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168-402: "Nickelodeon" was concocted from nickel , the name of the U.S. five-cent coin, and the ancient Greek word odeion , a roofed-over theater, the latter indirectly by way of the Odéon in Paris, emblematic of a very large and luxurious theater, much as the Ritz was of a grand hotel. The earliest films had been shown in "peep show" machines or projected in vaudeville theaters as one of

336-476: A MacArthur Fellow and Tony Award -winning actor, are frequently lauded as "New Vaudevillians". References to vaudeville and the use of its distinctive argot continue throughout North American popular culture. Words such as "flop" and "gag" were terms created from the vaudeville era and have entered the American idiom. Vaudevillian techniques can commonly be witnessed on television and in movies, remarkably in

504-730: A 1907 article published in The Saturday Evening Post : Other 1907 films also distributed to nickelodeons by the Miles Brothers: Though strong throughout the years from 1905 to 1913, nickelodeons became victims of their own success as attendance grew rapidly, necessitating larger auditoriums. Nickelodeons further declined with the advent of the feature film , and as cities grew and industry consolidation led to larger, more comfortable, better-appointed movie theaters. Longer films caused ticket prices to double from five cents to ten cents. Although their heyday

672-592: A 1913-S Liberty Head nickel coinage, but upon orders from Mint Director Roberts in December 1912 to end the old design, they were returned to Philadelphia. They were received by December 23, and were almost certainly destroyed routinely by early January. Brown had been an employee at the Philadelphia Mint (although this was not known until 1963) and many theories focus suspicion on him. President Theodore Roosevelt in 1904 expressed his dissatisfaction with

840-584: A Broadway show. This is when she began experimenting with improvisational comedy and quickly found her unique success, even taking her performances global with acts in the U.K. Sophie Tucker , a Russian Jewish immigrant, was told by promoter Chris Brown that she was not attractive enough to succeed in show business without doing Blackface, so she performed that way for the first two years onstage, until one day she decided to go without it, and achieved much greater success being herself from that point on, especially with her song "Some of These Days." Moms Mabley

1008-534: A coin (initially a nickel, though by the 1950s a higher denomination was needed) into a mechanism, turning a handle, and removing a sandwich or dessert. These restaurants were first established in Germany, but were popularized in the United States by, among other firms, Horn & Hardart . A type of business which took its name from the coin was the nickelodeon cinema, where a nickel bought admission to view

1176-463: A commitment to entertainment equally inoffensive to men, women and children. Acts that violated this ethos (e.g., those that used words such as "hell") were admonished and threatened with expulsion from the week's remaining performances or were canceled altogether. In spite of such threats, performers routinely flouted this censorship , often to the delight of the very audience members whose sensibilities were supposedly endangered. He eventually instituted

1344-538: A cross and overhung by weeping willows." The American Journal of Numismatics described the Shield nickel as "the ugliest of all known coins". The rays were eliminated from the reverse design in 1867, in the hope of eliminating some of the production problems. The design change created confusion among the population—many people assumed that one design or the other was a counterfeit —and the Mint briefly considered abandoning

1512-519: A drive to increase the beauty of American coinage. The nickel is minted in its modern form as the Jefferson nickel , which was first introduced in 1938. In 2004 and 2005, special Jefferson nickel designs in honor of the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition were issued. In 2006, the Mint reverted to using Jefferson nickel designer Felix Schlag 's original reverse (or "tails" side), although

1680-480: A form of entertainment. He incorporated them in his shows as early as 1902. Later, he entered into a partnership with the Famous Players–Lasky , a major Hollywood production company and an affiliate of Paramount Pictures . By the late 1920s, most vaudeville shows included a healthy selection of cinema. Earlier in the century, many vaudevillians, cognizant of the threat represented by cinema, held out hope that

1848-446: A huge sum in 1793. In 1794, Congress lowered the chief coiner's bond to $ 5,000 , and the assayer's to $ 1,000 ; President Washington's appointees to those positions were thus able to qualify and take office. Subsequently, silver coinage began that year. The half dime was originally struck from 1794 until 1805, though none were dated 1798, 1799, or 1804. By 1804, silver US coins were heavily exported, as they could be exchanged at par in

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2016-460: A large mint mark appearing above Monticello. The mint mark P for Philadelphia was the first time that mint's mark had appeared on a U.S. coin. The pre-war composition returned in 1946; all nickels struck since then have been in 75% copper and 25% nickel. In 1966, a small change was made to the design to add the initials of the designer (FS) to the obverse, underneath Jefferson's portrait. In commemoration of that change, two specimen 1966 nickels with

2184-461: A large part in stimulating, also led to the development of intertitles , which appeared in 1903 and helped make actions and scenes clearer as storylines became more complicated. A side-effect of this change was that it minimized the role of exhibitors, since they no longer had the editorial control of organizing single-shot films into programs, and now their narrative responsibility (some exhibitors would talk and help explain narratives as they unfolded)

2352-415: A launching pad for later careers. They left live performance before achieving the national celebrity of earlier vaudeville stars, and found fame in new venues. The line between live and filmed performances was blurred by the number of vaudeville entrepreneurs who made more or less successful forays into the movie business. For example, Alexander Pantages quickly realized the importance of motion pictures as

2520-535: A marketing strategy to attract many different audiences. As stated in Andrew Erdman 's book Blue Vaudeville , the Vaudeville stage was "a highly sexualized space ... where unclad bodies, provocative dancers, and singers of 'blue' lyrics all vied for attention." Such performances highlighted and objectified the female body as a "sexual delight", but more than that, historians think that Vaudeville marked

2688-530: A method of understanding different groups and their societal positions within their cities. The use of the greenhorn immigrant for comedic effect showcased how immigrants were viewed as new arrivals, but also what they could aspire to be. In addition to interpreting visual ethnic caricatures, the Irish American ideal of transitioning from the shanty to the lace curtain became a model of economic upward mobility for immigrant groups. The continued growth of

2856-468: A new obverse , by Jamie Franki, was substituted. During fiscal year 2020, it cost more than 7 cents to produce a nickel; the Mint is exploring the possibility of reducing cost by using less expensive metals. In 2018, over 1.26 billion nickels were produced at the Philadelphia and Denver mints. The silver half disme (as the half dime , pronounced the same, was first called) was one of

3024-412: A new cent or three-cent piece, but Barber continued work on the nickel, with the size adjusted to 21.21 millimetres (0.835 in). When specimens were sent to Washington for routine approval by Treasury Secretary Charles J. Folger , to Snowden's surprise, they were rejected. The secretary, on review of the coinage statutes, had realized that the laws required " UNITED STATES OF AMERICA " to appear on

3192-438: A nickel from 3.46 cents in fiscal year 2003 to 10.09 cents in fiscal year 2012. By comparison, a Canadian nickel (which is primarily made of steel) still costs less than its face value to produce as of 2019. In response, Mint Director Henrietta Fore in 2004 asked Congress to fund research into lower-cost alternatives to present coinage metals. Although the initiative lapsed when she left office in 2005, in 2010, Congress passed

3360-478: A permanent souvenir of a most attractive sort. As possibly you are aware, it is the only coin the design of which you can change during your administration, as I believe there is a law to the effect that the designs must not be changed oftener than every twenty-five years. I should think also it might be the coin of which the greatest numbers are in circulation. Soon after the MacVeagh letter, Andrew announced that

3528-694: A second one, The Family Theatre soon after. In 1907, Louis B. Mayer renovated the Gem Theater in Haverhill, Massachusetts , converting it into a nickelodeon, which he opened as the Orpheum Theater, announcing that it would be "the home of refined entertainment devoted to Miles Brothers moving pictures and illustrated songs ". Other well-known nickelodeon owners were the Skouras Brothers of St. Louis. Nickelodeons radically changed

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3696-492: A series of US quarters honoring American states; they began to be issued in 1999. In 2002, the Mint began to consider redesigning the nickel in honor of the upcoming bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark Expedition . Representative Eric Cantor ( R - VA ) did not wish to see Monticello (located in his home state) moved permanently off the nickel. The resultant "American 5-Cent Coin Design Continuity Act of 2003",

