JAMES R. WATERS “THE HEBREW AND ITALIAN COMEDIAN” LARGE THEATRICAL PORTRAIT PHOTO

Item #1664

Large mounted theatrical portrait photograph of James R. Waters, boldly captioned “The Hebrew and Italian Comedian.” Waters was known for ethnic character comedy routines on the vaudeville, burlesque, and legitimate theater stages, and his career reportedly included international appearances in England and Australia. He was especially associated with Jewish and Italian comic roles, including portrayals such as Abe Potash in Potash and Perlmutter.

Waters later became known to radio audiences as Jake Goldberg on Gertrude Berg’s long-running program The Goldbergs; UCLA’s radio archive identifies James R. Waters in the cast as Jake Goldberg.

The image shows Waters in stage makeup and bowler hat, peering dramatically from inside a trunk or prop chest. A wonderful large-format theatrical / vaudeville portrait with strong Jewish-American entertainment history interest.

Measures about 11" x 14" overall. Mounted photograph with printed paper caption label at bottom. The mount has edge and corner wear, toning, light soiling, and general age wear; image has some fading/silvering and surface wear, but remains very displayable.

Price: $300.00