The Hokum Brothers
Although some of this narrative may seem like a tall tale, every ounce of our account (and that of our kinfolk) reported here is true. We could add, as a disclaimer, that our great grandfather, Cornelius Hokum professed, “There’s nothing wrong with a little stretching here and there if-in your story is mostly true. A sprinkling of embellishment should never be restrained if used to avoid boredom.”
Cornelius Hokum
We share our experiences through our music, and write about things that matter most: friends, family, and the knowing that good can be found everywhere. Grandma Hokum, used to say, “Recognize the best in the people around you, and recognize that the good you see in others is also in you!”
Grandma Hokum
Ninety-seven-year-old Great Aunt Tilly Hokum, a vaudeville contortionist and humorist, claimed, “Attending a Hokum Bros show is like stumbling upon a long- forgotten place.” Tilly suffered from memory loss, and said that without trying to be funny.
Great Aunt Tilly Hokum
Hokum showbiz linage dates back even further than vaudeville. Ira & Gertrude Hokum worked in the music halls of Dublin and Belfast in the mid 1800s. The family tree includes a circus aerialist named “Cleopatra,” and a side-show strongman named “Hercules.”
Ira & Gertrude Hokum
Aunt Millie played fiddle in a skittle band. Grandmother Flossie was a knife thrower’s assistant on the Chautauqua tour, playing to mostly religious folk and educated audiences. She had razor sharp knives thrown around by her by the “Slinging Southpaw” while strapped to a spinning board, blindfolded! The “Southpaw”not Millie.
Flossie Hokum
When we’re not performing and far away from the rancor of night clubs and musical halls, we put on our pants one sleeve at a time like everyone else. But when the room becomes electric and the curtain goes up, we are enigmatically, The Hokum Brothers.
WOODY
* Woody is studying to be a ventriloquist.
* Favorite Beatle: George.
* Favorite sport: Spoon balancing on his nose.
UNCLE AL
* Uncle Al is the only Hokum Brother
whoever met the Beatles.
* Favorite Sport: Pond Hockey
* Favorite Vaudevillian: W.C. Fields
COUSIN GUS
* Gus studied to be an astrophysicist at
Cornell, but decided on a career in
music instead.
* Was once a mattress tester for a
nationwide bedding company.
* Can play the clarinet and tenor
sax at the same time.
OTHER FUN FACTS
* We’re not actually brothers. Woody is cousin to Gus and the nephew of Uncle Al.
* Cousin Gus’s other nephew, Cedar, is Woody’s kid brother. Cedar tunes up with The Hokum Brothers on special occasions.
*Collectively the brothers resume includes: Over 35 feature films, four Broadway musicals, Lincoln Center, Berlin’s Wintergarten, Caesar’s Palace, Le Plu Grande Cabaret du Monde (Paris), Chineese Comedy Festival on CCTV, Beijing, China, Tanglewood, and the Rolling Stones Canadian tour.