3864-430: A series of one-reel short films, generally about 12 minutes in length, which ran continuously from early afternoon until late at night, with the patron free to remain as long as he liked. Although another denomination gave the penny arcade its name, the nickel was commonly used there as well. Few nickels had circulated in the western states before the 1880s (people there preferred silver and gold coins); interest in

4032-528: A serious actress but was advised to remain in comedy. She went on to star in a few films but again returned to vaudeville, her original career. Another famous vaudevillian actress was Trixie Friganza , originally born Delia O'Callaghan. She had a famous catchphrase: "You know Trixie with her bag of tricks." She began her career in opera, performing to help provide for her family. The oldest of three daughters, she wanted to help her family financially but had to do it secretly, as female performers were frowned on at

4200-572: A set of guidelines to be an audience member at his show, and these were reinforced by the ushers working in the theatre. This "polite entertainment" also extended to Keith's company members. He went to extreme measures to maintain this level of modesty. Keith even went as far as posting warnings backstage such as this: "Don't say 'slob' or 'son of a gun' or 'hully gee' on the stage unless you want to be canceled peremptorily... if you are guilty of uttering anything sacrilegious or even suggestive you will be immediately closed and will never again be allowed in

4368-460: A shield on the obverse and a numeral 5 surrounded by stars and rays on the reverse. This has come to be known as the Shield nickel . The new coins proved difficult to produce; owing to the hardness of the planchet , the coins were not of high quality and the life of the striking dies was brief. The design was widely criticized; Wharton described the obverse as suggesting "a tombstone surmounted by

4536-459: A single (an individual male or female performer); next would be an alley-oop (an acrobatic act); then another single, followed by yet another sketch such as a blackface comedy. The acts that followed these for the rest of the show would vary from musicals to jugglers to song-and-dance singles and end with a final extravaganza – either musical or drama – with the full company. These shows would feature such stars as ragtime and jazz pianist Eubie Blake ,

4704-402: A single host introducing a series of acts became a popular television style and can be seen consistently in the development of television, from The Milton Berle Show in 1948 to Late Night with David Letterman in the 1980s. The multi-act format had renewed success in shows such as Your Show of Shows with Sid Caesar and The Ed Sullivan Show . Today, performers such as Bill Irwin ,

4872-478: A small storefront theater with the name on Smithfield Street in Pittsburgh , Pennsylvania . Although it was not the first theater to show films, a 1919 news article claimed that it was the first theater in the world "devoted exclusively to exhibition of moving picture spectacles". Davis and Harris found such great success with their operation that their concept of a five-cent theater showing movies continuously

5040-659: A surprise to audience members when such beautiful women actually possessed talent in addition to their appealing looks. This element of surprise colored much of the reaction to the female entertainment of this time. In the 1920s, announcements seeking all-girl bands for vaudeville performances appeared in industry publications like Billboard , Variety and in newspapers. Bands like The Ingenues and The Dixie Sweethearts were well-publicized, while other groups were simply described as "all-girl Revue". According to Feminist Theory, similar trends in theater and film objectified women, an example of male gaze , as women's role in public life

5208-411: A taste for the risqué . In the 1840s, the minstrel show , another type of variety performance, and "the first emanation of a pervasive and purely American mass culture", grew to enormous popularity and formed what Nick Tosches called "the heart of 19th-century show business". A significant influence also came from "Dutch" (i.e., German or faux-German) minstrels and comedians. Medicine shows traveled

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5376-496: A theatre where Mr. Keith is in authority." Along these same lines of discipline, Keith's theatre managers would occasionally send out blue envelopes with orders to omit certain suggestive lines of songs and possible substitutions for those words. If actors chose to ignore these orders or quit, they would get "a black mark" on their name and would never again be allowed to work on the Keith Circuit. Thus, actors learned to follow

5544-628: A time in which the female body became its own "sexual spectacle". This sexual image began sprouting everywhere an American went: the shops, a restaurant, the grocery store, etc. The more this image brought in the highest revenue, the more Vaudeville focused on acts involving women. Even acts that were as innocent as a sister act were higher sellers than a good brother act. Consequently, Erdman adds that female Vaudeville performers such as Julie Mackey and Gibson's Bathing Girls began to focus less on talent and more on physical appeal through their figure, tight gowns, and other revealing attire. It eventually came as

5712-521: A trained mule) shared a stage with acts more usually regarded as "highbrow" or classical entertainment (opera vocalists, classical musicians). B. F. Keith took the next step, starting in Boston , where he built an empire of theatres and brought vaudeville to the United States and Canada. Later, E. F. Albee , adoptive grandfather of the Pulitzer Prize -winning playwright Edward Albee , managed

5880-443: A trend that culminated in the lavish " movie palaces " of the 1920s. Film historian Charles Musser wrote: "It is not too much to say that modern cinema began with the nickelodeons." The name "Nickelodeon" was first used in 1888 by Colonel William Austin for his Austin's Nickelodeon , a dime museum located in Boston , Massachusetts . The term was popularized by Harry Davis and John P. Harris . On June 19, 1905, they opened

6048-485: A typical North American vaudeville performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill. Types of acts have included popular and classical musicians, singers, dancers, comedians, trained animals , magicians, ventriloquists , strongmen , female and male impersonators , acrobats, clowns, illustrated songs , jugglers, one-act plays or scenes from plays, athletes, lecturing celebrities, minstrels , and films. A vaudeville performer

6216-401: A unique ethnic interplay between Irish American use of self-deprecation as humor and their diverse inner city surroundings. The interactions between newly arrived immigrants and settled immigrants within the backdrop of the unknown American urban landscape allowed vaudeville to be utilized as an avenue for expression and understanding. The often hostile immigrant experience in their new country

6384-525: A variety of short films. Directors had a great desire to make longer films, because it meant greater artistic innovation as they tried to find new ways to engage audiences. The popularity of longer films also meant an increase in production of fictional films as actualities decreased. One of the possible reasons for this shift is that fiction films were often easier to plan and cheaper to film than actualities, which were subject to various location-related difficulties. Fiction films quickly became standardized, and

6552-505: A wide range of clientele. Many small towns had purpose-built theatres. A small yet interesting example might include what is called Grange Halls in northern New England, still being used. These are old-fashioned, wooden buildings with creaky, dimly-lit, wooden stages, which were meant to offset the isolation of a farming lifestyle. These stages could offer anything from child performers to contra-dances to visits by Santa to local, musical talent, to homemade foods such as whoopee pies. Some of

6720-530: Is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition or light poetry, interspersed with songs or ballets. It became popular in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s, while changing over time. In some ways analogous to music hall from Victorian Britain ,

6888-517: Is a striking example of what a coin intended for wide circulation should not be ...[it] is not pleasing to look at when new and shiny, and will be an abomination when old and dull." The Numismatist , in March and May 1913 editorials, gave the new coin a lukewarm review, suggesting that the Native American's head be reduced in size and the bison be eliminated from the reverse. Dies for

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7056-543: Is never capitalized in that document, Fitzgerald borrowed a capital L from Jefferson's other writings. The reverse for the first half of the year depicted an American bison , recalling the Buffalo nickel and designed by Jamie Franki. The reverse for the second half showed a coastline and the words "Ocean in view! O! The Joy!", from a journal entry by William Clark , co-leader of the Expedition. Clark had actually written

7224-494: Is often considered to have been the death knell of vaudeville. Though talk of its resurrection was heard during the 1930s and later, the demise of the supporting apparatus of the circuits and the higher cost of live performance made any large-scale renewal of vaudeville unrealistic. The most striking examples of Gilded Age theatre architecture were commissioned by the big time vaudeville magnates and stood as monuments of their wealth and ambition. Examples of such architecture are

7392-484: Is often referred to as a "vaudevillian". Vaudeville developed from many sources, including the concert saloon , minstrelsy , freak shows , dime museums , and literary American burlesque . Called "the heart of American show business", vaudeville was one of the most popular types of entertainment in North America for several decades. The origin of the term is obscure but often explained as being derived from

