Martha Meldania Boswell (1905 – 1958), Constance (Connee) Foore Boswell (1907 – 1976) and Helvetia George Boswell (1911 – 1988) were musicians and music-loving amateurs who performed as a sister act for friends in New Orleans. The family was from Kansas City but moved early on to Louisiana. After winning an amateur contest they were…Continue Reading The Boswell Sisters: Syncopation Harmony Queens by David Soren
Category: Story
The Shop Girl: A Unique Early Theatre Item in the University of Arizona Special Collections Main Library Archive by Elizabeth Marchalonis
The Shop Girl is considered by many scholars to be the first real direct antecedent of the modern Broadway musical. It premiered at the Gaiety Theatre in London in 1894. Producer George Edwardes developed the idea of a musical comedy which was not a burlesque but rather a full coherent story. The star was Ada…Continue Reading The Shop Girl: A Unique Early Theatre Item in the University of Arizona Special Collections Main Library Archive by Elizabeth Marchalonis
The Salome Dance Craze of the Early 20th Century: Oscar Wilde, Eva Tanguay, Gertrude Hoffmann, Mlle. Dazie and More! by Brandon Neth
The biblical story of Salomé was transformed in the late 1800s, breathing new life into the tale. Originally interpreted through the misogynistic lenses of the times, Oscar Wilde’s play Salomé offered new possibilities for the interpretation of Salomé’s story. By elongating the plot line of the story, Wilde gave new space for women, especially erotic…Continue Reading The Salome Dance Craze of the Early 20th Century: Oscar Wilde, Eva Tanguay, Gertrude Hoffmann, Mlle. Dazie and More! by Brandon Neth
The Kill Kare Couple: John and Winnie Hennings by David Soren
This series consists of photocopies and digital printouts of press clippings and photographs describing the lives and careers of John and Winnie Hennings, who performed together as The Kill Kare Kouple from 1908 through the World War I years, and of John Hennings’ subsequent work in Hollywood during the 1920s. Some of the clippings and…Continue Reading The Kill Kare Couple: John and Winnie Hennings by David Soren
The Duncan Sisters: Vaudevilles #1 Female Comedy Duo by David Soren
There had been other comedic sister acts in vaudeville that preceded them, such as The Watson Sisters, but none were as clever and funny as the Duncan Sisters and the University of Arizona has a large collection of sheet music featuring the Duncans. Enormously popular in the 1920s, they have failed to transfer their humor…Continue Reading The Duncan Sisters: Vaudevilles #1 Female Comedy Duo by David Soren
The Dolly Sisters: Vaudeville’s Most Famous Female Duo by David Soren
Rose “Rosie” Dolly (October 25, 1892 – February 1, 1970) and Jenny Dolly (October 25, 1892 – June 1, 1941) and Janka (later known as Yansci or Jenny) Deutsch were twins born on October 25, 1892, in Balassagyarmat, Hungary. Their family came to America in 1905 and they both began to study dance, becoming prolific…Continue Reading The Dolly Sisters: Vaudeville’s Most Famous Female Duo by David Soren
The Doll Family: Little People in Vaudeville by David Soren
The Doll Family were also known as the Earles Family and The Dancing Dolls and, later on, The Moving Picture Midgets. They were four American siblings from Germany who engaged in vaudeville, movies, circuses and sideshows in America from ca. 1912 to 1955. They were Gracie Doll Earles (Frieda A. Schneider, March 12, 1899- November…Continue Reading The Doll Family: Little People in Vaudeville by David Soren
The Dixon-Freeman Collection by David Soren
The collection consists of contracts and documents, photographs, programs, correspondence, typescripts, and sheet music related to the performances of Jessica Dixon and her husband, Frank Freeman. Several parts of the collection refer to their “train sketch” prooduction, “A Minute Late.” There are numerous publicity photographs of themselves and other vaudeville performers, and glass transparencies used…Continue Reading The Dixon-Freeman Collection by David Soren
Sophie Tucker: Last of the Red Hot Mamas by David Soren
Ukrainian born Sophie Tucker (1887-1966, real name Sonya Kalish) was perhaps the greatest female star in vaudeville and she remained a household word for more than 50 years due to her remarkable ability to continually re-invent herself and make herself relevant and hip to several generations of audiences. At the beginning of her career she…Continue Reading Sophie Tucker: Last of the Red Hot Mamas by David Soren
Julia Rooney (1887–1990): 80 Years in Vaudeville by Frank Cullen
Like many performers, Julia Rooney came from a showbiz family. Her father was Pat Rooney Sr, (1848–1892), a young, short and slight Irish immigrant who boxed and wrestled his way in America to become a famous singing and clog-dancing veteran of variety saloons. Later, he led his own variety troupe, earning as much as a…Continue Reading Julia Rooney (1887–1990): 80 Years in Vaudeville by Frank Cullen