Cassette 1 (30 min. per side). Mr. Capps discusses his family background, particularly his father Kendall Capps and his various performance acts; defines eccentric dancing; describes the variety of acts that comprised a typical vaudeville show; and comments on various performers, particularly those that influenced him.
Cassette 2 (30 min. per side). Mr. Capps discusses further his father and early performing experiences with him and others; attending Professional Children's School; being filmed for A day at the races with the Marx Brothers and later having his scene cut; other work and people he met as a child; leaving the act he had with his father; studying music; working with Buster West; different aspects of his education; enlisting in the army; getting serious about music; and studying with Joseph Schillinger and Arnold Schoenberg.
Cassette 3 (30 min. per side). Mr. Capps describes going to England in 1931 and opening the New Victoria Theatre; his love of performing in England; origins of eccentric dance; history of burlesque; differences between vaudeville and burlesque; the status of different show business genres; the influence of eccentric dance on other genres; and comments on the variety of performers he has met or seen.
Local Note
Preservation master cassettes: *MGZTCO 3-2038.
Archival transcript: *MGZMTO 3-2038.
Interview funded by the National Initiative to Preserve American Dance (NIPAD)
