The musings of Sean Paul Murphy: Editor, Producer, Screenwriter, Author. Or, Hollywood -- and beyond -- as seen from an odd little corner of northeast Baltimore, Maryland.
Here's two more exciting ZOOM editions of the Yippee-Ki-Yay Mother Podcast, a lively discussion of the movies that sometimes devolves into a group therapy session.
The podcast took the month of August off for hiatus. We wanted to do something special to celebrate our return, and we thought it would be fun to answer some questions from our Indian viewers. It proved to be a great way to ease back into the fun. Check it out:
Right before the hiatus, we ended our remakes series and decided to do a new series on courtroom dramas. Mother Podcaster Chris was the first one up and decided to bring 1996's Ghosts of Mississippi to the table. The film, about the trial of Medgar Ever's assassin, Byron De La Beckwith, was released to underwhelming box office and reviews. Chris thought it desired a second chance. Did the rest of the crew agree? Watch and find out:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can currently buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.
The haunting my family experienced at 21 St. Helens Avenue was recently mentioned in the 9 September 2023 issue of Baltimore magazine. The article discusses five real life hauntings in the greater Baltimore area. I was honored that writer Janelle Erlichman Diamond included our tale in her story.
The links to my blogs about the actual haunting are below.
The illustration above was from Evangeline Gallagher.
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
I am awfully quick to give advice about screenwriting in this blog. And some people actually accept it. The funny thing is that none of those people have ever read any of my scripts! They might have seen one of my films, but, with a finished film, it is difficult to say who contributed what. Therefore, to help people decide whether my writing advice is any good, I am posting some pages for your pleasure and perusal.
Inspired by the three-page challenges on the Scriptnotes podcast by John August and Craig Mazin, I have decided to post the opening of some of my scripts in a series of blogs. However, rather than three pages, I am going with five pages because I feel that will provide a more accurate appraisal of my writing and the stories. I am not posting the scripts of any of my produced scripts. That would be complicated legally since those scripts now belong to their respective production companies. Nor am I posting any script currently under option for the same reason. These scripts are either new or part of my back catalog. Some are ready to be pitched. Others need a little polishing. But you can read the first five pages now.
This is a sample of my script Mr. Inside. I became obsessed with the American Mafia after I began studying my Italian roots. Before I go any further, I want to say, to my knowledge, none of my blood relatives were members of the Mafia. That isn't to say that some of them weren't bad boys, but they were independent bad boys. Not organized ones.
At the time, I was reading one true crime book, or mob memoir, after another. I was fascinated by their world and their extremely fluid code of honor. The script actually came into being after a viewing of the Fritz Lang German-language classic M, which made Peter Lorre an international star. In that film, the criminal underworld teams up with the police to catch a child murderer. I had seen the film many times. However, with all of the mob history floating around in my head, I began to wonder what would happen if a serial killer in New York inadvertently murdered the daughter of a mob boss. Mr. Inside is about the young, college educated mob fixer, Joey Provanti, who is given the assignment of working as their liaison to the police to find the killer. It would prove to be a very difficult balancing act.
I sent this script to my agent, the late great Stu Robinson, at Paradigm. He really liked the script and sent it around. I asked him if there was anything I could do to improve it. He said no, then paid me a great compliment. He said, "The only problem with the script is that there is too much action. Anyone can write a car chase. Your strength is characters." Stu was unable to sell the script. It was optioned at one time by a production company out of Chicago, whose name eludes me. (I don't think they currently exist anymore.)
This was the first script in my intended mob trilogy about my fictional Semenza crime family. It is an oddball trilogy because the stories are totally unrelated, but they all take place in the same criminal universe. The only common character would be Pete Ricco, a grandfatherly figure who is deceptively calculating and vicious. Pete would appear as a key supporting character in all three films. (I haven't written the third one yet.)
I pulled the script from the market for a number of years. It was set in the late-1990s. I felt it needed updating, but I didn't think it worked in the present day since the mob is just a shadow of its former self. So instead I recently rewrote it to set it in the late-1970s when the mob was at the peak of its powers in New York City. Now I am ready to let people read the script again.
