Shopping Center Show 1976

1976 was a busy year for us. I was in the middle of my first year at USC, we did the first Ice Capades show, the family did a bicentennial tour of the country, and my Dad was promoting shopping center entertainment using the portable stage he had designed for the Christmas shows we did a few years before. I was not a part of the current show since I was at school, but as you can see in these pictures my brother Kirk fulfilled the family obligations by assisting on stage.

This is a shot of the fast opening that was a stock part of the show. My Dad did a dozen or so effects in a two to three minute prelude to interacting with the audience and beginning the main part of the entertainment. I suspect this was a technique he picked up on while working with Blackstone. The girl in this shot is Connie Keeler, she and her husband worked with my folks frequently in big shows we did in the 60's and seventies. I'm sure I will have some more shots of them in future posts. I was out of the loop on this one, she contacted me and I was able to plug in the right info.

This is a shot of the guillotine routine that was also a standard in my Dad's show. He could do seven to ten minutes of comedy and audience interaction with this prop. usually my Mom, and another assistant (my brother or I) were on stage during the bit. Each had a little comedy gag that was part of the act. This is a Lester Lake style head chopper that looks terrific in black, chrome and red. This is one of the props from my Dad's vast collection that I have held on to.