This is a partial list of vaudeville performers. Inclusion on this list indicates that the subject appeared at least once on the North American vaudeville stage during its heyday between 1881 and 1932. The source in the citation included with each entry confirms their appearance and cites information in the performance notes section.
Vaudeville was a style of variety entertainment predominant in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Developing from many sources, including saloon shows, minstrel shows, freak shows, dime museums, British pantomimes, and other popular forms of entertainment, vaudeville became one of the most popular types of entertainment in America, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Vaudeville took the form of a series of separate, unrelated acts each featuring different types of performance, including classical and popular musical acts, dance performances, comedy, animal acts, magic and illusions, female and male impersonators, acrobatic and athletic feats, one-act plays or scenes from plays, lectures, minstrels, or even short films. A vaudeville performer is sometimes known as a "vaudevillian".
L Name Birth Death Nationality Performance notes ReferenceWilton LackayeSeptember 30, 1862August 22, 1932AmericanActor.Bert LahrAugust 13, 1895December 4, 1967AmericanPart of the comic act Lahr & Mercedes, a comic act. Later gained fame as an actor in films, most notably as the Cowardly Lion in the 1939 film, The Wizard of Oz.Senelick, Laurence, "Bert Lahr", in Leona LaMarOctober 26, 1883April 22, 1941AmericanMentalistNickell, Joe. Secrets of the Sideshows, p. 264 (2005)Bessie Lambc. 1878October 30, 1907AmericanSinger and mimic. Credited with bringing ragtime to vaudeville.Professor LambertiJanuary 9, 1892March 13, 1950AmericanBorn Basil Garwood Lambert. A skilled xylophone player who entered vaudeville as a serious musician, but he soon added comic effects to his act.Dorothy LamourDecember 10, 1914September 22, 1996AmericanActress in a Fanchon & Marco revue.Gomery, Douglas, "Dorothy Lamour", in Burt LancasterNovember 2, 1913October 20, 1994AmericanOscar-winning actor, who started out in his teens an acrobat with Nick Cravat, Lang & Cravat.Mancini, Elaine, "Burt Lancaster", in Harry LangdonJune 15, 1884December 22, 1944AmericanComedian who formed an act called "Johnny's New Car" with Rose Francis in 1903 and toured the Orpheum Circuit until finding greater success in silent films.McCaffrey, Donald, "Harry Langdon", in Lillie LangtryOctober 13, 1853February 12, 1929BritishActress, widely known as the mistress of Edward VII.Thomson, Peter, "Lillie Langtry", in Grace La RueJune 14, 1895July 17, 1971AmericanDancer and singer.Jesse L. LaskySeptember 13, 1880January 13, 1958AmericanActor who later co-founded Paramount Pictures with Adolph Zukor.Alfred LatellJanuary 19, 1887April 4, 1951AmericanAnimal impersonator.The Lassiter Brothers19041988AmericanWarren and Francis Lassiter performed acrobatics, dance and comedy in the Publix and Taka Chance vaudeville troupes.Family recordsElsie Newlin Lassiter19041985AmericanChorus girl Taka Chance Vaudeville Troupe.Sir Harry LauderAugust 4, 1870February 26, 1950ScottishSinger and comedian from the British Music Hall who made 22 tours of the US.Senelick, Laurence, "Harry Lauder", in Hazel Bess Laugenour18991960AmericanToured vaudeville with a swim tank act, promoting her swimming films.Stan LaurelJune 16, 1890February 23, 1965BritishMusic Hall comedian who toured America with the Karno Troupe and stayed behind, along with Charlie Chaplin to enter films. Later teamed with Oliver Hardy (January 18, 1892 – August 7, 1957) to form Laurel and Hardy.Wood, Robin, "Laurel and Hardy", in Joe Laurie Jr.1892April 29, 1954AmericanMonologist and comedian.Al LeeAmericanComedian and "straight man" for Eddie Cantor.Gypsy Rose LeeFebruary 9, 1911April 26, 1970AmericanDancer and actress.Senelick, Laurence, "Gypsy Rose Lee", in Jane and Kathryn LeeScottishSister act with Jane (1912 – April 20, 1957) and Kathryn (b. 1909).Lila LeeJuly 25, 1901November 13, 1973AmericanActress.Richard LeGrandAugust 29, 1882June 29, 1963AmericanActor.Lillian Leitzel1891?February 15, 1931HungarianCharles Le Maire18971985AmericanA former vaudeville performer, Le Maire began working on costumes for Broadway shows in 1921. While in New York, he designed