Here's the logline:
In "Mr. Inside," the police and organized crime form an uneasy alliance after the daughter of a mob boss is murdered by a serial killer stalking the streets of New York City. Joey Provanti, a young, amiable, college-educated mafia fixer, works as the liaison between the two groups. But does he have the skill to balance the interests of both the police and his boss long enough to catch the killer?
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
Mary Elizabeth McLane Turnbull was born on 31 October 1897 in Dunmore, Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania. Mary was the daughter of Michael McLane, a railroad conductor, and Virginia (Jennie) Gilligan. Her father Michael McLane was the older brother of my great-grandmother Loretta McLane Murphy, making Mary my first cousin, twice removed.
Michael & Jennie Gilligan McLane
Mary kept a series of diaries between 1913 and 1922. She did not write daily, and most of the entries were very short. Some might be as short as simply "Home" or "School." Other entries were longer. I believe the diaries present a fascinating portrait of the life of a young woman in Dunmore and Scranton during the 'teens and early 'twenties. Her life takes her through a series of events that change her from a carefree, boy-crazy girl to a more thoughtful young woman.
Mary is a cousin on my paternal grandfather Paul Murphy's line. However, throughout her diaries I see references to my relatives from my paternal grandmother Margaret Robertson Murphy's side of the family. Dunmore was indeed a small town. Everyone knew everyone.
Mary's granddaughter Maurya Lynott Bergan, an avid genealogist like myself, typed up the diaries and distributed them in book form to interested relatives. She maintained Mary's grammar and spelling. I tried to do the same thing here, but I made some corrections. I am only including a tiny fraction of the entries.
April 29, 1913: Rainy day, sick did not go to school (First entry.)
July 31, 1913: At Moosic Lake, Janet, Mable and I with Clifford Collins, Harold Durkin, Carl Gilbert with us, have swell time.
January 5, 1914: Go back to school. Mr. Hoban calls us for having beaus, family wild, Ma goes to Mr. Hoban and Miss Mooney - gives them the duce. (Giving someone The Duce is slang for giving them The Devil.)
January 12, 1914: Blizzard, did not go to school. Joseph O'Hora has a party tonight. Go to party have swell times, everything grand. (Joseph O'Hora is her cousin.)
January 24, 1914:Anna Stark has party, go have dandy time. Harold Courtright takes me home. Clarence Miller there and Paul LaFrance. (Anna Stark and Clarence Miller are my cousins on my paternal grandmother's side of the family. Anna would tragically die at the age of twenty-two from tuberculosis.)
January 28, 1914: Exams. Made some grand marks, have another run in with Hoban. Mable, Janet and I brought before faculty for skipping school and going to "Poli." Went down to weather bureau with Mr. Ellis. Went to reception in Mrs. Sherman's studio after.
March 27, 1914: Boys made me dreadful in school about S. Morgan, play ball with Joseph Halpin after school - get hit in mouth with ball, nearly faint.
March 29, 1914: Everyone calling me "Lippie."
Monday, July 27, 1914: Go to Long Branch, take train here. Go to N,.Y. and go to Highlands by Sandy brook boat, take train to highland. A Spanish boy from Porta Rico staying at Shore Cottage with us. His name is Ygnatious Dayne, very nice here near post office, meet boys at it, and Roland Jerulum the telegraph operator at station. Many beautiful homes, go in bathing every day, Miss Proudfoot lovely. All colored help.
Thursday. Go to Ashbury Park at Casino on board walk. Children's party in evening, everyone wears short dresses and hair down back. Go to country store at theater Friday evening. Many nice people staying here, some Jew girls named Pauline Rosenbalm, Bertha Richg. Mary Godberg, too. Italian girls Maria Albeno, Rose Grassi. Rose is very sweet girl, has travelled all over Europe. Leslie and Jessie Luhn and Viola Wilbur, Anna and Nora Johnston, Elsie Bunny. Meet Percy Smith and Carl Hoyt on pier. Carl a very nice boy, 19 years old, have a date for Tuesday night with him. Fill it, have good time. Called home unexpectedly by death of Mary Langan, August 6, 1914. Travel all night to get home Thursday morning funeral Friday morning.
