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"BIOGRAPHY
OF BILL TALENT"
Vincent
Coughlin, better known as Bill Talent to jugglers and other show
people, was born in
Sioux City, Iowa, April 5, 1893. His brother, Jack,
taught him to juggle three oranges. Seeing jugglers at an qld 10
and 20 cent theater, he copied them and their tricks and a
couple years later he had a routine.
At
the age of 17, he contacted the Havelocks, and after seeing him
juggle, they promised to send for him, which they did two years
later. In 1912, he became a member of the Havelocks. Wallace
Havelock was one of the famous Agoust Family. As the Havelocks,
they played the Keith circuit and other leading theaters in the
east.
In
the early part of 1914, Wallace reorganized the Agoust Family
act consisting of five people - Emile, Wallace, Mrs. Havelock,
Max and Talent. They played the Lew Fields' Music Hall and a
Broadwsy show for the Shuberts.
The
family act broke up in 1915. Max and Bill put an act
together calling it Les Augusts, using Billy DeArmo and his wife
and Max and Talent. This act lasted about
a year.
Max
and Bill did a two-act show called Vincent and Maxime, also
using the name of
Agoust and Agoust. They did all the tricks the family did but
only by two people.
After
being hospitalized with pneumonia, Bill went into the army and
served overseas
with the 359th Infantry. He was discharged June 10, 1918, and
teamed with Gene Winchester, working under the name of Vincent
Redford and Gene Winchester and playing the Keith circuit,
Interstate time, Orpheum circuit, and Independent time.
Then
BiII met and married Flo Merit
and formed the act of Merit and Coughlin. Later,
they changed the name to Talent and Merit and played everything
in show business until 1935. His wife's
illness forced him to do a single. (The above was condensed and
edited from the original version by Lane Blumenthal)
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