1929 and in

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

's ''

The New Yorkers ''The New Yorkers'' is a musical with score by Cole Porter and book by Herbert Fields that satirizes New York City types during Prohibition, from high society matrons to con men, bootleggers, thieves, and prostitutes. The musical premiered on ...

'' in 1930. Jackson was known for his rousing rendition of "

Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey "(Won't You Come Home) Bill Bailey", originally titled "Bill Bailey, Won't You Please.... Come Home?" is a popular song published in 1902. It is commonly referred to as simply "Bill Bailey". The words and music were written by Hughie Cannon, a ...

" and for a dance step called the Strut. He also sang in three films in the late 1940s: ''

In the Good Old Summertime IN, In or in may refer to: Dans * India (country code IN) * Indiana, United States (postal code IN) * Ingolstadt, Germany (license plate code IN) * In, Russia, a town in the Jewish Autonomous Oblast Businesses and organizations * Independen ...

'', ''

Two Sisters from Boston ''Two Sisters from Boston'' is a 1946 American musical-comedy film directed by Henry Koster and starring Kathryn Grayson, June Allyson, Lauritz Melchior, Jimmy Durante and Peter Lawford. The film features songs by Sammy Fain and Ralph Freed. P ...

'', and ''

Music for Millions Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all human societies. Definitions of musi ...

''. The trio broke up in 1931, though they did perform together in later years. Jackson remained Durante's sidekick and often performed with him in clubs and on television until 1971. His television and film performances include ''

All Star Revue ''Four Star Revue'' (also known as ''All Star Revue'' and ''All Star Summer Revue'') is an American variety/comedy program that aired on NBC from October 4, 1950, to December 26, 1953. The series originally starred four celebrities, Ed Wynn, D ...

'' (1950), ''

The Jimmy Durante Show ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'' (1954) and '' Roadhouse Nights'' (1930). Jackson also recorded

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

jazz. Jackson died on July 16, 1980, in

Sherman Oaks, California Sherman Oaks (founded in 1927) is a neighborhood of the city of Los Angeles, California within the San Fernando Valley region. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density ...

Recordings

* ''Eddie Jackson! and his Dixielanders'', Audio Fidelity AFLP 1909 (1959)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jackson, Eddie 1896 births 1980 deaths American vaudeville performers Singers from New York City 20th-century American singers 20th-century American actors