7560-531: Is to be found in Boston's Museum of Fine Arts . However, the model differs from the nickel that was struck for circulation because it featured a view of Monticello from an angle, and a style of lettering officials did not like; Schlag was required to change both. Either through a misunderstanding or an oversight, Schlag did not include his initials in the design; they would not be added until 1966. Production began on October 3, 1938; they were released into circulation on November 15. According to contemporary accounts,

7728-518: The vau de vire origin, a truncated form of chanson du Vau de Vire ' song of the Valley of the Vire ' . Around 1610, Jean le Houx collected these works as Le Livre des Chants nouveaux de Vaudevire , which is probably the direct origin of the word. With its first subtle appearances within the early 1860s, vaudeville was not initially a common form of entertainment. The form gradually evolved from

7896-723: The Central Park Zoo (both facilities are in New York City) until the animal was sold and slaughtered in 1915. The placement of the horns on the still-extant mounted head of Black Diamond differs from that of the bison on the nickel. From its inception, the coin was referred to as the "Buffalo nickel", reflecting the common name for the bison. The numismatic publication with the greatest circulation, Coin World , calls it an Indian head nickel, while R.S. Yeoman 's Red Book refers to it as "Indian Head or Buffalo". When

8064-734: The Marx Brothers , Jimmy Durante , Bill "Bojangles" Robinson , Edgar Bergen , Fanny Brice , Burns and Allen , and Eddie Cantor , used the prominence gained in live variety performance to vault into the new medium of cinema. In doing so, such performers often exhausted in a few moments of screen time the novelty of an act that might have kept them on tour for several years. Other performers who entered in vaudeville's later years, including Jack Benny , Abbott and Costello , Kate Smith , Cary Grant , Bob Hope , Milton Berle , Judy Garland , Rose Marie , Sammy Davis Jr. , Red Skelton , Larry Storch and The Three Stooges , used vaudeville only as

8232-766: The Smithsonian Institution in Washington and the ANA's Money Museum in Colorado Springs , while three are owned privately. The most recent sale of a 1913 Liberty Head nickel was in January 2010, when one sold for $ 3,737,500 in an auction. It is uncertain how the 1913 nickels came to be made. The Mint's records show no production of 1913 Liberty head nickels, and none were authorized to be made. Dies were prepared in advance and sent to California for

8400-671: The Tivoli Theatre are housed at the State Library of Victoria , Melbourne , Australia , with additional personal papers of vaudevillian performers from the Tivoli Theatre, including extensive costume and set design holdings, held by the Performing Arts Collection , Arts Centre Melbourne . The American Vaudeville Museum, one of the largest collections of vaudeville memorabilia, is located at

8568-659: The concert saloon and variety hall into its mature form throughout the 1870s and 1880s. This more gentle form was known as "Polite Vaudeville". In the years before the American Civil War , entertainment existed on a different scale. Similar variety theatre existed before 1860 in Europe and elsewhere. In the US, as early as the first decades of the 19th century, theatergoers could enjoy a performance consisting of Shakespeare plays, acrobatics, singing, dancing, and comedy. As

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8736-457: The "Irwin Sisters". Many years later, their act had taken off and with performances in both vaudeville and burlesque at famous music halls, until Irwin decided to continue her career on her own. She then changed her approach to vaudeville, performing African-American-influenced songs, even later writing her songs. She introduced her signature in vaudeville, "The Bully Song", which was performed in

8904-425: The "big time" (possible remuneration of several thousand dollars per week in large, urban theatres largely patronized by the middle and upper-middle classes). As performers rose in renown and established regional and national followings, they worked their way into the less arduous working conditions and better pay of the big time. The capital of the big time was New York City's Palace Theatre (or just "The Palace" in

9072-402: The 1943 bicentennial of Jefferson 's birth, competitors were to place his portrait on the obverse, and a depiction of his house Monticello on the reverse. On April 24, Felix Schlag was announced as the winner. His design featured the portrayal of Jefferson which would be used on the nickel until 2004, closely conforming to the former president's bust by sculptor Jean-Antoine Houdon , which

9240-488: The Banks, and it is very seldom that they will consent to take any coin less than half dollars." Beginning in 1829, the silver five-cent piece was again struck; beginning in 1837, its fineness was increased from .8924 to .900. Also in 1837, the half dime's obverse design changed from one by William Kneass , depicting a bust of Liberty , to one that featured a seated Liberty by Christian Gobrecht ; until its abolition in 1873,

9408-481: The Buffalo nickel had been struck for 25 years and could be replaced without an act of Congress, the Mint moved quickly to replace it. Although the Fraser design is popular today among numismatists, it did not enjoy that status in 1938, and there was no public outcry at the decision. In January 1938, the Mint announced an open competition for the new nickel design, with the winner to receive a prize of $ 1,000. Anticipating

9576-536: The CMOCA. In it, the Mint declared that plated zinc products did not hold up to steam/wear tests and were rejected for U.S. coins other than the penny. Materials considered "feasible" for the 5-cent coin were nickel-plated steel, multi-ply-plated steel, and potentially another copper/nickel alloy, this time with ~77% copper, ~20% nickel, and ~3% manganese. Further testing was recommended to explore even less expensive alloys that would not require changes to vending machines (as

9744-639: The Chinese, Italians, Germans and Jews utilized ethnic caricatures to understand themselves as well as the Irish. The urban diversity within the vaudeville stage and audience also reflected their societal status, with the working class constituting two-thirds of the typical vaudeville audience. The ethnic caricatures that now comprised American humor reflected the positive and negative interactions between ethnic groups in America's cities. The caricatures served as

9912-469: The Coin Modernization, Oversight, and Continuity Act (CMOCA), directing the Mint to explore alternatives to the present compositions of the six denominations, from cent to dollar. In 2011, the Mint awarded a contract to study the issue to Concurrent Technologies Corporation of Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The report in response to the legislation declared that there is no material that would reduce

10080-584: The French expression voix de ville ' voice of the city ' . A second hypothesis is that it comes from the 15th-century songs on satire by poet Olivier Basselin , "Vau de Vire". In his Connections television series, science historian James Burke argues that the term is a corruption of the French Vau de Vire ' Vire River Valley ' , an area known for its bawdy drinking songs and where Basselin lived. The Oxford English Dictionary also endorses

10248-574: The Hobbs mechanism had not been widely sold, and that the changes demanded—a clear space around the rim and the flattening of the Native American's cheekbone—would affect the artistic merit of the piece. MacVeagh concluded, "You will please, therefore, proceed with the coinage of the new nickel." The coins were officially released to circulation on March 4, 1913, and quickly gained positive comments for depicting truly American themes. However, The New York Times stated in an editorial that "The new 'nickel'

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10416-423: The Irish becoming subject to discrimination due to their ethnic physical and cultural characteristics. The ethnic stereotypes of Irish through their greenhorn depiction alluded to their newly arrived status as immigrant Americans, with the stereotype portrayed in avenues of entertainment. Following the Irish immigration wave were several waves in which new immigrants from different backgrounds came in contact with

10584-453: The Irish in America's urban centers. Already settled and being native English speakers, Irish Americans took hold of these advantages and began to assert their positions in the immigrant racial hierarchy based on skin tone and assimilation status, cementing job positions that were previously unavailable to them as recently arrived immigrants. As a result, Irish Americans became prominent in vaudeville entertainment as curators and actors, creating

10752-493: The Jefferson nickel was initially hoarded, and it was not until 1940 that it was commonly seen in circulation. With the entry of the United States into World War II , nickel became a critical war material, and the Mint sought to reduce its use of the metal. On March 27, 1942, Congress authorized a nickel made of 50% copper and 50% silver, but gave the Mint the authority to vary the proportions, or add other metals, in

10920-525: The Mint to strike three-cent pieces of 75% copper and 25% nickel. In 1864, Congress authorized a third series of fractional currency notes. The five-cent note was to bear a depiction of "Clark", but Congress was appalled when the issue came out not with a portrait of William Clark , the explorer, but Spencer M. Clark , head of the Currency Bureau . According to numismatic historian Walter Breen , Congress's "immediate infuriated response

