The Remarkable Career of Frederic La Delle: From 1884 - 1917

Frederick Clifford Kirkpatrick (stage name, Frederic La Delle) had a remarkable career not only as a circus performer, magician and vaudeville performer but also as an author and mentor to many aspiring entertainers. His groundbreaking 60 page treatise “A Complete Illustrated Course of Instruction” How to Enter Vaudeville published in 1913 is on permanent display at the “Bob Hope Gallery of American Entertainment” exhibit at the Jefferson Building of the U. S. Library of Congress. Based upon his unpublished autobiography Memories of an Old Circus Trouper, historical research and interviews with those who knew him, his granddaughter Eleanor Swift has stitched together an engaging and fact filled biographical portrait of Frederic and his family’s stage careers from 1884 through 1917. The book presents a historical view of the inner workings of the circus and vaudeville circuits seen through the eyes of a respected showman and successful purveyor of his unique curriculum of show business education.