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Women seeking the vote had already become comic fodder by the time Variety began publishing in 1905. But gags about suffrage gave way to showbiz support as the women’s vote crept closer to reality. The 19th amendment was finally signed into law Aug. 26, 1920, 78 years after the first women’s rights convention in this country and 144 years after the Declaration of Independence asserted that all men are created equal.

Looking back on this 100th year anniversary, there was plenty of resistance to the notion of women voting, and those tensions animated the entertainment community along with the rest of society.

Around the time that Variety began publishing Stateside, U.K. media coined the term suffragette, and the lighter, more dismissive sobriquet quickly gained traction in entertainment circles. In 1908, Harry Houdini employed suffragettes in his stage act, Variety reported. And early film star Charlie Chaplin donned drag for the first time on...