Charles Rogers & Co - 'The Ice Man'

Prior to his time spent at Hal Roach Studios Charles Rogers had, like many staff at the studio, previously been a member of a successful vaudeville troupe. This vaudeville troupe was his own, and was named Charles Rogers & Co.

Whilst I've yet to find any photographs of the troupe or any of their acts, and whilst the script itself seems unfortunately lost to time, I have been able to piece together from reviews what their acts consisted of.

In this post, I'll be delving into an act called 'The Ice Man' - which Charles Rogers & Co were touring across the USA throughout the 1920's. This is the act that Rogers has been mostly associated with by fellow Roach and Laurel and Hardy historians - and so it's actually where much of my own research into Rogers began!

In this very large advertisement (and review) for 'The Ice Man' in Variety, published in March 1922, the act is described as being a 'distinct novelty comedy hit' directed by vaudeville all-rounder Eddie Riley.

In this review (from a February 1922 issue of Variety), a synopsis of 'The Ice Man' is given. The plot for the act follows two prohibition officers ('Napoleon' presumably being Rogers, based on the physical descriptions of the men) in disguise as icemen investigating suspicions that there is alcohol being brewed and stored in the cellar of a house.  A 1923 Variety review establishes that Rogers was the main comic in the act, and that he is 'assisted' by his fellow performers.

From the 1922 review we can also get a clear sense of some of the physical comedy performed by within the piece, with Rogers 'bearing the beast of burden of the duo, carting his tall colleague in on the ice cart and doing the dirty business of every phase of their common pursuit' before the colleague 'greedily inhales the gasoline under the wrong impression'. One could say it vaguely resembles the Laurel and Hardy dynamic of a smaller, somewhat bullied character being made to bear the brunt of a situation/routine by a larger, bossier character only for the bossier character to later get a form of comeuppance. Perhaps this aided in Rogers in his work with Laurel and Hardy!

Further reviews detail that Rogers 'does a lot of mugging that can get across in any language' (Variety, Dec 1923),  that Rogers stood out as a 'good funster' and that the skit consisted of 'many comedy situations and lines' (Billboard, May 1924). This review also establishes a vague image of what the performers looked like, explaining that the two men were in 'tramp makeup'. Another Variety review from November 1923 describes the act as having 'a pretty set'.

One question that does unfortunately still remain is - who were the other performers? As Rogers was married by this time to fellow performer Irene Bell, who he had previously co-starred with on several occasions, it's fair to assume she assumes the role of the maid - but the male co-star remains at this time a mystery - although I will keep searching!

What isn't a mystery is how successful the act was - in March 1924, it is mentioned in a Billboard review that the act was 'so well known that a description would be superfluous', and that it remained 'enjoyable as ever' with audiences.

Beyond its success as a vaudeville skit, the act was also later filmed. In 1928, both 'The Ice Man' and Rogers' earlier vaudeville skit 'The Movie Mania/The Movie Man' (more on that later!) were adapted as one-reeler talkies. 'The Ice Man' was directed by Archie Mayo (who would later direct 'The Petrified Forest', 'A Night in Casablanca' and 'Svengali'), and was evidently altered from its original plot as it is synopsised as being about 'the wife and the ice man' in The Film Daily. In an ideal world, this film will one day resurface and we'll all be able to see the act that established Rogers as a successful vaudeville comedian.

I will be delving into 'The Movie Mania/The Movie Man' at a later date - as well as a list of the locations in which Charles Rogers & Co performed - perhaps they came to your town! ☺

Researched and written by Holly Foskett