The Library of Congress has reached into its holdings to add a wonderful exhibit on popular culture to its well known American Memory collection. American Variety Stage includes at present English and Yiddish language playscripts, theatre playbills and programs, over 60 movies, and photographs and memorabilia about Harry Houdini, the famous magician and escape artist. As befits the LOC, these...

One of the most enduring legends of American film, stage, and screen receives an excellent tribute on this online exhibit from the Library of Congress, dealing with his 70 year career, and more broadly, the enduring legacy and history of vaudeville in the United States. Different sections of the site include an essay on the early life of Bob Hope, the story of American vaudeville in the first...