11088-402: The Mint would solicit new designs for the nickel. Sculptor James Earle Fraser , who had been an assistant to Saint-Gaudens, approached the Mint, and rapidly produced concepts and designs. Mint Director George Roberts, who had returned to office in place of Andrew, initially favored a design featuring Lincoln, but Fraser soon developed a design featuring a Native American on one side and a bison on

11256-501: The Shield nickel was halted. No Shield nickels were struck in 1877 or 1878, excepting proof specimens for collectors. As the Treasury had a large stock of nickels in storage, only small numbers were struck over the next few years; full-scale production did not resume until December 1881. With production of nickels lagging in the late 1870s, and with minimal strikings of the copper-nickel three-cent piece , Wharton sought to increase

11424-604: The United States Mint introduced new interim rules on December 14, 2006, that criminalized the melting and export of pennies (which as of 2013 cost 1.83 cents to produce) and nickels. Violators of these rules can be punished with a fine of up to $ 10,000, five years imprisonment, or both. The rules were finalized on April 17, 2007. The melt value of a nickel for some time was more than five cents, including nearing over one-and-a-half times its face value in May 2007. Since then,

11592-423: The United States and Canada and a large interest in two vaudeville circuits. Another major circuit was that of Alexander Pantages . In his heyday, Pantages owned more than 30 vaudeville theatres and controlled, through management contracts, perhaps 60 more in both the United States and Canada. At its height, vaudeville played across multiple strata of economic class and auditorium size. On the vaudeville circuit, it

11760-466: The United States and Canada, first for about three months in Emil Boreo’s Mirage de Paris followed by nine months in their own Ballet Caprice . After Jack quit the act near the end of 1927, Betty continued to manage the troupe and, with a new dance partner, toured throughout the northeastern United States for the next six months as Betty Felsen and Company. The final performance of Ballet Caprice

11928-495: The West Indies with heavier Spanish coins, which were then imported as bullion and deposited at the Mint for melting and restriking. In response, in 1804 the US stopped striking silver dollars; issuance of the half dime was discontinued from 1805 until 1829. In 1807, mint Director Robert Patterson in a letter explained to Jefferson (by then president) "nearly the whole of our Silver Bullion (chiefly Spanish dollars) come through

12096-520: The annual American Numismatic Association (ANA) convention bearing such a piece. Brown claimed that a master die had been prepared for 1913 and that these pieces had been run off to test it. As it turned out, Brown possessed five coins, which he eventually sold. After spending fifteen years in the hands of the eccentric Col. E.H.R. Green , the famous Fort Worth , Texas, area collector, the coins were finally dispersed in 1943. Since then, they have had several owners each. Today, two are on public display—at

12264-475: The artistic state of American coins, and hoped to hire sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens to beautify them. Saint-Gaudens, before his death in 1907, designed a new eagle and double eagle , which entered circulation that year; the cent, quarter eagle , and half eagle were redesigned by other artists and were released into circulation by 1909. That year, Mint Director Frank Leach instructed Barber to make pattern coins for new nickels. Most of these coins featured

12432-484: The base-metal three-cent coin. Pollock prepared a bill authorizing a five-cent coin of the same alloy as the three-cent piece, with a total weight not to exceed 60 grains (3.9 g). At the committee stage in the House of Representatives , the weight was amended to 77.19 grains (5.00 g), ostensibly to make the weight equal to five grams in the metric system but more likely so that Wharton could sell more nickel. This made

12600-1027: The business side of Vaudeville, like Amanda Thorpe, a white woman who founded a black theater in Virginia, and the Griffin Sisters , who managed several theaters in their efforts to create a Black Vaudeville circuit. Black performers and patrons participated in a racially segregated vaudeville circuit. Though many popular acts like Lewis and Walker, Ernest Hogan , Irving Jones , and the Hyers Sisters played to both white and black audiences, early Vaudeville performances for white audiences were limited to one Black act per show, and performers faced discrimination in restaurants and lodging. Entertainers and entrepreneurs like The Whitman Sisters , Pat Chapelle and John Isham created and managed their own touring companies; others took on theater ownership and management and created Black vaudeville circuits, as

12768-633: The central attraction. They did not have to worry about finding new audiences because the same audience would return again and again to watch different films. Exhibition practices greatly varied and programs lasted anywhere from ten minutes to an hour and a half or more in length. Often, programs ran continuously and patrons would join a program already in progress when they arrived and stay as long as they liked. While some nickelodeons only showed films, others offered shows that combined films with vaudeville acts or illustrated songs. The desirability of longer films, which enabled nickelodeons to grow as they would,

12936-500: The chain to its greatest success. Circuits such as those managed by Keith-Albee provided vaudeville's greatest economic innovation and the principal source of its industrial strength. They enabled a chain of allied vaudeville houses that remedied the chaos of the single-theatre booking system by contracting acts for regional and national tours. These could easily be lengthened from a few weeks to two years. Albee also gave national prominence to vaudeville's trumpeting "polite" entertainment,

13104-420: The circuit's central office weekly, follow each act's description. The bill illustrates the typical pattern of opening the show with a "dumb" act to allow patrons to find their seats, placing strong acts in second and penultimate positions, and leaving the weakest act for the end, to clear the house. In this bill, as in many vaudeville shows, acts often associated with "lowbrow" or popular entertainment (acrobats,

13272-408: The coins, found that the Treasury would not accept them as deposits except in lots of $ 100, in accordance with the authorizing statute. In 1871, Congress alleviated the problem by passing legislation allowing the Treasury to redeem unlimited quantities of nickels and other low-denomination coins when presented in lots of not less than $ 20. It was not until 1933, long after the shield design passed from

13440-416: The countryside offering programs of comedy, music, jugglers , and other novelties along with displays of tonics, salves, and miracle elixirs, while " Wild West " shows provided romantic vistas of the disappearing frontier, complete with trick riding, music and drama. Vaudeville incorporated these various itinerant amusements into a stable, institutionalized form centered in America's growing urban hubs. From

13608-409: The daughter of a musician, she moved to the United States of America in her childhood. At just fourteen years old, she left home to begin her career, lying about her age and sending her mother half of her paycheck. Dressler found great success and was known for her comedic timing and physical comedy, like carrying her male co-stars. She eventually worked on Broadway, where she had a great desire to become

13776-505: The death of vaudeville. After all, when "small time" theatres could offer "big time" performers on screen at a nickel a seat, who could ask audiences to pay higher amounts for less impressive live talent? The newly-formed RKO studios took over the famed Orpheum vaudeville circuit and swiftly turned it into a chain of full-time movie theatres. The half-century tradition of vaudeville was effectively wiped out within less than four years. Inevitably, managers further trimmed costs by eliminating

13944-470: The denomination. After the successful introduction of two-cent and three-cent pieces without precious metal , Congress also authorized a five-cent piece consisting of base metal ; the Mint began striking this version in 1866. The initial design of the Shield nickel was struck from 1866 until 1883, then was replaced by the Liberty Head nickel . The Buffalo nickel was introduced in 1913 as part of

14112-536: The denominations prescribed by the Mint Act of 1792 ; its weight and fineness were set by law. The first pieces under federal authority were half dimes, struck in 1792 in the cellar of John Harper, a saw maker; as the first federal mint was still under construction in Philadelphia, this took place locally at Sixth and Cherry Streets. The dies were engraved by Adam Eckfeldt , who a half-century later recalled that

14280-427: The design, to which the artist was reluctant to agree. The Hobbs Company continued to interpose objections in 1913. On February 3, Hobbs sent Roberts a lengthy list of changes that he wanted in the coin, and the sculptor was required to attend a conference with Hobbs representatives. On the fifth, following the conference, which ended with no agreement, Fraser sent MacVeagh a ten-page letter, complaining that his time

