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Ken Murray's "Blackouts"

"Ken Murray's Blackouts" played the Hollywood Playhouse, 1735 Vine St., at a time the theatre was known as the El Capitan. The one on Hollywood Blvd. had been renamed the Paramount in 1942. Various editions of "Blackouts" began in 1942 and ran for seven years and 3,844 performances.



A program for Ken Murray's "Blackouts of 1942" from the collection of Marlaine Hysell. 



The reverse side of the 1942 program.



A 1944 ad from Playgoer magazine appearing in the the Paper Ephemera collection of Eric Lynxwiler on Flickr.  Thanks, Eric!

 

A 1945 L.A. Times nightlife ad from Kliph Nesteroff on the Facebook page Vintage Los Angeles. In the middle, we get the El Capitan touting "Ken Murray's Blackouts of '45.



The cover of the program for "Blackouts of 1947" from the Cezar Del Valle Collection. 



Page two of the "Blackouts of 1947" program.



Page three of the "Blackouts of 1947" program.



Page four of the "Blackouts of 1947" program.



Page five of the "Blackouts of 1947" program.



Page six of the "Blackouts of 1947" program.

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2 comments:

  1. AnonymousApril 30, 2024 at 4:24 PM

    Ken Murray's Blackouts represented the last vestiges of the Vaudeville format outside of the Burlesque comics still active in the 1960's. It was so popular that it ran through the entire 1949's. It's great to see some of the acts pictured in these programs.

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  2. AnonymousMay 14, 2024 at 5:46 PM

    My mother recently passed away, and I came across a couple of “Blackouts” programs while going through her memorabilia. Mom went to Burbank High, where she was in drama and a cappella choir, so I assume she must have attended a few of these programs while still a student. Even though she had a lifelong love of musical theater and passed this love down to her six children, I had never heard of “Blackouts,” so I decided to look it up, and voila!
    I love the internet sometimes.

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