James "Buster" West (31 March 1901 – 19 March 1966) was an American dancer and actor who was a featured performer in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

, the Broadway stage,

motion pictures A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

. West was known as being one of those performers who was "born in a suitcase", as his father John West and mother were both vaudeville performers and he performed with them as a child.

Career

Buster West achieved success in

and the legitimate stage as an eccentric dancer, achieving his breakthrough in the Broadway musical revue George White's Scandals of 1926. One of the stars of that show was another eccentric dancer,

Tom Patricola Tom Patricola (January 22, 1891 – January 1, 1950) was an American actor, comic and dancer who starred in vaudeville and motion pictures. Born in New Orleans, Patricola established his fame as a hoofer, becoming a leading interpreter of the Bla ...

, with whom West would star in short comedies made by the

Educational Film Corporation of America Educational Pictures, also known as Educational Film Exchanges, Inc. or Educational Films Corporation of America, was an American film production and film distribution company founded in 1916 by Earle (E. W.) Hammons (1882–1962). Educational pr ...

, one of the lower-tier production companies in the film industry's

Poverty Row Poverty Row is a slang term used to refer to Hollywood films produced from the 1920s to the 1950s by small (and mostly short-lived) B movie studios. Although many of them were based on (or near) today's Gower Street in Hollywood, the term did n ...

. Though he made his film debut as himself in a cameo in ''Broadway After Dark'' (1924), the bulk of his movie career was spent in shorts made between 1929 and 1938. He made only one more film, in 1949. West's television career consisted of two appearances as a dancer on '' The Frank Sinatra Show'' in 1951, and appeared in single episodes on ''

Alfred Hitchcock Presents ''Alfred Hitchcock Presents'' is an American television anthology series created, hosted and produced by Alfred Hitchcock, aired on CBS and NBC between 1955 and 1965. It features dramas, thrillers and mysteries. Between 1962 and 1965 it was ren ...

'' and ''

The Lucy Show ''The Lucy Show'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from 1962 to 1968. It was Lucille Ball's follow-up to ''I Love Lucy''. A significant change in cast and premise for the fourth season (1965–1966) divides the program into two distinct ...

'' in the 1960s. In 1944, he co-starred with Jackie Gleason in the musical ''

Follow the Girls ''Follow the Girls'' is a musical with a book by Guy Bolton, Eddie Davis and Fred Thompson and music and lyrics by Dan Shapiro, Milton Pascal, and Phil Charig. A major wartime hit in both New York City and London, its thin plot about a burlesque ...

'', a smash hit that ran for 888 performances. His next (and last) Broadway appearance was in another smash, ''

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his c ...

'', when he replaced

Eddie Foy Jr. Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. (February 4, 1905 – July 15, 1983), known professionally as Eddie Foy Jr., was an American stage, film, and television actor. Early life Edwin Fitzgerald Jr. was born on February 4, 1905, in New Rochelle, New York, the ...

in one of the leads.

Personal life

West was married to the acrobatic dancer and film actress Lucille Page, with whom he appeared with in vaudeville in ''Berdell and Wellington'' and in the short ''Moonlight and Melody'' (1935). Lucille died in 1964, while Buster died in 1966 from brain cancer. He was buried at

Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) Forest Lawn Memorial Park – Hollywood Hills is one of the six Forest Lawn cemeteries in Southern California. It is located at 6300 Forest Lawn Drive, Los Angeles, California 90068, in the Hollywood Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. Histor ...

in the

Hollywood Hills The Hollywood Hills are a residential neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Geography The Hollywood Hills straddle the Cahuenga Pass within the Santa Monica Mountains. The neighborhood touches Studio City, Univer ...

neighborhood of Los Angeles, California.

References

External links

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Publicity photo of Lucille Page
{{DEFAULTSORT:West, Buster 1901 births 1966 deaths American male dancers American male film actors American male television actors Vaudeville performers American male stage actors Male actors from Pennsylvania 20th-century American male actors Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Hollywood Hills) 20th-century American dancers