General Observation

[j.sabourn]

I know the first one, never heard of the second one. However with names like Rivers and Bridges reminds me of who came first the chicken or the egg. Could say "Rivers runs under Bridges" or "Bridges span Rivers" or maybe they both should go in the box for unwanted Comediennes and Comedians, see how politically correct I am. Cappy alias Ned Kelly is still trying to figure out what Scottish comedians he knows, probably thinks Jimmy Shand was, in a way I suppose he was as used to visit Whitley Bay every year, maybe it was him Brian was after, anything in a skirt would do. Cheers John Sabourn

[alf corbyn]

you are really digging deep now on comedy. bring back george formby and ethel revnell.

[j.sabourn]

Or the crooners and spooners, In a shady nook, Donald Peers. John Sabourn

[robpage]

I have vague memories of the actual Sanddancers , on , as John Sabourn said , Black and White TV .

Wilson, Keppel and Betty formed a popular British music hall act in the middle decades of the 20th century. They capitalised on the fashion for Ancient Egyptian imagery following the discovery of the tomb of Tutankhamun. The "sand dance" that formed the highlight of their act was a parody of postures from Egyptian tomb paintings, combined with references to Arabic costume. The lithe and extremely lanky Wilson and Keppel, who wore long mustaches and make-up to emphasise the sharp angularity of the features and make them appear almost identical, demonstrated their impressive suppleness in adopting wild gestures and dancing in identical "stereo" movements, while Betty watched their antics. The dance itself was a soft-shoe routine performed on a layer of sand spread on the stage to create a rhythmic scratching with their shuffling feet. The act was usually performed to the familiar Egyptian Ballet (1875), by Alexandre Luigini.


Jack Wilson (29 January 1894 – 24 August 1970), was born in Liverpool in England, and emigrated to the USA at a young age, making his stage debut in 1909 as a high-kicking dancer. He then travelled to Australia, where he joined Colleano's Circus. During the First World War Wilson served with the Royal Navy. Returning to Australia after the war, he met Joe Keppel (10 May 1895–1977), who was born in County Cork in Ireland. Like Wilson, Keppel had emigrated to the USA at a young age, and in 1910 made his stage debut in Albany as a tap dancer. During the First World War he served in the Royal Flying Corps, and after making his way to Australia, also joining Colleano's Circus, where he teamed up with Jack Wilson.

Travelling to the USA together they appeared in New York in 1919 as a comedy acrobatic and tap dancing act. They started their trio act with Kansas-born Betty Knox at Des Moines in Iowa in 1928. Knox had been a stage partner of Jack Benny. The act came to Britain to appear at the London Palladium for a few weeks in 1932 and stayed permanently. Over the years there were between 8 and 12 'Bettys', most of these appearing during the act's later years: Betty Knox retired from the act in 1941 to go into journalism, becoming a war correspondent during the Second World War,and reporting on the Nuremberg Trials for three years as a correspondent for the London Evening Standard.[3] She was among the first to report the suicide of Hermann Göring Her daughter, Patsy, (born 1924 in Salina, Kansas), took over as 'Betty' in 1941, staying with the act until 1950. The trio, in its various line-ups, appeared at the Royal Variety Performance in 1934, 1945 and 1947.

Their "Cleopatra's Nightmare" routine was performed in 1936 in Berlin and condemned by Joseph Goebbels as indecent. In the UK they were regarded as one of the best 'speciality acts' – acts designed to balance and support the star of a variety programme. Typically these acts would last about ten minutes, and be repeated twelve times a week (matinee and evening performance, every day except Sunday) in variety theatres all over the country. A fine example of the "Cleopatra's Nightmare" routine can be seen in the Harold Baim film 'Starlight Serenade". In 1950 they appeared at the London Palladium on the same bill as Frank Sinatra. They toured all over the world, performing at shows in London, Europe, Las Vegas, India, the Far East and Near East, Australia, Scandinavia and South Africa. They finally retired in 1963.

But for the fans try http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OMZJf5x6QKs