Ramza and Arno

Image of a full-length caricature portrait of singer and composer Ted Francis standing next to Irish comedian George B. Leslie in blackface near theater curtains and a potted palm tree; with a vignette of a head-and-shoulders portrait of Leslie at upper right.

Ramza and Arno was a traveling acrobatic comedy duo and minstrel show active during the late 19th and early 20th century. Founded by English-born performers Frank Ramza (ca. 1860–1889 and Charles Arno (ca. 1862–1904), the duo were considered one of the top stars in the traveling vaudeville acts[1] and were referred to as "comical comedians",[2] "knockabout comedians",[3] acrobats[4] and, "versatile and comic artistes".[5] The duo often traveled with other successful and famous performers of the time. Their acts notably included trapeze stunts, pantomime sketches, as well as various other types of live performance.[6]

Prominent minstrel manager John W. Vogel piloted many successful minstrel companies, including McNish, Ramza, and Arno's Refined Minstrels[7] where Ramza and Arno worked with Frank McNish (Francis Edward McNish).

According to a November 19, 1888 New York Times article, the McNish, Ramza and Arno Minstrels were "having a hard time of it on the road" and it was believed they would soon disband citing Lew Benedict of Duprez & Benedict's Minstrels decision to sever his connection with the act "because he could not collect $400 back salary."[8]

The original Ramza and Arno were both born in Birmingham, England. Frank Ramza (real name: Frank W. Ward) died from typhoid fever on October 2, 1889 at the Markham House hotel in Atlanta, aged 29.[9][10] Charles Arno (real name: Charles Forrester), died from pneumonia at his New York City home on April 11, 1904.[11][12] Subsequent performers in the Ramza and Arno act included James Ramza Thorpe (ca. 1860–1918).[13]

References

  1. ↑ SD, Trav (2005). No applause, just throw money, or, The book that made vaudeville famous : a high-class, refined entertainment. New York: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0571211925.
  2. ↑ "Kansas City, MO". The Billboard. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  3. ↑ "Proctor's One Hundred and Twenty-fifth Street Theatre". The Tammany Times. 7 November 1903.
  4. ↑ Variety Publishing Company (June 1914). "Variety". New York, NY: Variety Publishing Company. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  5. ↑ "The Greatest Assemblage of Versatile and Comic Artistes ever presented to the Public at one Establishment". London Pavilion. July 1886.
  6. ↑ FHD (1 December 1955). "Around the Town". The Telegraph. Retrieved 25 October 2015.
  7. ↑ Rice, El Roy (1911). Monarchs of minstrelsy, from "Daddy" Rice to date. New York: Kenny Publication Company.
  8. ↑ "A minstrel show in trouble". The New York Times. 19 November 1888. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
  9. ↑ "Deaths in the Profession". New York Clipper. Vol. 37, no. 31. 1889-10-12. p. 519.
  10. ↑ "Death of an Actor: Mr. Frank Ramza dies at the Markham House". The Atlanta Constitution. Vol. 21. 1889-10-03. p. 4.
  11. ↑ "Deaths in the Profession". The New York Clipper. Vol. 52, no. 9. 1904-04-23. p. 202.
  12. ↑ "Obituary". The New York Dramatic Mirror. Vol. 51, no. 1322. 1904-04-23. p. 17.
  13. ↑ "James Ramza Thorp". Variety . Vol. 52, no. 6. 1918-10-04. p. 25.
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