Article from The Scranton Tribune, 8 August 1914:
The pallbearers are interesting to me. Frank Murphy was my great-grandfather. His origins have been deliberately obscured, but he claimed at times that his mother's maiden name was Healey (Healy). Was his fellow pallbearer a relative? Additionally, Mary's grandmother's maiden name was Jordan, so I suspect Thomas Jordan was possibly a relative as well.
Thursday, Sept 17, 1914: Party over in South Side at William's have good time. Aunt Etta and Anna with me. Joe Ryan, Ed Kelly there. (Aunt Etta is my great-grandmother. Anna is her spinster sister.)
Anna, standing, Loretta, seated
Sunday, September 19, 1914: Meet John Price and Janet's friend Joe Highsnyder with Harold Newcomb at night. He is some cute kid.
Friday, September 25, 1914: Bring Mary to school in afternoon. Mable has Merry Spinsters after school, we go down, stay to supper. Mary Price, Janet, Mable, Helen Hadden and myself, Carl Gilbert, Frank Higgins, Enice Roche, John Flynn up in evening, Frank Higgins with me. Enice Roche a grand boy but very quiet.
Thrusday, December 11, 1914: Clarence Miller has party for Oar and Rod Club. Will and Bob Nagely there, pretty swell.
Article from The Scranton Truth, 11 December 1914:
Friday, January 1, 1915: Go to church in morning, go out riding in auto after with Owen Connelly. New Years night go to Floyd Waltz's party, have dandy time. Alfred Hussing takes me home, he is swell dancer.
Sunday, January 3, 1915: Helen over, Leo Lynett, Jerry O'Neil up, bring box of candy. They can come often.
Tuesday, January 5, 1915: School. Owen takes Mable and I to school in auto, Owen Connelly, or Gasoline Gus, that's what the boys call him.
Thursday, January 7, 1915: Owen arrested for speeding in morning, I go for lesson in afternoon.
Story from The Scranton Truth, January 7, 1915:
Wednesday, February 3, 1915: School. Mable and I go and get throat blessed after school then come down to corners and Paul B. called us up to his office. Owen Connelly there, have a circus. Frank McDonough comes in after and all go up to candy kitchen for a soda. Go to nicklette with Paul LaFrance at night. (The nicklette is a local movie theater. She went to the movies a lot.)
Friday, February 5, 1915: Go for ride with Owen after school. Florence has party at night. Great crowd. Helen Hadden and Mable Keys, Hannah Gately, Carrie Miller, Janet O'Hora, Florence and I, Clara Sossong, Kathleen McDonald, Minnie Claus, Anna Wentzel, Clarence Miller, Bobby Nagealy, Will Nagealy, Harry, Aire, Paul LaFrance, Stuart Bennet, Roland hand, Ed and Clarence Wentzel, Floyd Waltz, Paul Barrett, Barton Hallock, Alfred Hussing, all had dandy time. (Florence is her sister. She gets fewer than expected mentions in the diary. Carrie Miller is also a cousin of mine on my paternal grandmother's side.)
Saturday, Basketball game. Have to cut Owen Connolly, can't go riding with him, he is too wild. (Goodbye, Gasoline Gus. Owen later married Margaret Gallagher on 18 June 1919.)
Friday, March 2, 1915: Go to basketball game. Stay all night with Mable. Frank McDonough takes me home. (Owen's loss is obviously Frank's gain!)
Tuesday, July 20, 1915: Dreadful sick in morning, thought sure I would die but got better and went to Moosic Lake in afternoon with Aunt Etta and Frank. The rest of the family went in the morning. Helen H., Hannah and Mable there. Had wonderful time, danced with Ed and Bill O'Brian, Paul Cummins, Paul Barrett, Harold Durkin, Clifford Collins, Frank McDonnell, Stanley Durkin, Sidney Horgan, Charles Gallagher, Ed McNulty, Gerard Lynott and Frank McDonnell and Mable went out on dance contest. (Sounds like a lot of dancing!)
