The Triumphant Return of Vaudeville Smith

In 1982, Bret Mixon was a student working on a short film eventually titled The Triumphant Return of Vaudeville Smith. For this project, he enlisted the aid of his brother, Bart J. Mixon (at the time, a fledgling makeup artist) to create an effective wristcutting gag. For another scene, Bret contrived a plexiglass tennis ball pinwheel that could be attached to the torso and spun -- creating the cartoon illusion of juggling. All of this served the story, which may or may not have been inspired by a short story I may or may not have written. I was asked to create several props, including phony newspaper clippings, which I aged with overlapping creases and a long soak in English Breakfast Tea. When dried, the snippets looked appropriately old and worn. I would love to see them now, nearly thirty years later. I was also asked to create the invitation you see above. That's John Rouse with the bloody wrist. John portrayed the title character. 

The "second feature" was 16 MM print of A Hard Day's Night, projected on a naked apartment wall at earsplitting volume, to the delight of all in attendance and several down the block.

The Triumphant Return of Vaudeville Smith was primarily shot at Houston's first and foremost punk venue, The Island. During daylight hours, Bret had the run of the place. This was a strange and remarkable undertaking at a location which becomes mythical in hindsight. This unprecedented access also gave me the opportunity to write my name on the ladies room wall.

Filming at The Island was a rare experience, but it was not a particularly comfortable shoot. I'm pretty sure we arrived one Sunday morning to find the owner, Phil Hicks, asleep on a pool table. Fresh air did not always move through the building, and the club had a pervasive aroma -- an amalgam of stale beer, disinfectant (or the memory of disinfectant) and sweaty young punks. Often, when walking on Sixth Street, I will experience a sensory flashback, as intermingling blasts of air from several bars combine to create that particular perfume. That's right. It takes the funk of several modern bars to compete with that of this venerable and lamented nightclub.

Bret is in the process of restoring his film, and promises to upload it one day for all mankind. This may require some additional badgering.