More Greek-American Blackface, Ethnic Stereotypes in Vaudeville by Steve Frangos Published in The National Herald, March 2, 2019 ------------------------------ I am excited that  The National Herald  has given Hellenic Genealogy Geek the right to reprint articles that may be of interest to our group.  ------------------------------ Joe Burns and Murray Kissen were an incredibly successful song and comedy team that performed for decades all across North America. That Burns and Kissen based a significant part of their careers making fun of Greek immigrants to North America is somehow long forgotten. Vaudeville acts during the late 1890s and well into the 1900s were renowned for their comedy routines that wickedly lampooned the newly arriving immigrants. The inability of the newly arrived foreigners to speak, and so fully understand standard American English was the core premise of this form of humor. Germans, Orientals, Jews, Irish, Greeks, an...

THE FIRST WAVE OF GREEK VAUDEVILLIANS By Steve Frangos Published in The National Herald, September 6, 2008 ------------------------------ I am excited that  The National Herald  has given Hellenic Genealogy Geek the right to reprint articles that may be of interest to our group.  ------------------------------ The commanding presence of Greek immigrants during the very formation of Modern American Entertainment is well documented. As promoters Greek immigrants were among the most influential individuals in an incredibly wide array of entertainment arenas such as dance halls, nickelodeons, music halls, carnivals, and certainly vaudeville and movie theaters. Leaving the promoters aside, for the moment, we need to begin relocating and re-assessing the careers of Greek immigrant performers.   The impact Greek immigrant performers had on American entertainment, again while documented, is for the moment hopelessly scattered. Part of the...

NICHOLAS PROTOPAPAS: GIANT AMONG THE EARLY GRECIAN STRONGMEN By Steve Frangos, TNH Staff Published in The National Herald, March 24, 2017  ------------------------------ I am excited to announce that  The National Herald  has given Hellenic Genealogy Geek the right to reprint articles that may be of interest to our group.  ------------------------------ Nicholas G. Protopapas was among the earliest Greek strongmen to live and perform in the United States. A representative roster of these award winning Hellenic athletes would have to include Antonio Panay, Theodoros Yorgios Costaky, John Muhler, Anton Pierre, Panagis Koutalianos, and Demetrios Tofalos. By the mid-1870s, at the very latest, these men were appearing and performing feats of strength all across North American. It is no exaggeration to say that these men were the individuals the average American first saw as modern Greeks. Given that these Greek athletes toured the coun...