Pokes and Jabbs

Vim Comedies, their predecessor Wizard Comedies and their successor Jaxon Comedies all featured the comedy characters Pokes & Jabbs as their primary comedians. Embodied by Bobby Burns and Walter Stull, the acrobat and the man in plaid led a group of comedians including Oliver “Babe” Hardy, Billy Ruge, Myers & Theby, Kate Price and Marcel Perez in making some very funny films. These slapstick one–reelers were shot primarily in Jacksonville, Florida and Providence, Rhode Island. POKES & JABBS take a look at how Vim was created from the ashes of Wizard and how it morphed into Jaxon, and the films those studios made. It is a story repeated many times in early film history of a studio that was quickly created and with even more speed disappeared.

Published 2022. 7x10 hardcover, 480 pages.