14448-570: The die life. A problem not addressed was the exposure of the date to wear; many Buffalo nickels today have the date worn away. In January 1938, the Mint announced an open competition for a new nickel design, to feature early president Thomas Jefferson on the obverse, and Jefferson's home, Monticello on the reverse. The last Buffalo nickels were struck in April 1938 at the Denver Mint, the only mint to strike them that year. The identities of

14616-487: The famous and magical Harry Houdini , and child star Baby Rose Marie . In the New-York Tribune ' s article about Vaudeville, it is said that at any given time, Vaudeville was employing over twelve thousand different people throughout its entire industry. Each entertainer would be on the road 42 weeks at a time while working a particular "Circuit" – or an individual theatre chain of a major company. While

14784-467: The first president, George Washington . However, the project was discontinued when Leach left office on November 1, 1909, to be replaced by Abram Andrew . On May 4, 1911, Eames MacVeagh, son of Treasury Secretary Franklin MacVeagh wrote to his father: A little matter that seems to have been overlooked by all of you is the opportunity to beautify the design of the nickel or five cent piece during your administration, and it seems to me that it would be

14952-448: The first time since 1885, when experimental, holed coins had been tested; however, no redesign took place. Coin-operated machines to vend food, for amusement, and for gambling became popular in the 1890s. Such machines could be placed on otherwise unused floor space in businesses, required little maintenance, and brought in money for owners. Beginning about 1898, coin-operated mechanical pianos also became popular. The Mills Novelty Company

15120-439: The half dime would bear modifications of this design. In 1851, it ceased to be the smallest US silver coin as a three cent piece was issued by the Mint. The Civil War caused most American coins to vanish from circulation, with the gap filled by such means as merchant tokens , encased postage stamps , and United States fractional currency , issued in denominations as low as three cents. Although specie (gold or silver coins)

15288-482: The initials were struck and presented to him. Coins struck at any mint between 1965 and 1967 lack mint marks, which were omitted as the Mint replaced the silver circulating coins with copper-nickel. Beginning in 1968, mint marks were again used, and on the nickel were moved to the lower part of the obverse, to the right of Jefferson's bust. From 1971, no nickels were struck for circulation in San Francisco—the 1971-S

15456-495: The instructions given to them by B. F. Keith for fear of losing their careers forever. By the late 1890s, vaudeville had large circuits, houses (small and large) in almost every sizable location, standardized booking, broad pools of skilled acts, and a loyal national following. One of the biggest circuits was Martin Beck's Orpheum Circuit . It incorporated in 1919 and brought together 45 vaudeville theatres in 36 cities throughout

15624-472: The larger movie theaters were set up there. Neighborhood nickelodeons, which were the majority of movie theaters in Manhattan, were almost always located in neighborhoods with high residential densities and spread over a substantial number of blocks. Nickelodeons usually showed films about ten to fifteen minutes in length, and in a variety of styles and subjects, such as short narratives, "scenics" (views of

15792-427: The last of the live performances. Vaudeville also suffered due to the rise of broadcast radio following the greater availability of inexpensive receiver sets later in the decade. Even the hardiest in the vaudeville industry realized the form was in decline; the perceptive understood the condition to be terminal. The standardized film distribution and talking pictures of the 1930s confirmed the end of vaudeville. By 1930,

15960-563: The lower-priced cinema in the early 1910s dealt the heaviest blow to vaudeville. This was similar to the advent of free broadcast television 's diminishing the cultural and economic strength of the cinema. Cinema was first regularly commercially presented in the US in vaudeville halls. The first public showing of movies projected on a screen took place at Koster and Bial's Music Hall in 1896. Lured by greater salaries and less arduous working conditions, many performers and personalities, such as Al Jolson , W. C. Fields , Mae West , Buster Keaton ,

16128-535: The mid-1860s, impresario Tony Pastor , a former singing circus clown who had become a prominent variety theater performer and manager, capitalized on middle class sensibilities and spending power when he began to feature "polite" variety programs in his New York City theatres. Pastor opened his first "Opera House" on the Bowery in 1865, later moving his variety theater operation to Broadway and, finally, to Fourteenth Street near Union Square . He only began to use

16296-504: The middle-class stayed away until after World War I. This idea was reflected in Lewis Jacobs ' 1939 survey, where he wrote: "concentrated largely in poorer shopping districts and slum neighborhoods, nickelodeons were disdained by the well-to-do. But, the workmen and their families who patronized the movies did not mind the crowded, unsanitary, and hazardous accommodations most of the nickelodeons offered." More recent historians argue

16464-487: The models for the Native American on the obverse and for the bison on the reverse are not known with certainty. Fraser stressed that the Native American was a type, rather than based on a specific individual, and identified various Native Americans as models, not always consistently, including Iron Tail , ( Oglala Lakota ) Two Moons , ( Northern Cheyenne ) and Big Tree (of the Kiowa people ). There have been other claimants,

16632-446: The modes of distribution and the types of films being made. Around 1903, longer multi-shot films became more prevalent, and this shift brought about important innovations in the distribution of films with the establishment of film exchanges . Film exchanges would buy films from manufacturers and then rent them out to exhibitors. With a steady supply of different films, exhibitors finally had the possibility to open venues, where films were

16800-517: The most prominent being John Big Tree , a Seneca , who made many public appearances as the "nickel Indian" until his death in 1967. Fraser recounted that the animal on the reverse was an American bison , Black Diamond , whom he stated lived at the Bronx Zoo , and also described the model simply as a bison at the Bronx Zoo. However, Black Diamond was never at the Bronx Zoo, but instead lived at

16968-485: The most prominent vaudevillians successfully made the transition to cinema, though others were not as successful. Some performers such as Bert Lahr fashioned careers out of combining live performance with radio and film roles. Many others later appeared in the Catskill resorts that constituted the " Borscht Belt ". Vaudeville was instrumental in the success of the newer media of film, radio, and television. Comedies of

17136-636: The neighborhood character of vaudeville attendance had always promoted a tendency to tailor fare to specific audiences, mature vaudeville grew to feature houses and circuits specifically aimed at certain demographic groups. Black patrons, often segregated into the rear of the second gallery in white-oriented theatres, had their own smaller circuits, as did speakers of Italian and Yiddish (see below). This foreign addition combined with comedy produced such acts as "minstrel shows of antebellum America" and Yiddish theatre. Many ethnic families joined in on this entertainment business, and for them, this traveling lifestyle

17304-530: The new Liberty Head design had led to increasing use of nickels there. Good economic conditions and high demand for nickels for use in coin-operated devices caused the piece to circulate throughout the nation by 1900. That year, Mint Director George E. Roberts called on Congress to quintuple the Mint's appropriation to purchase base metals for striking into nickels and cents. At the time, statutory restrictions permitted production of cents and nickels only at Philadelphia; Roberts' request that Congress allow striking at

17472-518: The new coin heavy, in terms of weight per $ .01 of face value, compared to the three-cent copper-nickel coin. The bill passed without debate on May 16, 1866. The new copper-nickel coin was legal tender for up to one dollar and would be paid out by the Treasury in exchange for coin of the United States, excluding the half cent , cent and two-cent. It was redeemable in lots of $ 100 for banknotes. Fractional currency in denominations of less than ten cents

17640-453: The new coins depict the head of Liberty with the legend LIBERTY and the date, with the nickel's reverse to have a wreath of wheat, cotton, and corn around a Roman numeral "V" for "5", to denote the denomination. Under the proposal, the nickel would retain its weight of 5 grams (0.18 oz), but its diameter would be increased to 22 millimetres (0.87 in). Barber duly produced the required designs. Snowden eventually decided against

17808-502: The new design proved to break quickly. Barber made proposed revisions, which Fraser approved after being sent samples. These changes enlarged the legend "FIVE CENTS" and changed the ground on which the bison stands from a hill to flat ground. According to data compiled by numismatic historian David Lange from the National Archives , the changes to what are known as Type II nickels (with the originals Type I) actually decreased