Saturday, July 30, 1915: Aunt Etta getting ready to get married.
Etta and Frank got married on August 10th. They got married in a joint service with their friends the Dempseys. They even went on their honeymoons together to Coney Island.
Frank and Etta, left.
Tuesday, August 17, 1915: Aunt Etta and Frank come home. Margaret and Jane and Mildred Price go home. Dance for Etta and Frank at night. (Mildred Price is another cousin on my paternal grandmother's side.)
September 19, 1915: Forgot to write. I went to Niagara Falls and Canada with Aunt Anna and Maria on their way to Frisco. Come back, started in to school. I am a high & might com. Junior now. A lot of new boys from out of town in school, they are swell. Wilbur Nauman invited me to his corn roast but I did not go. Clarence Miller asked me to another but I am not going either. (This is one of the most genealogically interesting entries to me. Mary's paternal grandmother was Mary Jordan McLane. Many branches of the Jordan family left Scranton for parts west, settling in Wyoming, California and even Hawaii. I knew the family kept in touch with the Jordans who settled in San Francisco, but I never knew my great-grandaunts went to visit them.)
January 22, 1916: I forgot to write for a couple of days but it doesn't matter for nothing startling happened anyway. The Westons are gone south & I was down and stayed all Sat. & Sunday. They have a new victrola and Mrs. W. said for them to enjoy it, & I certainly did. Ma, Aunt Maria & I went over to O'Hora's Sunday, their new house is nearly done. We went to an old time dance Tues. night and believe me it was old. We are going to see the end of the "Broken Coin", at the "neck" tonight. I am sorry it is ending because I like Grace Cunard & Francis Ford. Aunt Hannah & Aunt Hanna & baby Edward were over yesterday. I hate Mr. Rady our teacher, he looks just like a monkey. We went to community singing Wed. night & Janet came & stayed here all night. I Hate School. I am starved for some candy, I wish some one would donate me a big box. (The Westons were one of the wealthiest families in America. Aunt Maria McLane was a longtime, trusted upstairs servant to Mrs. Weston from the time of her youth. More a friend. The Westons treated the McLanes very well. For example, they had a beach house in Groton. When they left at the end of the summer, they allowed the McLanes come and live there for a week to enjoy the beach.)
Aunt Maria McLane
Sunday, February 20, 1916: Kathleen & I have date with Paul LaFrance & Stewart Bennett.
Easter, April 23, 1916: I forgot to write, I work in Kresegs for a couple of days and I think I am a bird. We went over to Denningers Sunday Janet, Florence & I and Loretta was there. Ambrose & Betty are going to be married in June. We had a swell time.
Ambrose McLane, 1945
June 18, 1916: Kathleen & I & Malaline & Geneive go to Nay Aug Park in afternoon. Helen Hadden home from school. Over in Mable's a night, meet Bina Gillispie. Charles Gallagher home with me. War declared on Mexico (but there was none.)
July 7, 1916: Had date with Joe Ritchard, went to see beginning of Peg O' The Ring with Grace Cunard and Francis Ford.
I couldn't find Peg O' The Ring, but here's the opening of another Grace Cunard/Francis Ford film:
(September?) Thursday: Went down town in the morning with Mamma & Aunt Elizabeth. Went to corn roast with Clarence Miller. It pelted rain when we were coming home, but Carrie Miller & Willard Schultz came in auto with us so we did not get wet. The rest of the bunch was soaked. (Willard Schultz is also a cousin of mine on my paternal grandmother's side of the family.)
Tuesday, October 24, 1916: Went to Rod & Oar Club masquerade dance with Clarence Miller & wore harem suit. Florence went with Eddie Cluse & wore Bo-Peep. Kathleen took first prize in fairy suit, she went with Ed. Wentz.
Young Clarence Miller
February 8, 1917: All mid-year exams over & I passed everything but stenog. & English.
