Comments on: Eponyster...oh wait.

Eponyster...oh wait.

Thing — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 16:02:25 -0800

Little Tich was a music hall star best known for his Big Boots dance, studied by the Ministry of Silly Walks (3:42), and homaged by Wayne Sleep.

Born Harry Relph in 1867, he started out in blackface but soon originated his own performance. Recordings of a number of his songs and acts survive: The Gas Inspector, The Territorial, The Twenty-Third, and King Ki Ki. Little Titch also performed drag, and there is film of his mockful rendition of the Serpentine dance. Little Titch derived his stage name from an ironic (or not) resemblance to the the obese imposter in the Tichborne case. From the fame of Little Tich's performance and his short height comes the word titch. (Beware that the recordings include some sexism and racism, which was the norm for the time. The sound on the film of the Big Boots dance is original, and thus amongst the earliest film-and-sound recordings.)

By: The Underpants Monster

The Underpants Monster — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 16:14:42 -0800

He does it with such a sly smile it's practically a swagger.

By: Longtime Listener

Longtime Listener — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 16:27:30 -0800

So that's where Willie Hall got the idea for his shoes.

By: Countess Elena

Countess Elena — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 16:31:38 -0800

Thanks for this! Funny thing -- I watched the 1902 recording and thought to myself, imagine what kind of a miserable, chimney-sweep or scullery-maid existence you would have to lead to find this performance hilarious. But then I watched the video of Wayne Sleep's performance of what's basically the same routine -- and I got it. It's totally bright and adorable. Not sure what this says about my atrophied 21st-century neurons.

By: yoink

yoink — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 17:30:03 -0800

Denis Lacombe's conductor sketch is related, too.

By: thomas j wise

thomas j wise — Sat, 17 Aug 2013 17:48:51 -0800

The Sleep version is not-so-good in an interesting way, since Sleep is technically the far superior dancer (as you'd expect, given several decades of transformed dance technique), but has none of Tich's manner or physical wit.

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 04:37:59 -0800

> I watched the 1902 recording and thought to myself, imagine what kind of a miserable, chimney-sweep or scullery-maid existence you would have to lead to find this performance hilarious. But then I watched the video of Wayne Sleep's performance of what's basically the same routine -- and I got it. It's totally bright and adorable. That's strange because my impression was opposite this. Tich's routine is slow to set up -- a prolonged rigamarole fumbling with his hat (some of the fumbling doesn't actually look fake; he might be off his game) and changing into his big shoes -- which is intended to deliberately lower your expectations, and then works up to proving that he might be more graceful in his big shoes than you could be in your street wear. He also pulls some stunts that Sleep couldn't, like walking on the toes. Sleep leaves me the impression that he's burning through a routine as fast as possible, while Tich savors the gig; he's not necessarily enjoying working without a crowd, but he's gonna give the cameraman the best show he can.

By: ecorrocio

ecorrocio — Sun, 18 Aug 2013 11:45:05 -0800

Awesome! Thanks.