17976-547: The new era adopted many of the dramatic and musical tropes of classic vaudeville acts. Film comedies of the 1920s through the 1940s used talent from the vaudeville stage and followed a vaudeville aesthetic of variety entertainment, both in Hollywood and in Asia, including China. The rich repertoire of the vaudeville tradition was mined for prominent prime-time radio variety shows such as The Rudy Vallée Show . The structure of

18144-525: The one-cent coin's manufacturing cost to below one cent, so it was removed from consideration. The report requested additional time to study the issue, ensuring the continuation, for the present, of the existing coinage metals. The Mint expected demand for nickels in commerce to increase from 840 million needed in Fiscal Year 2011 to 1.08 billion in 2015. Meanwhile, in an attempt to avoid losing large quantities of circulating nickels to melting,

18312-422: The ongoing construction of a mint building and stated: "There has also been a small beginning in the coinage of half dimes, the want of small coins in circulation calling the first attention to them." In 1793, the newly established Philadelphia Mint began striking cents and half cents. Coinage of precious metal was delayed; Congress required the assayer and chief coiner to each post a security bond of $ 10,000 ,

18480-424: The other mints was granted in 1906. The Denver and San Francisco Mints began striking nickels in 1912. The Liberty Head nickel was replaced after 1912, and initially there was no indication that 1913-dated pieces with that design existed. In December 1919, a coin dealer, Samuel W. Brown, placed advertisements in coin publications, offering to buy 1913 Liberty Head nickels. The following August, Brown appeared at

18648-606: The other. Secretary MacVeagh wrote, "Tell him that of the three sketches which he submitted we would like to use the sketch of the head of the Indian and the sketch of the buffalo." In July 1912, news of the new nickel became public, and coin-operated machine manufacturers sought information. Clarence Hobbs of the Hobbs Manufacturing Company, maker of counterfeit detectors, feared the new nickel would not be passed by his devices. Hobbs demanded various changes to

18816-589: The otherwise live acts. Nickelodeons drastically altered film exhibition practices and the leisure-time habits of a large segment of the American public. Although they were characterized by continuous performances of a selection of short films, added attractions such as illustrated songs were sometimes an important feature. Regarded as disreputable and dangerous by some civic groups and municipal agencies, crude, ill-ventilated nickelodeons with hard wooden seats were outmoded as longer films became common and larger, more comfortably furnished motion-picture theaters were built,

18984-461: The place permanently of silver in the coinage of pieces above the denomination of three cents." Industrialist Joseph Wharton had a near-monopoly on the mining of nickel in the United States, and sought to promote its use in coinage. He was also highly influential in Congress. His friends there, though they had failed to obtain the metal's use for the two-cent piece, had been more successful with

19152-409: The popularity of longer films meant they outperformed actualities, which were usually short. Early writers on American cinema history assumed that audiences at nickelodeons were primarily working-class people who could not afford a higher ticket price. At the heart of the image of nickelodeons in traditional histories is the belief that movies were a simple amusement for the working class, and that

19320-404: The promotion of black-face minstrelsy on the stage, purposefully used to place African Americans beneath the Irish in the racial and social urban hierarchy. Although the Irish had a strong Celtic presence in vaudeville and in the promotion of ethnic stereotypes, the ethnic groups that they were characterizing also utilized the same humor. As the Irish donned their ethnic costumes, groups such as

19488-420: The public interest. The Mint's greatest concern was in finding an alloy that would use no nickel, but still satisfy counterfeit detectors in vending machines. An alloy of 56% copper, 35% silver and 9% manganese proved suitable, and this alloy began to be coined into nickels from October 1942. In the hope of making them easy to sort out and withdraw after the war, the Mint struck all "war nickels" with

19656-540: The recent, worldwide phenomenon of TV shows such as America's Got Talent . In professional wrestling , there was a noted tag team, based in WWE , called The Vaudevillains . In 2018, noted film director Christopher Annino, maker of a new silent feature film, Silent Times , founded Vaudeville Con, a gathering to celebrate the history of vaudeville. The first meeting was held in Pawcatuck, Connecticut . The records of

19824-417: The reverse, not the obverse where Barber had placed it. Barber modified his design accordingly, and the coin was ready for striking in early 1883. However, by then, Shield nickels dated 1883 had already been coined. To ensure proof Shield pieces would not be hoarded for their rarity, Mint officials allowed their continued production for several months. Criminals soon realized that the new nickel, which lacked

19992-586: The rise of the middle class audiences throughout the nickelodeon era and into the later 1910s belief to expand the business. In 1985, Robert C. Allen debated whether movies attracted a middle-class audience as illustrated by the location of earlier movie theaters in traditional entertainment districts, where more nickelodeons were located in or near middle-class neighborhoods than in the Lower East Side ghetto. The nickelodeon boom in Manhattan between 1905 and 1907 often functioned as historical shorthand for

20160-510: The rise of the movies in general. In 2004, Ben Singer wrote in his analysis of Manhattan nickelodeons; "for most people ... the image of cramped, dingy nickelodeons in Manhattan's Lower East Side ghetto stands as a symbol for the cinema's emergence in America." Nickelodeons consistently appeared in the densest areas of the city in terms of residential concentration and the amount of pedestrian traffic. Areas such as Union Square , Herald Square , 23rd Street, and 125th Street were typical locations and

20328-403: The same metals. In his 1865 report, Pollock wrote, "From this nickel alloy, a coin for the denomination of five cents, and which would be a popular substitute for the five cent note, could easily be made ... [The five-cent coin should be struck in base metal] only until the resumption of specie payments  ... in time of peace ... coins of inferior alloy should not be permitted to take

20496-768: The scene, that the nickel was made legal tender without limit. Half dimes continued to be struck, at both the Philadelphia and the San Francisco Mint , until the series was ended by the Coinage Act of 1873 . Despite the abolition, the silver pieces continued to circulate in the West, where silver or gold coins were preferred, throughout the remainder of the 19th century. Improved economic conditions, combined with low silver prices, brought large quantities of hoarded silver coinage, including half dimes, into circulation beginning in April 1876. In late 1876, production of

20664-540: The screen hung on the back wall. A piano (and maybe a drum set) would be placed to the side of, or below the screen. Larger nickelodeons sometimes had the capacity for well over 1,000 people. In 1905, William Fox started his first nickelodeon in Brooklyn . He owned numerous theaters in New York and New Jersey . In 1906, Carl Laemmle opened his first nickelodeon, The White Front on Milwaukee Avenue (Chicago) and

20832-449: The shield design entirely. After heavy production in its first years, by late 1869, enough nickels had been struck to meet the needs of commerce; fewer were coined in the following years. The new coins tended to accumulate in the hands of merchants beyond the legal tender limit, but banks refused to accept them beyond the one-dollar maximum. Storeowners were forced to discount the coins to brokers. Postmasters , compelled by law to accept

21000-451: The silent nature of the "flickering shadow sweethearts" would preclude their usurpation of the paramount place in the public's affection. With the introduction of talking pictures in 1926, the burgeoning film studios removed what had remained the chief difference in favor of live theatrical performance: spoken dialogue. Historian John Kenrick wrote: Top vaudeville stars filmed their acts for one-time pay-offs, inadvertently helping to speed

21168-448: The silver for the half dimes was supplied by President George Washington , and that the 1,500 coins struck from the bullion were given to Washington's Secretary of State , Thomas Jefferson , for distribution to important people, both in the US and overseas. By legend, President Washington supplied silverware from his home, Mount Vernon , to provide bullion for the coins. In his annual message to Congress in late 1792, Washington noted

21336-468: The slang of vaudevillians), built by Martin Beck in 1913 and operated by Keith. Featuring a bill stocked with inventive novelty acts, national celebrities, and acknowledged masters of vaudeville performance (such as comedian and trick roper Will Rogers ), the Palace provided what many vaudevillians considered the apotheosis of remarkable careers. A standard show bill would begin with a sketch, follow with

21504-448: The songs that were popularized onstage by white singers, and paved the way for African-American musical theater . In addition to vaudeville's prominence as a form of American entertainment, it reflected the newly evolving urban inner-city culture and interaction of its operators and audience. Making up a large portion of immigration to the United States in the mid-19th century, Irish Americans interacted with established Americans, with