Friday, June 1, 1917: Commencement. We graduated after many years of waiting. Willard Hallock took me home. I got heaps of presents:
Chepe de Chene handkerchiefs from Grandma Gilligan
Handkerchiefs from Helen Hadden & Aunt Maria
Silk stockings from Janet, Aunt Kathy, Minnie, Delia, Lida, Aunt Alice
Petticoat from Aunt Anna
Camisoles from the Golden's, Aunt Hannah & Aunt Maggie Pete.
July 16, 1917, Monday: I forgot to write for a long time. I had heaps of dates & fun. I have been to Cabaret at Moosic Lake with P. Malia several times & Janet had a moonlight walk to Lake Scranton & the Rod & Oar had a dance, I went with B. Nageli. They had a weekend at Heart Lake & Mr. & Mrs. S, Secol chaperoned. The girl were Kath & I. Katherine Perry, Florence Reynolds, Minnie Clause, Ruth Bridgeman, Mildred Stone, Margaret Thomas, Dot Donoryty. We had a wonderful time, I learned to swim, and lived on the lake all the time. We danced Sat. night till 10 to 12 and then went for a boat ride. We went to bed & yelled at each other and pegged things and acted all sorts crazy till 3:30 when absolute quiet reigned -- until 4:30 when the boys that slept down stairs on the floor started the victrola. It was just great, me for a weekend always. Helen H., Madaline Gilligan & I have dates tonight with Willard & Earl Hallock & Ralph Walsher.
Monday, August 20, 1917: Went to work for 2 weeks for an attorney.
Friday, August 31, 1917: I had a porch dance. all the boys from the Rod & Oar Club & the Prices from C'dale, Madaline Gilligan, F. Reynolds, Margaret Cullen, R. Bridgeman, Minnie Clause, C. Miller, Kath, Mildred Stone, Janet, Helen Kays, Florence & I.
Article from The Tribune, 4 Sept 1917:
October 14 Sunday to Oct 31, 1917: Sick, had whooping cough and plursey. Aunt Maria gave me $2.00 for my birthday & I got a new pink tarlton dress for the Rod & Oar dance masquerade. I wore socks & had a cunning little hat & curls. Just like Mary Pickford.
December 13, 1917: Forgot to write. Worked for a couple of days in Woolworths.
December 25, 1917: Xmas, got lots of nice things for Xmas.
A waiste from Aunt Maria
Bag from Aunt Anna
Powder from Aunt Elizabeth
Pin from Aunt Etta
Gloves from Janet
Knitting bag from Mable
Longerie clasps from Florence
Writing Linen from Clara S.
Powder box from Betty
Powder box from Marge S.
Bedroom slippers from Jack Smith, and some other things.
January 1, 1918, Tuesday: Home in day. Mary Price & Joe Gilligan & I went to movies at night.
January 2, 1918, Wednesday: Florence went back to school. Joe G. & I went to the station with her & to the Strand after. I went up to Aunt Margaret's, she got a little girl yesterday. She is going to name it Jane.
January 3, 1918: Over in Aunt Margaret's, was sent for at 10 o'clock. Mamma was sitting at the table eating her supper with Papa when she took a stroke. He called Aunt Etta & Frank & he got her into bed. They called the priest & Dr. but she never regained consciousness & died at 1 o'clock. Florence got home Friday. Everybody all broke up.
The death Mary's mother was obviously a major turning point in her life. This seems like a good place to break our story. I will continue her story in a subsequent blog.
Be sure to check out my novel Chapel Street. It tells the story of a young man straddling the line between sanity and madness while battling a demonic entity that has driven his family members to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting my family experienced.
You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble.
This Final Table was less eventful than the one in script.
I am awfully quick to give advice about screenwriting in this blog. And some people actually accept it. The funny thing is that none of those people have ever read any of my scripts! They might have seen one of my films, but, with a finished film, it is difficult to say who contributed what. Therefore, to help people decide whether my writing advice is any good, I am posting some pages for your pleasure and perusal.
Inspired by the three-page challenges on the Scriptnotes podcast by John August and Craig Mazin, I have decided to post the opening of some of my scripts in a series of blogs. However, rather than three pages, I am going with five pages because I feel that will provide a more accurate appraisal of my writing and the stories. I am not posting the scripts of any of my produced scripts. That would be complicated legally since those scripts now belong to their respective production companies. Nor am I posting any script currently under option for the same reason. These scripts are either new or part of my back catalog. Some are ready to be pitched. Others need a little polishing. But you can read the first five pages now.
