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Once Upon a Stage: The Merry World of Vaudeville
Once Upon a Stage The Merry World of Vaudeville Author:Charles Samuels The Dolly Sisters were the most beautiful identical twins ever. Born in Hungary on October 25, 1892, they grew up on New York's Lower East Side. Both were small, dark women with almond-shaped eyes who were charming dancers and dressed like queens. As teenagers they achieved headline status in vaudeville and became Ziegfield Follies stars. Their ... more »lovely figures and oriental looks enchanted Broadway and its wealthiest profligates paid tribute to their beauty with furs and jewels. Diamond Jim Brady sent them a Rolls Royce tied up in satin ribbons. One Dolly sister seemed a marvel, two strained credibility.
Vaudeville had everything and everyone, and in this nostalgic wander through its wings all of its wonderful people and places come alive again. From the rollicking Sophie Ticker, who started as a singing waitress, to the polished hoofer Harland Dixon, who first danced on street corners as a newsboy, each big timer had that little something extra which lent magic to his performance and allowed audiences to forget their troubles for a while.
Nora Bayes, Will Rogers, Jack Benny, Trixie Friganza, Fred Allen, W.C. Fields, Sarah Bernhardt, Frank Fay, Mae West - so many of our beloved favorites were once vaudeville's children. Often happy, sometimes sad, yet totally fun, here is the story of their early days.« less