21672-459: The steel-based materials would require). In February 2023, the melt value of a nickel coin exceeded 135% of its face value. Due to its low value, the inconvenience of carrying and counting, and the fact that it costs more to make than it is worth, various commentators have proposed eliminating the nickel along with the penny. Vaudeville Vaudeville ( / ˈ v ɔː d ( ə ) v ɪ l , ˈ v oʊ -/ ; French: [vodvil] )

21840-455: The supply and demand of the coin's composition metals have stabilized. A nickel's melt value fell below its face value from late 2008 through mid-2010, and more recently again from late mid-2012. In February 2014, it was reported that the Mint was conducting experiments to use copper-plated zinc (the same composition used for the United States 1 cent coin) for the nickel. In December 2014, the Mint released its next Biennial report in response to

22008-410: The term "vaudeville" in place of "variety" in early 1876. Hoping to draw a potential audience from female and family-based shopping traffic uptown , Pastor barred the sale of liquor in his theatres, eliminated bawdy material from his shows, and offered gifts of coal and hams to attendees. Pastor's experiment proved successful, and other managers soon followed suit. The manager's comments, sent back to

22176-627: The theatres built by impresario Alexander Pantages . Pantages often used architect B. Marcus Priteca (1881–1971), who in turn regularly worked with muralist Anthony Heinsbergen . Priteca devised an exotic, neo-classical style that his employer called "Pantages Greek". Though classic vaudeville reached a zenith of capitalization and sophistication in urban areas dominated by national chains and commodious theatres, small-time vaudeville included countless more intimate and locally controlled houses. Small-time houses were often converted saloons, rough-hewn theatres, or multi-purpose halls, together catering to

22344-525: The three-cent piece, leaving the five-cent coin as the only one in copper nickel. That year, Congress also allowed the Secretary of the Treasury to authorize the redesign of United States coins, if the former design had been struck for at least 25 years. Although the nickel and silver dollar had been redesigned within the previous quarter-century, a provision in the latter act made them eligible for immediate redesign. In 1896, pattern nickels were struck for

22512-690: The time. She worked largely in comedy and gained acclaim and success due to her willingness to step into other's roles who had fallen ill, and were otherwise unable to perform. In her acts, she often emphasized her plus-size figure, calling herself the "perfect forty-six". Friganza was also a poet and writer. She used many of her performances as ways to raise money to support the poor or disenfranchised and went on record publicly numerous times to support these social causes. Friganza also spent much of her life fighting for women's equality and pushing for self-acceptance for women, both publicly and within themselves, as well as their rights in comparison to men. Betty Felsen

22680-445: The use of nickel at the Mint. The bronze cent represented a major portion of the Mint's production, and Wharton began to lobby for the piece to be struck in copper-nickel, as it had been from 1857 until 1864. In 1881, this lobbying led Philadelphia Mint Superintendent Archibald Loudon Snowden to order Mint Engraver Charles Barber to produce uniform designs for a new cent, three-cent piece, and five-cent piece. Snowden required that

22848-600: The vast majority of formerly live theatres had been wired for sound, and none of the major studios were producing silent pictures. For a time, the most luxurious theatres continued to offer live entertainment, but most theatres were forced by the Great Depression to economize. Some in the industry blamed cinema's drain of talent from the vaudeville circuits for the medium's demise. Others argued that vaudeville had allowed its performances to become too familiar to its famously loyal, now seemingly fickle audiences. There

23016-478: The vaudeville stage, Irish Americans became interpreters of immigrant cultural images in American popular culture. New arrivals found their ethnic group status defined within the immigrant population and in their new country as a whole by the Irish on stage. Unfortunately, the same interactions between ethnic groups within the close living conditions of cities also created racial tensions which were reflected in vaudeville. Conflict between Irish and African Americans saw

23184-592: The winter of 1923 Betty began a partnership with Jack Broderick. From then until the end of 927 Broderick & Felsen performed on the B.F. Keith and Pantages vaudeville circuits throughout the U.S. and Canada. Their act evolved from a simple dance act to one with over twenty dancers, an orchestra, and elaborate costumes and sets. From 1925 to 1926 they played for 20 straight weeks at the huge Colony Theater on Broadway in New York City. In 1926 and 1927, they starred in two spectacular musical productions, touring across

23352-591: The word " CENTS " at the bottom of the reverse. The revised nickel was issued on June 26, 1883, the date on which production of the Shield nickel was finally stopped. The public promptly hoarded the "centless" nickels, believing the Treasury Department intended to recall them, and that they would become rare. The Liberty Head nickel was heavily struck during its 30-year run, except during economic downturns in 1885–1886 and in 1894, when only small numbers were struck. In 1890, Congress ended production of

23520-439: The word " CENTS ", was close in size to the five-dollar gold piece , and if they were to plate the nickel with gold, it might be passed for five dollars. Some coins were even given a reeded edge by fraudsters, making them appear more like the gold coins. The Mint halted production of the new coins; production of Shield nickels continued. Barber was told to modify his work, which he did, moving other design elements to accommodate

23688-448: The word as "ocian", but the Mint modernized the spelling. Another Franki design has, since 2006, been used for the obverse, depicting a view of Jefferson from the front (rather than in profile) based on an 1800 study by Rembrandt Peale , and includes "Liberty" in Jefferson's script. According to Acting Mint Director David Lebryk, "The image of a forward-facing Jefferson is a fitting tribute to [his] vision." The reverse beginning in 2006

23856-563: The world from moving trains), "actualities" (precursors of later documentary films ), illustrated songs, local or touring song and dance acts, comedies , melodramas , problem plays , stop-action sequences , sporting events and other features which allowed them to compete with vaudeville houses. The titles of a few of the films released in 1907 and distributed to nickelodeons by the Miles Brothers (Herbert, Harry and Earl C.) partially illustrate this diversity. These are taken from

24024-486: The years progressed, people seeking diversified amusement found an increasing number of ways to be entertained. Vaudeville was characterized by traveling companies touring through cities and towns. A handful of circuses regularly toured the country; dime museums appealed to the curious; amusement parks, riverboats, and town halls often featured "cleaner" presentations of variety entertainment; compared to saloons, music halls, and burlesque houses, which catered to those with

24192-603: Was a comedienne who got her start in Vaudeville and the Chitlin circuits in the 1920s, and ended up with mainstream success in the 20th century. Other 20th century women performers who started in Vaudeville included blues singers Ma Rainey , Ida Cox and Bessie Smith . Women-led touring companies like Black Patti's Troubadours , the Whitman Sisters and the Hyers Sisters were popular acts. Other women worked

24360-419: Was a leading producer of such devices; by 1906 it was producing machines ranging from a mechanically played violin to fortune-telling devices. While some machines took cents or other denominations, the nickel was the coin of choice for these machines. Among the innovations in business caused by the use of the nickel in coin-operated machines was the automat , in which patrons would serve themselves by inserting

24528-623: Was accepted to be a member of the Chicago Opera’s Pavley-Oukrainsky Ballet corps de ballet. From December 1920 until the fall of 1922 Betty was a ballerina soloist and performed with them throughout North America. Under the name Buddye Felsen, Betty landed a starring dancing role in a new show at Fred Mann’s Million Dollar Rainbo Room in the Rainbo Gardens . The show, Rainbo Trail , directed by Frank Westphal , opened on 15 December 1922, and ran until 1 March 1923. In

24696-461: Was again Schlag's Monticello design, but newly sharpened by Mint engravers. As Schlag's obverse design, on which his initials were placed in 1966, is no longer used, his initials were placed on the reverse to the right of Monticello. In the first decade of the 21st century, commodity prices for copper and nickel, which make up the five-cent coin, rose dramatically , pushing the cost of manufacturing

24864-491: Was also minimized by this "internal narration" in the film. Nickel (United States coin) A nickel is a five- cent coin struck by the United States Mint . Composed of cupronickel (75%  copper and 25%  nickel ), the piece has been issued since 1866. Its diameter is 0.835 inches (21.21 mm) and its thickness is 0.077 inches (1.95 mm). The silver half dime , equal to five cents,

