"She Doesn't" (1925) Dedicated to Buster and Brown Eyes

[Rollo Treadway]

A 1925 song, featuring a still of the dedicatees, stars of Go West, on the sheet music cover, with some very interesting composer credits: Lyrics by Walter Winchell, relatively new in the newspaper column game, music by Jimmy Durante and Chick Endor. Durante of course would be teamed with Keaton in MGM talkies, beginning in 1932.

As for the other composer, Chick Endor, I have next to no information. Any details would be welcome. I gather that he was a familiar name on Broadway as both performer and songwriter. Several archive recordings can be found online, and The Ziegfeld Follies of 1931 are among his songwriter credits.

Also, it would be nice to hear a recording of "She Doesn't" if there is one around.

[Rollo Treadway]

Chick Endor 's recording of "Singin' in the Bathtub" from Warner Brothers' Show of Shows, parodying the hit song from MGM's Hollywood Revue of 1929 (which featured Buster and another of his future MGM co-stars, Cliff "Ukulele Ike" Edwards).

[Rick Lanham]

Chick Endor appears to have been born Charles Knapton Jr.



http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cg ... =124020387

http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/t ... enor_vocal" target="_blank

Rick

[Rollo Treadway]

Rick, thanks for the added info. The fact that Endor had been in a team with Charles Farrell naturally got me curious, but it was evidently not the same C.F. we know as the silver screen heart-throb and frequent leading man for Janet Gaynor.

From the Hollywood Filmograph in 1934, an ad presenting the team of Chick Endor and Chas. Farrell:

[Rick Lanham]

The fact that Endor had been in a team with Charles Farrell naturally got me curious, but it was evidently not the same C.F. we know as the silver screen heart-throb and frequent leading man for Janet Gaynor.

Ah, that fooled me, and I didn't look anything up on that.

Rick

[Rick Lanham]

Also:

[Gumlegs]

Let the search go on: http://honkingduck.com/discography/artist/varsity_eight

Song titles are alphabetical.

[Rollo Treadway]

Rick and Gumlegs, a belated thank you both for the clips and musical leads!

Many recordings by the intriguing Varsity Eight can be found on reissues and online, but as far as I could tell, "She Doesn't" is not among those.

Another Varsity Eight disc with a Keaton connection, this was recorded the year before Steamboat Bill, Jr.:



By coincidence, this recording ends with an exclamation in a high-pitched "Mickey Mouse" voice, uncannily prefiguring Mickey's debut in Steamboat Willie (also 1928)!

The song "Steamboat Bill" is also related to "Casey Jones" (who is name-checked in the lyrics). Here's the beautiful final scene of Buster Keaton Rides Again with his rendition of the latter tune.