Of American-English origin, the phrase a hard act to follow, also a tough act to follow, designates an impressive person or thing, viewed as being difficult to rival or surpass.
This phrase occurs, for example, in ‘More like a spinach pie’: A dish to unite us all—that’s the flan, anyway, by the British food writer Felicity Cloake, published in The Guardian (London and Manchester, England) of Tuesday 18th April 2023 [page 11, column 1]—the coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as king and queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms, took place on Saturday 6th May 2023 at Westminster Abbey:
Let’s be honest, coronation chicken was always going to be a tough act to follow. Indeed, until I saw a tweet from fellow food writer Sejal Sukhadwala expressing surprise that the “‘official’ coronation recipes” were so “random”, I’d assumed the palace wouldn’t even bother trying to compete with Constance Spry’s 1953 triumph. And then, just before noon, the royal family’s Twitter account casually dropped the coronation quiche into the mix.
The phrase a hard act to follow, also a tough act to follow, is based on a theatrical metaphor alluding to the difficulty faced by an entertainer coming on stage immediately after a popular or successful act.
—Cf. also, with reference to a stage act, the phrase to get one’s act together.
These are, in chronological order, the earliest occurrences that I have found of the phrase a hard act to follow, also a tough act to follow:
1-: From a review of a vaudeville show at the Majestic, in Regina, Saskatchewan, published in The Morning Leader (Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada) of Tuesday 16th January 1912 [Vol. 9, No. 14, page 14, column 3]:
Mr. Walter Rodgers who opens the bill, is a very clever comedian and he has some jokes that make you sit up and take notice. He won his audience from the start by his pleasing personality and could have stayed with them longer had he had the time, but he left the stage at the finish with hosts of friends who sat and laughed heartily at his songs and jokes.
Arlington and Helston scored a decided hit, for they had a hard act to follow. But it did not take long for them to win over the audience, by some of the best dancing seen in Regina.
2-: From the column Amusements, by ‘Philander Johnson’, published in The Sunday Star (Washington, District of Columbia, USA) of Sunday 7th January 1917 [No. 615—No. 29,556; Part 2: page 2, column 1]:
The coincidence so frequently manifest that brings attractions of like character into weekly competition, musical show against musical show and legitimate against legitimate, is wholly averted in this week’s schedule, with “Fair and Warmer” 1 importing from the shores of the Harlem river farcical relief from any too serious mood that may have been induced by the Bard of Avon. Contrast will also be offered by Poli’s 2, where Kate Elinore 3 will divide the week with the Boston Grand Opera Company. Both Kate and the Boston opera are national institutions, each with a loyal, though distinct, following. Fortunately for the opera company, their repertory displays no ambitions in broad comedy. Otherwise Kate would probably be found what is technically known in vaudeville as “a hard act to follow.”
1 Fair and Warmer is a play by the U.S. dramatist Avery Hopwood (1882-1928).
2 At that time, Sylvester Z. Poli (1858-1937) was controlling thirty theatres throughout the Northeastern United States, among which one in Washington, District of Columbia.
3 Kate Elinore (1876-1924) was a U.S. vaudeville entertainer.
3-: From the column “Bugs Bear’s” Breezy Bunk: Two and Three Putting ’Em Across Hot, by the U.S. journalist and humorist Arthur ‘Bugs’ Baer (1886-1969), published in The Bridgeport Telegram (Bridgeport, Connecticut, USA) of Thursday 13th November 1919 [Vol. 28, No. 160, page 10, column 5]:
Benny Leonard 4 may be able to show the West something in fighting, but Geronimo 5 and Wild Bill Hickock 6 are tough acts to follow.
4 Benny Leonard (1896-1947) was a U.S. boxer.
5 Geronimo (1829-1909) was an Apache chief.
6 James Butler Hickok (1837-1876), better known as Wild Bill Hickok, was a U.S. frontiersman.
4-: From a review of a vaudeville show at the Davis, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, published in The Gazette Times (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA) of Tuesday 9th March 1920 [page 10, column 3]:
Patricola 7 is particularly pleasing at the Davis this week. The program refers to her as a “scintillating melodist,” and her winning way of singing character songs, especially those with the Italian and Irish touch, and her excellent artistry on the violin, besides displaying her versatility, prove that she is all that is claimed for her. Vaudevillians, in their parlance or patois, would laud her as “a hard act to follow,” and she was—even for the headline attraction.
7 Isabella Patricola (1888-1965) was an Italian-born U.S. vaudeville singer and entertainer.
5-: From a review of a vaudeville show at Poli’s Theatre in Scranton, Pennsylvania, published in The Scranton Republican (Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA) of Friday 3rd April 1925 [Vol. 131, No. 3, page 12, column 2]:
There is hardly an act in vaudeville that has as many laughs to the second as that of Joe Marks and company in his nonsensical addity [sic], “Then the Fun Began.” […] It is almost impossible to describe a “nut” comedy act, and that’s what Marks and his company is. […]
[…]
Winehall and Briscoe, another “nut” comedy act, sprinkled with some real singing, was another big hit of the program. This pair of chaps are original and their offering went over big. They had a hard act to follow in the Marks’ offering, but at all times had their audiences with them.
6-: From the column The Sportologue, by Dan Walton, published in The Tacoma Sunday Ledger (Tacoma, Washington, USA) of Sunday 20th March 1927 [Vol. 44, No. 293; Sport Section: page 2, column 8]—on Monday 14th March 1927, at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, Sammy Baker defeated Eddie Roberts, then Mushy Callahan defeated Andy DiVodi:
The “noospapers” bearing accounts of the Roberts-Baker world war arrived here yesterday […] Here’s what Ed Frayne of the New York American says about the milly:
“It was well for Callahan that he turned in such a dramatic victory, for he had a tough act to follow. Eddie Roberts of Tacoma and Sergeant Sammy Baker of Mitchel field, Long Island, put on a 10-round fight that left the spectators limp with excitement.”
7-: From The Evening Star (Washington, District of Columbia, USA) of Friday 5th October 1928 [No. 30,838, page 8, column 3]:
An orator who speaks in favor of Al Smith 8 is in danger of creating a wish for the Manhattan star himself. In the parlance of the Broadway theater, “Al” is a hard act to follow.
8 This probably refers to the then Governor of New York, Alfred Emanuel Smith (1873-1944).
8-: From The Evening Star (Washington, District of Columbia, USA) of Monday 22nd October 1928 [No. 30,855, page 8, column 3]:
Jazz bands will have to improve their radio technique. A superheated campaign speech makes a hard act to follow.
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