Harry Steppe

Encyclopedia : H : HA : HAR : Harry Steppe

Promotional image for Harry Steppe and His Big Show

Promotional image of Harry, dressed as a sailor and snacking on bananas

Harry Steppe (Abraham Stepner, March 1888 – November 22, 1934, at Bellevue Hospital in New York, New York) was a Jewish-American actor, comedian and hobo clown who worked in Vaudeville and Burlesque. Harry coined such terms as "Razzle Dazzle," "Top Banana" (the headliner or top act on the bill), and "Second Banana." As one of Bud Abbott's first partners, Harry introduced Bud to Lou Costello in 1934.

A Russian immigrant born to Orthodox Jewish parents, Harry was often billed as a Hebrew or Jewish-dialect comedian. His gags and skits were also performed by such well-known comedians as Phil Silvers, The Three Stooges, and Abbott and Costello. Harry penned the "Pokomoko" (aka Niagara Falls) Routine ("Slowwwwly I turned, step by step, inch by inch...")," which was eventually performed by

The Three Stooges in the movie "Gents Without Cents" (1944)
Abbott and Costello in the movie "Lost in a Harem" (1944)
Lucille Ball in the TV Show, "I Love Lucy" (1951), Season #1, Episode #19

Later on, Phil Silvers further popularized the term "Top Banana" in his 1954 film of the same name.

External links

[Google Book Search] "Lou's on First: The Tragic Life of Hollywood's Greatest Clown Warmly Recounted by His Youngest Child," by Chris Costello, St. Martin's Griffin, 1982, pg.23, cites Harry as creator of the famous "Lemon Bit." ISBN 0312499140.
[Newspaper Articles Mentioning Harry Steppe]
[Gaiety Theater Study Report], Boston Landmarks Commission, City of Boston, pg. 51, cites Harry as performing in the stage show "Harry Steppe's OK" (1926)
[Bananas in Entertainment], cites Harry as originator of "Top Banana."

From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.