Vi Childs & DarbyEst. Buckley, WA

The photographs

About sixty
surviving frames

Character portraits shot in the bar, publicity stills, Darby’s solo promo shots, and the 737 Main Pub itself. Almost all of it photographed in the same room, against the wall of hand-lettered signs customers kept bringing her.

Vi & Darby
Vi & DarbyThe formal look — striped vests and rhinestone bow ties.
Twenty-four faces
Twenty-four facesVi’s own promotional sheet. The index to the entire act.
The wall
The wallHand-lettered signs, joke plaques and hats, strung across the ceiling.
737 Main
737 MainThe pub under the gold sign. Vi and Robert lived upstairs.
The Cowboy
The CowboyCowboy hat, glasses, moustache, a beer in one hand.
Barnacle Bill
Barnacle BillOne of the recurring characters.
The Clown
The ClownFull comic makeup and wig.
The Chicken
The ChickenA character she returned to for years.
The Vampire
The VampireLater assembled into its own long-form segment.
The Rocker
The RockerWig, shades, attitude.
Darby — promo
Darby — promoDarby’s own publicity still, from her solo residencies.
Darby on stage
Darby on stagePlaying guitar and singing, before the duo act.
Darby — photoshoot
Darby — photoshootStudio portrait.
Anchorage TV Guide
Anchorage TV GuideCover billing: six weeks at the Captain Cook Hotel.
“Knockers”
“Knockers”A character from the old website still unidentified. If you know her, tell us.
Buckley, Washington
Buckley, WashingtonMain Street, a logging town of 3,200 people.
The duo
The duoMother and daughter, comic and straight man.
The composite above is the whole act in one frame. Vi used this sheet as her own promotional material, captioned simply VI ···· CHILDS. Two characters on it are still unnamed — if you recognise them, we would like to know.