When I began this series of blogs, my script Final Table, which I wrote with my wife Deborah, didn't qualify since it was under option. That option has expired but it looks like we're on the verge of making an exciting deal for it. As a result, I want to include the script in this blog while it still qualifies.
This script came into being as a project to write with my wife. Since we are both avid poker players in the (free) World Tavern Poker we thought it would be fun to build a thriller around the game. Plus, if we wrote about poker, we would be able to write all of our poker "research" expenses off our taxes. We'll have to take that up with the accountant later.
This was very much a script written to sell. The easiest way to break into screenwriting is to write a compelling one location film with a limited cast. Producers are always on the look out for them. Final Table fits into that category. Ninety-percent of the action takes place at the poker table, but a few flashbacks are thrown in periodically.
Now I am working on the novel version....
Here's the logline:
When nine strangers awaken at the final table of a deadly Texas Hold 'Em tournament with no memory of how they got there, they must confront their own dark pasts and haunted visions to survive against each other and a wry, mysterious dealer, all while questioning the true nature of their existence and the ultimate prize at stake.
Here are the first five pages:
I hope you enjoyed those first five pages! You can (currently) read the whole script here:
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
I am an avid genealogist. The past is very important to me. I spend a lot of time in cemeteries photographing tombstones to upload on website theFindAGrave.
I enjoy recognizing long dead people by putting memorials to them online. However, every once and a while something grabs me about a specific grave. It could be the name, or the dates or a ceramic photo. In those cases, I feel compelled to dig a little deeper. That's what this series of blogs is about: The tales behind those graves. Some of my subjects will be heroes. Some will be villains. Some will be victims. And some will linger in between, like most of us. However, don't be surprised if the tales are inherently tragic. These are grave tales. They all end in death.
Sometimes it's hard to explain why I find myself drawn toward one grave instead of another. Other times, it's a no brainer. When I'm wandering through Hebrew Orthodox Memorial Cemetery, and I see a grave for Morris M. Snyder, aka Miles Murphy, I take notice immediately. I needed to know more about this guy who chose to partake in my Irish heritage. I discovered that he was a burlesque comic and club manager.
Miles Murphy photo by S.M. Freed
Here's his story:
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 9 May 1964, Sat:
M.M. SNYDER
DIES AT AGE 66
-----
Comedian Had Performed
At Many Baltimore Theaters
-----
Morris M. Snyder, Baltimore born comedian who performed his vaudeville routines on the Block for 50 years, died early yesterday morning at his home, 2507 East Snyder avenue.
The 66-year old entertainer had been ill since December.
Known for years to habitues of The Block as "Miles Murphy," Mr. Snyder, who dressed as a bum and dished up a varied slapstick routine of humor, had worked all of the theaters and many of the night spots on East Baltimore street.
Started Selling Candy
Born and raised in East Baltimore, he became acquainted with the burlesque end of show business by selling candy in the dimly-lit theaters.
Described by his friends as a "natural born comedian," Mr. Snyder studied the comedy routines of the performers who appeared on the bills between the "girlie" acts, and quickly demonstrated a knack for mimicry and ad-libbing that won him attention.
He developed his own routines and finally broke into the business by filling in when other performers became ill or "didn't show."
"Miles Murphy" eventually became well-known to local agents and he worked at the Rivoli theater during the peak of the old vaudeville days. He also performed at the Clover, Globe, Gayety and other theaters which dotted The Block before vaudeville faded and was replaced by the strictly "bump and grind" girlie shows.
Had Chance To Travel
During World War II, he was offered a chance to travel with a road show, but he stayed in Baltimore to be with his family, and worked a long run at the 2 O'Clock Club.
About five years ago, when practically all of the theaters had been closed on The Block, the comedian forsook the stage to work as a salesman in one of the book shops in the 400 block of East Baltimore street.
