– 1913 – 1938 –
Dan and Jay’s Comedy-Hour

In the late nineteenth century, there could be found among Vaudevillians a certain lax attitude as regarded what might be known today as “joke thievery.” Indeed, many popular comedy acts of the time could be seen as amalgams of the successful routines of other contemporaneous groups or one-person acts. This was seen as a surefire route to, if not success, a meal or two in the waning days of a tired act. When Dan and Jay, Those Hilarious Two started noticing their bits being claimed by others, it didn’t at first seem to be a problem. It wasn’t cutting into their bottom line, so why not let a new act or two come up with a little help. So grew acts like The Mesmer Triplets and Floating John the Priapist, who used a few Dan and Jay bits to color otherwise dull portions of their acts – usually in the form of stage patter.