The issues for which Katharine Dexter McCormick (1874-1967) fought are as important today as they were seventy-five years ago: birth control, sex education, abortion, equal pay for equal work, and freedom from sexual harassment. She was a driving force in the battle for the women's vote, the formation of the Women's League of Voters, the creation of Planned Parenthood, and the development of the birth control pill. McCormick stepped forward when others were afraid to act, and her unflagging fidelity to the cause made possible the social, political, and scientific achievements that today mark...

When he died in 1933, James J. "Gentleman Jim" Corbett was honored by two distinguished groups of people: the professional boxing public, who celebrated him as America's greatest boxing champion, and the world of popular theater admirers, who revered him as one of Broadway's top vaudeville headliners. Corbett was uniquely instrumental in making boxing and popular theater both justifiable commercial enterprises, to be enjoyed by all classes of people. He became America's first national sports hero and went on to formulate the theater worlds star system. This is the first definitive biography...

Fred Stone was one of America's most versatile and talented entertainers. It seemed as if he could do anything and everything, from tightrope walking and acrobatics to song-and-dance, musical comedies, and straight drama. This work chronicles his extraordinary life and career. He was born in a log cabin August 19 1873, in Valmont, Colorado, to a family that was part of the covered-wagon migration into the virtually unknown West. He joined a traveling circus at age 11 and two years later, joined a different one as a self-taught tightrope walker. During his teens. Stone performed on the variety...

Sophie Tucker appeared in only seven American stage musicals and appeared only twice on Broadway but, then, it was difficult to cast her in a show. A buxom and ebullient performer, she - and her audiences - quickly found that playing herself was most effective. This is a biography of a vaudeville and cabaret performer who saw herself as one of the first liberated women and one of the last red hot mamas. It tells the story of her birth as her mother traveled to Boston from Russia, her childhood in Boston, and her first public performance at Poli's Vaudeville Theatre at the age of 13. It also...

Maude Adams (1872-1953) was a beloved and talented American Broadway actress who greatly influenced succeeding acting methods and production techniques. She first appeared on stage as an infant in her actress mother's arms, and then moved to a succession of children's parts. Her New York debut came in 1888, supported by E. H. Southern and then Charles Frohmen, a demanding mentor. In 1905, she played her most famous role: the star of James M. Barrie's Peter Pan. Beautiful, kind, and very private, this early American actress is chronicled in a biography covering both her life experiences and...

At a time when serious plays dominated the stages, Lillian Russell was one of the first to popularize musical theater. With her beauty, voice, and grace, she became the symbol of the new American woman. She used those attributes to attain power, social status and wealth, and then went on to become one of the earliest champions of womens equality. Her life and career are covered here in-depth.

A versatile performer, Eddie Foy contributed to the development of popular theater from the Civil War to the Roaring Twenties, from poverty-inspired Irish two-acts to lavish musical comedies. This biography of Foy tells the story of his indigent childhood in New York's Bowery and in Chicago.

Apprenticed at 14 to life in the circus, Tony Pastor seemed destined for a career in show business. Indeed, true to his desire and his rigorous training, Pastor spent his life within the theater milieu. He made significant contributions to both variety and vaudeville as a songwriter, performer and theater owner. With a head for business, a knack for discovering new talent, and a sharp understanding of popular taste, Pastor initiated new business practices in theater and gave audiences what they sought in entertainment.