costumes for the Ziegfeld Follies, George White's Scandals and Earl Carroll's Vanities. By the mid-1940s he was a costume exec and wardrobe director with Twentieth Century Fox where he was nominated for 13 Academy Awards and won 3.Dan LenoDecember 20, 1860October 31, 1904BritishConsidered one of the greatest British Music Hall comedians who first toured the US in 1897.Green, A. E, "Dan Leno", in Eddie LeonardOctober 18, 1883July 29, 1941AmericanBlackface minstrel.Ruggero LeoncavalloApril 23, 1857August 9, 1919ItalianComposer and conductor. Toured with an Italian symphony orchestra.Mervyn LeRoyOctober 15, 1900September 13, 1987AmericanSinger. Later a Hollywood director and producer.Stella LeSaintDecember 17, 1881September 21, 1948AmericanActress with her own vaudeville troupe, Stella Razeto and Company.Joan LeslieJanuary 26, 1925October 12, 2015AmericanSinger, began performing at the age of nine with her sisters in an act called, "The Three Brodels." She worked briefly as a model and by 1936 was in Hollywood as a child star billed as Joan Brodel. In 1940, she signed with Warner Bros. as an ingenue.Lew Leslie18861963AmericanSinger; and did a "patter act."The Great Lester18781956AmericanSinger, pianist, comedian and actor.Ethel LeveyNovember 22, 1880February 27, 1955AmericanActress and singer. Wife of George M. Cohan from 1900–1906. Retrieved on 2007-03-18.Ted LewisJune 6, 1890August 25, 1971AmericanBandleader, clarinetist and singer known for using the phrase, "Is everybody happy?" He appeared in small-time vaudeville before 1917. He appeared in a singing duo ("Giesler & Lewis") and later toured with his dance band, appearing at the Palace in 1919, billed as "The Jazz King." He appeared at the Palace again in the late 1920s.Tucker, Mark, "Ted Lewis", in Tom LewisAmericanComedian.J. Aldrich LibbeyFebruary 29, 1864April 29, 1925AmericanActor, singer, launched "After the Ball" Everybody's Magazine, Vol. 44, 1921, p. 176Libbey & Trayer, 31 August 1907, p. 10, BillboardWinnie LightnerSeptember 17, 1900March 5, 1971AmericanSinger known as "The Song-a-Minute Girl."Beatrice LillieMay 29, 1894January 20, 1989CanadianComedian, known for her absurd double entendres.Senelick, Laurence, "Beatrice (Gladys) Lillie", in John Lind18771940AmericanFemale impersonator, often billed as "Lind?."Jack LittleMay 28, 1900April 9, 1956BritishBandleader, singer and songwriter.Little TichJuly 21, 1867February 10, 1928BritishComedian, patter-singer and dancer.Elsom, John, "Little Tich", in Mary LivingstoneJune 23, 1905June 30, 1983AmericanComedian and wife of Jack Benny.Alice LloydOctober 20, 1873November 16, 1949BritishSinger and sister of Marie Lloyd.Marie LloydFebruary 12, 1870October 7, 1922BritishSinger.Senelick, Laurence, "Marie Lloyd", in Cecilia LoftusOctober 22, 1876July 12, 1943BritishActress, mimic and singer.Marie Loftus24 November 18571940Britishactress and singer.Paul Mahoney, Biography of Marie Loftus: The Glasgow Story websiteElla Lola2 September 1883AmericanDancer who also appearance in some Kinetoscope productions.Guy LombardoJune 19, 1902November 5, 1977CanadianBandleader, best known for his "Auld Lang Syne" every New Year's Eve.Long Tack Sam1885ChineseMagician and acrobat.Vincent LopezDecember 30, 1895September 20, 1975AmericanPianist and bandleader.James LosterJanuary 1, 1894April 20, 1948AmericanAcrobat and part of James and Vernie Loster vaudeville act. Married to Vernie Loster. Real name was James Fitzpatrick.Death Lets Acrobat Take Bow. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 22 Apr 1948, p. 15Montagu LoveMarch 15, 1877May 17, 1943BritishActor.Edmund LoweMarch 3, 1890April 21, 1971AmericanActor. He later married vaudevillian, Lilyan Tashman.Ed LowryFebruary 1, 1898August 17, 1983AmericanComedian and saxophonist.Scooter LowryDecember 19, 1919May 1, 1989AmericanActor, singer, dancer, and celebrity impersonator(27 August 1929). Mary, Johnny and Scooter on Parade, Indianapolis TimesEdna LubyOctober 12, 1884October 1, 1928AmericanCelebrity ImpersonatorEdna Luby, Actress, Dead. New York Times, October 3, 1928, p. 31Nick LucasAugust 22, 1897July 28, 1982AmericanSinger and guitarist.Sam Lucas1850January 5, 1916AmericanMinstrel, actor, singer and comedian. He and his wife were among the first African-Americans to play vaudeville.
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