Floyd Buster Shaver began his career as a chorus boy for Busby Berkeley in 1923, a choreographer for the famed Schuberts, and the promoter of "The Black Bottom," a dance in the Roaring Twenties that replaced The Charleston in popularity.
Shaver went on to develop Tiny Town Review, in 1927, with talented midget performers, siblings Olive and George Brasno, that became Buster Shaver and Olive and George, one of the world's most popular acts in the 1930s. Their success lead to many films including Little Miss Broadway with Shirley Temple, and Carnival, with Lucille Ball.
In the 1940s, their continued success landed them on Broadway in Are You With It? and in early television, including The Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle, and The Colgate Comedy Hour with Abbott and Costello in 1952.
After a brief retirement, Shaver reemerged as a songwriter for crooner Margaret Whiting, and had a hit "I Kiss You A Million Times," in 1956.
His final performance was in 1983 as an inductee in the Variety Arts Hall of Fame in Los Angeles, where he and Olive Brasno performed for the last time.
That's Show Biz! was written in the 1980s and '90s. It is an autobiography of a bygone era, with help from Shaver's grandson, Perry Kane. Unlike most books in the 21st century on Vaudeville and early show business, it is a firsthand account and historically, most likely the last of its kind.
