Detroit evening times. (Detroit, Mich) 1921-1958, 1942-07-18
OId-Timers
In Varieties
Set Records
First Fan Dancer in sos
81 CrinoIine Number
BY DAMON RUNYON


7 M. HEWITT of sherman
Oaks, in the San Fernando
Valley where retired thespians
are apt to leap out from behind
any bush, stops me dead cold
with his recollections on that old
time vaudeville thing. He really
goes away back yonder. l never
heard of some of the names he
pulls on me and l have stag
gered the best of the local Ire
member boys with them.
l judge Mr.. Hewitt spent his
vaudeville youth around Mike
Shea's once celebrated Music
Hall in Buffalo. He covers some
of the period when the '80's
were merging into the COS and
his memory fingers long and
rather fondly on Kate Harvey,
an English concert hall singer
who arrived at Shea's after a
short warm-up engagement in
New York to which she returned
later.
Kate headlined Shea's pro-
gram, according to Mr.. Hewitt,
and he remembers that while
not beautiful, she was good 10
look at-tall, rather stout, with
auburn hair and laughing brown
eyes and plenty of personality.
Her voice was good. well trained,
and she had a slight Kate Smith
quality in her routine and
phrasing. She rem a in c d at
Shea's for a long engagement.
MIR. HEWITT says that per-
WI sonally he always fancied
unison singing and that he will
never forget the thrill he got
out OF hearing 600 voices singing
The Prayer Song from Lohen-
grin, nducted by Leopold
Damrosch, father of the great
Walter.
Mr.. Hewitt thinks the first fan
dancer was Dorothy Denning in
the late sos in w. L. Carleton S
variety road show of which
Little Corrinne" was the star
II was called The Crinoline Fan
! Dance"
Dorothy wore a long, pleated
and voluminouS crinoline skirt
with open sides which she man
aged cleverly and. Mr.. Hewitt
observes, "revealingly.
Her dance was patterned
after Lottie Collons' tara-ra-
boom-de-ay, sbut Mr.. Hewitt
thinks her brief success was
based more on newspaper pub
licity than terpsichorean talent
He mentions a Philadelphia
family, father, mother. two Sis
/ tiers and two brothers, known as
the McAvoys as far ante-datinf
the seven Toys or the -four
! ICohans as a family act. They
1 sang. danced and gave out with
instrumental music and played
as far west as ST. Louis. Patsy
Doyle. 1.-The champion pedestal
clog dancer of the world was
appearing about this same time
Patsy doing dance on small
marble square set on top OF a
pedestal.
JAMES OWEN O'CONNOR
- the great Shakespcarear
actor and tragedian. fresh from
his European triumphs, ~ was
around packing the houses with
his renditions Of OtheIlo and
Macbeth behind a screen. made
necessary by the popular pas
time among audiences OF peg
ging aged eggs and decrepi'
/ fruit at him as they did Ions
| afterwards AT the Cherry Sis.
tiers. Mr.. Hewitt thinks O'Con'
nor may have taken himself
seriously at first, though Others
thought he was kidding from the
start.
II is the opinion OF my CORE
spondent that James Harrigan
who billed himself as "Harrigar
the Great" and as The TRAMP
Juggler" was one of the greatest
OF all the old time vaudevillians
He came from Pennsylvania anc
lasted from around 'S5 almost
10 the first world war. He in
PRODUCED Juggling with blocks
afterward cleverly practiced BY
w. G. Fields
But Mr.. Hewitt says Juggling
was the least of Harrigan's ac'
complishments. He had re-
markable act that included
witty patter and a take-off or
all the other performers on the
bill. He had a Juggling trick
with a lighted lamp which nc
other juggler was ever able to
duplicate.
Copyright, 1912. by King Features
Distributed by international News servic
ap3k<E2 Ek6FC