MADEIRA BEACH – Who’s on first at National Comedy Hall of Fame?
Abbott and Costello – “naturally” – are in the limelight at the new museum, which is located at John’s Pass Village.
An exhibit on the comedy team seems to be the most popular one at the museum, which has been open for almost a month, said Tony Belmont, president.
One of the rare exhibits is a recording of “Who’s on First” in its entirety, Belmont said, and children love it.
The museum has 2,700 feet of exhibits, posters, plaques and memorabilia tracing the history of comedy from ancient Greece to the contemporary era.
A rack containing informational placards on famous comedians is being expanded almost daily.
“We will have almost 800 biographies by the time we are through,” said Belmont, who lives in Seminole.
As visitors start their tour through the museum, they will encounter information about Thomas Wignell, called the father of American comedy, who performed on the streets of colonial America.
“He would give you an act for a shilling or a beer,” Belmont said. “He preferred the beer.”
There are more than 450 exhibits in the museum representing a variety of areas of comedy, including theater, stand-up, vaudeville, radio, film and television.
“Business is doing fine,” Belmont said. “It’s picking up very quickly.”
John’s Pass Village was selected for the museum because of the amount of tourists that come to the area. Belmont said the St. Petersburg Pier had been considered as a site for the museum, but he couldn’t get cooperation from city officials.
“The Pier management wanted us,” he said.
The Hall of Fame will have a grand opening soon at a date to be announced later.
“I wanted to feel comfortable that there will be no technical difficulties,” he said.
Belmont is expecting to bring the leading members of the cast of the Dick Van Dyke Show, a popular 1960s sit-com, for induction into the Hall of Fame this fall.
Jackie Gleason, who was inducted into the Comedy Hall of Fame in 2006, joined Lucille Ball, Bill Cosby, Jack Benny, Milton Berle, Flip Wilson, Richard Pryor and many others.
Also in the museum is the original marionette of Howdy Doody, used in a 1950s television show. The cast of the Howdy Doody Show also featured Bob Smith as Buffalo Bob Smith and Bob Keeshan as Clarabelle Hornblow. A jacket worn by Red Skelton when he performed Freddie the Freeloader in 1977 at Carnegie Hall also in encased in a glass display at the museum.
Belmont developed a passion for comedy as a rock concert promoter, he said.
“When you did concerts, you had comedians open up for you,” he said.
His favorite comedian is Irwin Corey, whose slogan is the “the World’s Foremost Authority.” “Professor” Corey, 92, sporting stringy disheveled hair in his acts, has been called a cultural clown and a parody of literacy.
“He looks like a madman,” Belmont said.
The museum is a nonprofit corporation. Its mission is to provide visitors with an educational and entertaining history of comedy. Belmont said the museum is officially recognized as the only comedy hall of fame in the United States, Canada and England by the Smithsonian Institute, Library of Congress and other organizations. For information, call 319-0666.
Belmont is seeking more sponsors for exhibits and donations. He said all contributions have come from private businesses.
He expressed frustration that a Central Florida dinner show has received $2 million from the state and he has not received any government support.
