As countries around the world celebrate Pride, we wanted to find something appropriate from our archive. The majority of our film collection comes from the mid twentieth century, generally prior to about 1975. While there have always been queer performers, at that time in history, the vast majority did not identify as such publicly. While rumours (true and false) always circulate, and times have certainly changed, the practice of “outing” individuals who are no longer with us and not able to out themselves remains controversial. With that in mind, we have selected some clips that are at least nominally on topic.
This is a continuation of our series “The Good, The Bad and… You Decide.” (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)
The first selection is a performance by Harold Alberto (Harold McAuliffe, 1882-1964). Originally from Austrialia, he billed himself as “The Gay Deceiver”. (Yes, we know it meant something different back then!) This clip is part of a larger compilation assembled by Dariel Fitzkee. He is performing the “Silk to Egg” (sometimes known as the “Sucker Silk to Egg”). The clip is interesting historically. First the technique employed is very different from what you might see employed today. Also, as this clip has no sound, it uses printed cards as part of the narrative.
Please note this clip has no sound.
Another performer, this one famous in Toronto, often used the branding of “The Gay Magician”. John Giordmaine (1898-1974) was a celebrated family performer. For three decades he ran a magic counter in the toy department of Eaton’s and many local magicians of the right age can cite him as their introduction to magic. Canadian John Pellatt assembled a vast collection of photos, articles and biographical information at johngiordmaine.com.
In this clip from the 1940 SAM Conference in Chicago, you can see a performer who is barely taller than children on stage assisting him, while still being larger than life. Eagle eyed viewers will also notice another performer who appears only for a few frames: Al Baker performing a famous trick where he bakes a cake in the hat of an audience member.
Please note this clip has no sound.
Please note this clip has no sound.
And this last clip we had to post, if for no other reason than it’s so hot! Australian Bruno Nolo appears on what is most likely In Melbourne Tonight with host Graham Kennedy. You can watch him set the world on fire. While fire eating is not technically magic, it does rely partially on knowledge about how fire behaves that is generally not known to the audience.
The program ran from 1957-1970. If you freeze frame, you will also notice that this appearance seems to be presented in connection with an advertisement for firelighters.
It felt appropriate given the warm weather we’ve been having. Maybe the heat explains the abnormally high number of bad puns in this post.
