TRY TO IMAGINE HIS ACT.

Billboard cover with Captain Louis Sorcho, submarine engineer, now appearing in vaudeville

Submarine engineers must have been much in demand in vaudeville if this one made it to the cover of the Billboard. But there were opportunities for all kinds of people on the performing circuit.

Wanted—midgets
Be a handcuff king
Wanted—experienced catcher for flying return act. Also lady leapers.

The advertisement above makes us wonder whether the shortage of lady leapers was directly related to the lack of an experienced catcher.

Snake shows—when all others fail try the old stand-by
Wanted—posing and dancing girls for indoor museum
Hindus wanted—East Indian magicians

. 5 comments.

Comments

  1. Occasional Correspondent says:
    August 15, 2024 at 12:29 am

    Hmm . . . January 1918 . . . War was still on — submarine engineers some kind of war-promotion angle?  But did US (or UK) have much in the way of submarine forces in WWI?  Germans did, used them to well publicized effect (albeit mixed effect, see Lusitania).  However, one doubts a German U-boat engineer would be a welcome presence on vaudeville stages; one would think Destroyer Commander would be more welcome.  ??  (Sorcho a somewhat unusual name, not obviously German, but not obviously any other ethnicity — Italian?)  Google reveals a “Louis Sorcho” to have been a deep-sea diver, maybe it’s an adventure angle and not specifically war-related at all.

    Reply
    • Occasional Correspondent says:
      August 15, 2024 at 1:36 am

      Sorry, apologies.  Realized — too late — I probably wasn’t supposed to use google — or, at least, if I did, not supposed to spill the beans all over the comment thread.  You (Dr. Boli) certainly have my permission to delete the offending comment, or the offending line.

      In my head I had been thinking that the mystery was, what was his ACT?  He wasn’t going to be doing any of his job on stage.  Why not book a pipefitter, or bronco buster, as an act?  Was Thrilling Adventure Story a genre of vaudeville acts?

      Reply
  2. Martin The Mess says:
    August 15, 2024 at 6:57 am

    Thinking of how every other war movie has a scene or two where the members of the infantry squad or tank crew or whatever talk about what their varied jobs were back home before the war, and how wartime propaganda often emphasized this “everyone is doing their part” aspect of modern Total War, perhaps this is the inverse version, showing off either how even theater folks were doing their part for the war, or that soldiers or sailors on leave had plenty of time and energy to appear on stage to rapturous applause?

    Reply
  3. RepubAnon says:
    August 16, 2024 at 12:00 am

    The British had steam-powered submarines (the ill-fated K Class)

    Reply
  4. MartinD says:
    August 16, 2024 at 3:49 am

    Page 9 reveals it’s less intriguing than the cover suggests.

    “The severe zero weather has not prevented Captain Sorcho and his personal representative, W. W. Bradford, from their work of recruiting for the navy.”

    Perhaps he was in show business before the war?

    Reply

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