25032-664: Was an American ballerina, vaudeville star, and teacher. She was born on 9 June 1905, in Chicago, IL Betty began taking lessons at a local Chicago ballet school when she was eight years old, and often performed solo dances in shows presented by that school. Just before her tenth birthday in 1916, her parents enrolled her as a ballet student with the Pavley-Oukrainsky Ballet School within the Chicago Opera Association. Then, in 1919 Betty

25200-524: Was being wasted by the Hobbs Company, and appealing to the Secretary to bring the situation to a close. Secretary MacVeagh agreed to hold a meeting at his office in Washington on February 14. Barber prepared patterns showing what the nickel would look like if the changes demanded by Hobbs were made. MacVeagh conducted the meeting much like a legal hearing, and issued a letter the following day. The secretary noted that no other firm had complained, that

25368-433: Was expanding. These expectations for women in the 19th century played a big role in the compelling aspects of vaudeville. Through vaudeville, many women were allowed to join their male counterparts on the stage and found success in their acts. Leila Marie Koerber, later Marie Dressler , was a Canadian actress who specialized in vaudeville comedy, and eventually won an Academy Award for Best Actress later in her career. Being

25536-471: Was hoarded or exported, the copper-nickel cent, then the only base metal denomination being struck, also vanished. In 1864, Congress began the process of restoring coins to circulation by abolishing the three-cent note and authorizing bronze cents and two-cent pieces , with low intrinsic values, to be struck. These new coins initially proved popular, though the two-cent piece soon faded from circulation. On March 3, 1865, Congress passed legislation authorizing

25704-561: Was issued from 1792 to 1873 before today's cupronickel version. The American Civil War caused economic hardship, driving gold and silver from circulation; in response, in place of low-value coins, the government at first issued paper currency. In 1865, Congress abolished the five-cent fractional currency note after Spencer M. Clark , head of the Currency Bureau (today the Bureau of Engraving and Printing ), placed his own portrait on

25872-516: Was no abrupt end to vaudeville, though the form was clearly sagging by the late 1920s. Joseph Kennedy Sr. in a hostile buyout, acquired the Keith-Albee-Orpheum Theatres Corporation (KAO), which had more than 700 vaudeville theatres across the United States which had begun showing movies. The shift of New York City's Palace Theatre, vaudeville's center, to an exclusively cinema presentation on 16 November 1932,

26040-498: Was now used for comic relief on the vaudeville stage, where stereotypes of different ethnic groups were perpetuated. The crude stereotypes that emerged were easily identifiable not only by their distinct ethnic cultural attributes, but how those attributes differed from the mainstream established American culture and identity. Coupled with their historical presence on the English stage for comic relief, and as operators and actors of

26208-413: Was on 4 June 1928, at Broadway’s Palace Theater in New York City. Another famous comedienne, one who brought in thousands of audience members with her signature improvisational skills, was May Irwin . She worked from about 1875 to 1914. Originally born Ada Campbell, she began her life on the stage at thirteen years old following the death of her father. She and her older sister created a singing act called

26376-453: Was relatively brief, nickelodeons played an important part in creating a specialized spectator, "the moviegoer", who could now integrate going to the movies into their life in a way that was impossible before. Miriam Hansen has noted that the term "spectator" had become common by 1910. The nickelodeon explosion also increased the demand for new films, as thousands of theaters needed new product. The growth of longer films, which nickelodeons played

26544-440: Was rivaled only by churches and public schools among the nation's premiere public gathering places. Another slightly different aspect of Vaudeville was an increasing interest in the female figure. The previously mentioned ominous idea of "the blue envelopes" led to the phrase "blue" material, which described the provocative subject matter present in many Vaudeville acts of the time. Many managers even saw this scandalous material as

26712-565: Was said that if an act would succeed in Peoria, Illinois , it would work anywhere. The question "Will it play in Peoria?" has now become a metaphor for whether something appeals to the American mainstream public. The three most common levels were the "small time" (lower-paying contracts for more frequent performances in rougher, often converted theatres), the "medium time" (moderate wages for two performances each day in purpose-built theatres), and

26880-711: Was signed into law by President George W. Bush on April 23, 2003. Under its terms, the Treasury Secretary could vary the nickel's designs in honor of the 200th anniversary of the Expedition and of the Louisiana Purchase , but the nickel would again feature Jefferson and Monticello beginning in 2006. Unless Congress acts again, every future five-cent coin will feature Jefferson and Monticello. The Mint used Schlag's obverse in 2004, with two new reverse designs. Mint sculptor-engraver Norman E. Nemeth's adaptation of an Indian Peace Medal struck for Jefferson

27048-460: Was simply a continuation of the circumstances that brought them to America. Through these acts, they were able to assimilate themselves into their new home while also bringing bits of their own culture into this new world. White-oriented regional circuits, such as New England 's "Peanut Circuit", also provided essential training grounds for new artists while allowing established acts to experiment with and polish new material. At its height, vaudeville

27216-445: Was soon imitated by hundreds of ambitious entrepreneurs, as was the name of the theater itself. Statistics at the time show that the number of nickelodeons in the United States doubled between 1907 and 1908 to around 8,000, and it was estimated that by 1910 as many as 26 million Americans visited these theaters weekly. Nickelodeons in converted storefronts typically seated fewer than 200 – the patrons often sat on hard wooden chairs, with

27384-984: Was the case for Sherman H. Dudley and the Griffin Sisters Later, in the 1920s, many bookings were managed by the Theatre Owners Booking Association . African-Americans challenged the prevailing Blackface stereotypes played by white performers by bringing their own authenticity and style to the stage, composing music, comedy and dance routines and laying the groundwork for distinctly American cultural phenomena like blues , jazz , ragtime and tap dance . Notable Black entertainers in Vaudeville included comedians Bert Williams , and George Walker , dancer/choreographer Ada Overton Walker , and many others. Black songwriters and composers like Bob Cole , Ernest Hogan , Irving Jones , Rosamond Johnson , George Johnson , Tom Lemonier , Gussie L. Davis , and Chris Smith , wrote many of

27552-466: Was the first new design, followed by a depiction by Mint sculptor-engraver Al Maletsky of a keelboat like that used by the Expedition. The 2005 obverse was struck during that year only, with a design by sculptor Joe Fitzgerald based on Houdon's bust of Jefferson. The legend " LIBERTY " on the obverse was traced from Jefferson's handwriting in drafting the Declaration of Independence ; as the word

27720-486: Was the first nickel struck in proof only since 1878. The Mint had struck circulating commemorative coins for the United States Bicentennial , giving quarters, half dollars, and dollars struck in 1975 and 1976 a dual date, " 1776–1976 ". After Canada issued a successful series of quarters in 1992 honoring its provinces and territories , the Mint obtained congressional permission to issue

27888-546: Was the result of many factors. Economic competition between film production companies put pressure on them to create more elaborate, and often longer, films, to differentiate one film from another. Longer films were also more attractive, as the price paid by exhibitors depended on a film's length and the longer a film, the more profit there was to be made. Some exhibitors found longer films more desirable since it made programming easier, faster, and possibly cheaper, as they no longer had to organize their own programs by editing together

28056-456: Was to pass a law retiring the five-cent denomination, and another to forbid portrayal of any living person on federal coins or currency." Clark kept his job only because of the personal intervention of Treasury Secretary Salmon P. Chase . Mint Director James Pollock had been opposed to striking coins containing nickel, but in view of the initial success of the copper-nickel three-cent piece, he became an advocate of striking five-cent pieces in

28224-403: Was withdrawn. In anticipation of the approval of the new five-cent coin, the Mint's chief engraver, James B. Longacre , had begun preparing designs and pattern coins in 1865. After rejecting pieces showing deceased presidents George Washington (see Washington nickel) and Abraham Lincoln , Treasury Secretary Hugh McCulloch decided on a design similar to Longacre's two-cent piece , with

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