Video footage of Lucius Beebe is incredibly scarce to find today. It's not that it didn't exist or that he wasn't on television or the newsreels. As a celebrity of the 1930s through the 1960s, he absolutely was included in several newsreels and later in television shows. But much of it has not been digitized and published online. And because of his relative obscurity today, he's not identified in some of the videos that do exist online.
But thankfully for us, just in time for Easter weekend, I've stumbled upon two clips of Beebe at the Easter Parade in New York City from 1936. The clips are from an NBC live broadcast (which was cutting-edge technology in '36!) and are part of the Sherman Grindberg Film Library archive.
The Easter Parade of New York City an honored tradition going back to the 1870s. Even today people don their Easter Sunday best for the occasion.
And of course, Beebe's sartorial splendor was a focal point of many an Easter Parade in the 1930s.
Later, in 1944, Beebe & the Easter Parade would be immortalized in big band leader Kay Kyser's song "Mr. Beebe" as heard in Kyser's Hollywood film "Carolina Blues".
The song's chorus features the lyrics, "Mr. Beebe, bring the Easter Parade to Lennox Avenue!" (And, of course the incredible dancing of Harold Nicholas, one half of the legendary Nicholas Brothers tap dance duo).
"Mr. Beebe" by Kay Kyser from Carolina Blues (1944) featuring Harold Nicholas
This isn't the video we're all jazzed about but it's too epic to not show and share. Now back to our programming...
But here, in these two videos from NBC's broadcast live on location at the Easter Parade of April 12, 1936, we have Beebe accompanied by actress Suzanne Wilkins.
One clip has clear audio of Beebe speaking and the other has up close, clear footage. Together, they make a rare pair of Beebe footage.
In the first video, though he appears quite small in the wide angle view, Beebe still stands out among the crowd in his shiny top hat and old fashioned cane-toting. Beebe and Wilkins are interviewed by radio announcer George Hicks, who is wearing the transmitter that's making this novel live broadcast possible under his top hat (!).
"George, you look like the well-dressed man from Mars, I should say," Beebe remarks at Hicks' high-tech top hat.
Witness this slice of Beebe, broadcast, New York and fashion history on the Sherman Grindberg Film Library's archive here (link).
The second clip has a closer view of Beebe and broadcaster Hicks in his top hat transmitter. However, the sound is warped on that video. Still, it's equally fascinating because in this one, we get to see in detail his impeccable fashion, especially in comparison with all the pedestrian pedestrians behind him!
The up-close footage with Chipmunk sound reel can be seen here, also via the Sherman Grindberg Film Library's digital archive (link).
(To embed the videos in question for you here on this blog will be a $200 per video endeavor, for a total of $400 to embed both. If anyone would like to be the Daddy Warbucks to our Little Orphan Annie-style of blogging and fund that endeavor, please feel free to email us to set that up. In the meantime, view until your heart's content on the Grindberg Film Library website.)
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