tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9980139.post8377762245096690959..comments2023-06-05T05:14:02.139-04:00Comments on = VITAPHONE VARIETIES =: Temples of MysteryJeff Cohenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13397346655785197799noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9980139.post-65067824801423538302007-03-15T23:10:00.000-04:002007-03-15T23:10:00.000-04:00Joe: Thanks for the link to The Musee Mechanique! ...Joe: Thanks for the link to The Musee Mechanique! I heard they were in financial trouble a while back and their future uncertain, so it's great to see them alive, well and thriving.<BR/><BR/>Could kick myself six ways 'til Sunday for missing this museum during a visit to SF. Have no recollection of seeing or doing anything other than to walk uphill for three days. Must correct that some day, and just simply be a tourist.<BR/><BR/>JeffJeff Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13397346655785197799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9980139.post-4756493736401456802007-03-15T22:16:00.000-04:002007-03-15T22:16:00.000-04:00Jeff: I enjoyed the post. The place to go to see...Jeff: I enjoyed the post. The place to go to see amusement machines in their proper environment is the Musee Mecanique at Pier 45 in San Francisco's Fisherman's Wharf (http://www.museemechanique.org/). Ed Zelinsky has collected hundreds of devices, including fortune tellers and Mutoscopes, and lets the public enjoy them. My personal favorite is the French Execution...<BR/><BR/>Regards,<BR/>Joe Thompson ;0)Joe Thompsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18432403721377989684noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9980139.post-48373429512790748842007-03-15T12:30:00.000-04:002007-03-15T12:30:00.000-04:00Bearden: Thanks for your generous comment, which a...Bearden: Thanks for your generous comment, which also serves to remind me that the obscure "Cohens and Kellys" Fox series of silent and talking films is well worth exploring here some day. Vastly popular in their day, but barely a faint memory today.<BR/><BR/>EastSide: Growing up in the 60's, as I assume we both did, we were fortunate indeed to see things like Mutoscopes still in their proper place rather than a museum, for such an incredible amount of our past was destroyed during that decade in an effort to rush the country into a "Space Age" that never really happened. The glittering spectacle of the NY Worlds Fair on one hand, and the senseless demolition of Pennsylvania Station on the other (an error we're now incedibly trying to repair) --- a decade of mind-numbing contrasts. No wonder I'm a bit off-kilter! ;)<BR/><BR/>JeffJeff Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13397346655785197799noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9980139.post-17642314474343761252007-03-15T09:16:00.000-04:002007-03-15T09:16:00.000-04:00My family went to a similar amusement park in the ...My family went to a similar amusement park in the '60s -- the old gypsy machine, the Mutoscope. I don't remember if I thought it odd these ancient machines were still in use, but I know I enjoyed them tremendously. Thank you for reminding me!Kevin K.https://www.blogger.com/profile/14096763369719767861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9980139.post-78260753423779019862007-03-14T16:53:00.000-04:002007-03-14T16:53:00.000-04:00Another wonderful blog - you certainly keep up the...Another wonderful blog - you certainly keep up the quality - which is far better than quantity (anyway once a week of Vitaphone Varieties is better than everyday of some blogs.)<BR/><BR/>I knew that Cohan's first wife was named Ethel Levey, but she was a shadowy figure - no more - what a rendition of "Virginia"! Is it true that she was of Scots ancestry? I only say this because it always struck me as funny to have Cohan and Levey - an Irish and Scottish team!<BR/><BR/>And thanks for "Diane" - maybe someday "7th Heaven" will be released in a version for us in the US.<BR/><BR/>Lovely "Masked Emotions" poster - and I'm thrilled to know it is 100% genuine! <BR/><BR/>Listening to all the music again will keep me happy and busy till next time.alexa757https://www.blogger.com/profile/01994334161836184246noreply@blogger.com