J. FRED COOTS - PROGRAM SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: ARTHUR TRACY, ALICE WEAVER - HFSID 18430

J. FRED COOTS, ARTHUR TRACY and ALICE WEAVER
Coots, Tracy and Weaver all sign this undated program for the Ziegfield Radio Follies Stars from the Mosque Theatre in Richmond, Virginia. Tracy was a performer on this show, while Coots is listed as assisting the show.
Program signed: "Arthur Tracy" by Tracy in pencil, "Alice Weaver" by Weaver in blue ink and "J. Fred Coots" by Coots in blue ink on cover. 4 pages, 5¾x8¾, one sheet folded front and verso. Richmond, Virginia, no year. Program for an appearance by Ziegfield Radio Follies Stars (Eddie Dowling, Ray Dooley and Arthur Tracy are listed) at the Mosque Theatre. Coots is mentioned on inside page as assisting. The program, which primarily consists of advertisements, also mentions dances and a stage band, Kaminsky's Serenaders (under the direction of J. Kaminsky), as well as performances by the Richmond Symphony Orchestra with guest artists from Nov. 28 to Jan. 3. In 1934, COOTS (1897-1985, born in New York City) wrote the music and Haven Gillespie wrote the lyrics to Santa Claus is Coming To Town for Eddie Cantor to sing on his radio show. The song was an instant success, selling four million copies of sheet music and later inspiring an animated special featuring the voice of Fred Astaire. In 1998, Coots' holiday classic was ranked second on ASCAP's "Top 25 Holiday Season Songs", and the tune has been featured in numerous films. The prolific Coots wrote over 700 other songs during his career, including music for Broadway shows, Cotton Club revues (with lyricist Benny Davis) and Hollywood films. He had a hit in 1938 with You Go to My Head (also with Gillespie). The songwriter and vaudeville and nightclub performer was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1972. TRACY (1899-1997, born Abba Avram Tracovutsky in Kamianets-Podilskyi, Russian Empire) was one of the biggest recording stars in both the U.S. and Great Britain in the 1930s and 1940s. Known as "The Street Singer", Tracy, who had once sung for pennies on the streets of Philadelphia, had one of his biggest hits with "Pennies From Heaven" (other hit tunes include "Roses of Picardy" and "It's A Sin to Tell a Lie"). The Street Singer was also the title of his radio show (1931) and a feature film (1937) in which he appeared. A star of vaudeville, Tracy also co-starred on radio with such greats as Groucho Marx, Jack Benny and Bing Crosby, and he headlined at the London Palladium. Tracy also appeared in several feature films, including Limelight (1936), Follow Your Star (1938) and Crossing Delancey (1988). WEAVER, a dancer with the Greenwich Village Follies, appeared in several films, including Sandra (1924), Reckless (1935), Swing, Sister Swing (1938) and The Fleet's In (1942). Lightly creased and soiled. Light stain at lower right margin front cover. Diagonally cut at corners. Small tears along spine. Otherwise, fine condition.