Survivors include his wife, Mrs. Betty Workmeister Snyder, three sons, Daniel, Patrick and Douglas Snyder, and two daughters, Mrs. Albert Fabreziania and Mrs. Daniel Weinstein.
Nowadays, everyone associates burlesque with stripping. That wasn't always the case. While beautiful women were always part of a burlesque performance, the comedy was once equally important. Historically, burlesque humor had an edge of social commentary. In America, burlesque comedians also specialized in ethnic and immigrant humor, which probably explains Snyder's Irish persona.
Snyder indeed had a long career in burlesque. Here are a few references to him from trade papers:
Billboard, 9 January 1926:
Billboard, 11 April 1942:
Billboard, 28 November 1942:
Billboard, 25 September 1948:
Snyder moved up from strictly performing to club management, and, in the world of burlesque, that could lead to controversy. Snyder became embroiled in one a few years later.
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 06 Aug 1956, Mon:
STRIPPER IS FINED
FOR SOLO SHOW
-----
$20 Is Levied For Indecent
Act; Manager Also Assessed
-----
The platinum blonde kid sister of a red-headed stripper well known in Baltimore made her debut in Central Police Court yesterday.
Faye Flemming (known professionally as Faye Harlow), an 18-year-old burlesque performer is following in the spike-heeled footsteps of her sister known professionally as Blaze Starr.
Miss Flemming was fined $20 and costs by Chief Magistrate Meyer M. Cardin after pleading guilty to giving an indecent performance before about 150 patrons of the arts at the Clover Theater late Saturday night.
"Exposed Her Person"
Lieut. Hyman Goldstein, of the rackets Division, testified that when the theater in "the Block" on East Baltimore street was raided, Miss Flemming was doing a solo act. In the process, the lieutenant said, she "she exposed her person."
The art lovers liked it, he said, and asked for more. Miss Flemming gave it to them, in the form of an encore.
The whole shebang was one big encore for Miss Flemming, the lieutenant said, since she currently is starring at a near-by "Block" night club.
"Something Extra Special"
The Clover venture was "something extra special" he said.
Also charged after the raid were Miles Murphy, 57, manager of the Clover, and Simon Hyman, 34, a laborer. Murphy was fined $20 for operating an indecent show, while Hyman's case was dismissed.
The arrests were made after a man approached Patrolman Charles Gross in front of the theater and asked him if he would like to witness "a good hot show." Mr. Gross said sure, and went inside.
Ten minutes later, Lieutenant Goldstein and Patrolman Edgar Kirby rushed into the house and shouted "This is a raid."
The assembled connoisseurs rushed outdoors through several doors. Mr. Murphy, the manager, also exited rapidly, but later gave himself up to the police.
At the hearing yesterday, Entrepreneur Murphy was embarrassed to find himself lacking $1.50 court costs. In a spirit of good fellowship, Lieutenant Goldstein lent him the cash.
I have read few stories that summed up Baltimore and The Block so wonderfully. The cops raid the place -- after enjoying the show -- and then the police Lieutenant lends Snyder the money to pay his court costs.... I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed the tone of that story.
The Baltimore Sun obviously had no hard feelings about Snyder. Here's a nice little story featuring him about Baltimoreans expressing their relief over the end of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, Maryland), 29 Oct 1962, Mon:
Sadly, I couldn't find any footage of Snyder performing any of his routines, or a detailed description of them. In their absence, I am including a routine from perhaps the two most famous burlesque performers in American history: Abbott and Costello. Many people think the routine "Who's On First" originated with them, but that is not true. It was decades old before the duo started performing their own version of it. It was a mainstay of burlesque comedy. I would not be surprised if Snyder and one of his partners also performed it. In fact, I would be surprised if he didn't!
Remember, there is a story behind every grave. You never know what you're missing when you walk past one....
My novel Chapel Street is now available! You can buy the Kindle and paperback at Amazon and the Nook, paperback and hardcover at Barnes & Noble. Chapel Street is the tale of a young man battling a demonic entity that has driven members of his family to suicide for generations. It was inspired by an actual haunting.
