Who's Who in Musicals: Additional Bios X
by John Kenrick
(Copyright 2004)

Davis, Sammy, Jr.
Actor, singer, dancer
b. Dec. 8, 1925 (New York City) - d. May 16, 1990 (Los Angeles)
Small in stature but a gigantic talent, Davis began as a child in his family variety act, The Will Mastin Trio. Sammy came to solo prominence in night clubs, where he was befriended (for life) by Frank Sinatra, who made Davis a charter member of his celebrated Las Vegas "Rat Pack" -- sharing in cocktails, cigarettes and jet set hijinks. This helped Davis smash many color lines in 1950s show business and society. A charismatic singer and one of the finest tap dancers of all time, Davis made his Broadway debut in the semi-autobiographical Mr. Wonderful (1956), introducing the swinging hit "Too Close For Comfort." He also played the lead in the musical adaptation of Golden Boy (1964), a role he repeated in the UK. 

On screen, Davis played Sportin' Life in Porgy and Bess (1959), the street singer in Die Dreigroschenoper (1963), a dancing gangster in Robin and the Seven Hoods (1964), and the hip minister Big Daddy in Sweet Charity (1969). In the late 1970's, he starred in an extended US tour of Stop the World . . .I Want to Get Off, which became the basis for the weak semi-documentary film Sammy Stops the World (1979). Years of heavy smoking and recreational drug use contributed to his death from cancer at age 65.

Dawn, Hazel
(b. Hazel Dawn La Tout)
Actress, singer
b. March 23, 1891 (Ogden, Utah) - d. Aug. 28, 1988 (NYC)
This attractive American soprano was a Mormon studying music in London when she was "discovered" in a series of lighthearted West End musicals, including Dear Little Denmark (1909) and The Dollar Princess (1910). Returning to the US, she found her most memorable role as Claudine, the title character in Ivan Caryll's hit The Pink Lady (1911). Five foot five, with dark blonde hair, hazel eyes and a "peaches and cream" complexion, Dawn caused a sensation singing "My Beautiful Lady" while accompanying herself on the violin. The London production brought her back to the West End in triumph.

Dawn spent the remainder of her career in America, starring in such Broadway musicals The Little Cafe (1913) and Florenz Ziegfeld's The Century Girl (1916). She toured in the 1923 Ziegfeld Follies, sang "Valencia" in The Great Temptations (1926) and appeared in several dramas before retiring from the stage in 1931. After a film appearance in Margie (1946), she withdrew from performing altogether. Dawn enjoyed a long retirement, and died in her daughter's New York home at age 98.

Deslys, Gaby
(b. Marie-Elise Gabrielle Caire)
Performer
b. Nov. 4, 1881 (Marseille) - d. Feb. 11, 1920 (Paris)
Despite limited talents and looks, this beguiling comedienne parlayed a newsworthy romance with the King of Portugal into stage stardom in the early 1900s. She became the toast of Paris, and starred in the loosely constructed Vera Violetta (1911), a London variety show that masqueraded as a book musical. Deslys's showstopper was "The Gaby Glide," which she repeated in a heavily revised Broadway production that co-starred newcomer Al Jolson. In 1913, Deslys and Jolson again co-starred in The Honeymoon Express. Deslys appeared in Irving Berlin's hit revue Stop! Look! Listen (1915), the London production Suzette (1917), and several silent films. Weakened by years of overwork, she died of a flu-like ailment at age 37.

Donnelly, Dorothy Agnes
Lyricist, librettist
b. Jan. 28, 1880 (New York City) - d. Jan. 3. 1928 (NYC)
A noted dramatic actress in such plays as Madame X (1910), Donnelly was one of the very few women to become a successful Broadway lyricist-librettist. After co-adapting the operetta Flora Bella (1916) and writing the musical comedy Fancy Free (1918), she teamed with composer Sigmund Romberg to turn the German operetta Das Dreimsderlhaus into the Broadway hit Blossom Time (1921). With Franz Shubert's melodies and the lilting ballad "Song of Love," this wildly fictionalized version of the great composer's life story ran for almost two seasons and toured for years. Donnelly provided the libretto for the W.C. Fields vehicle Poppy (1923), then re-teamed with Romberg to create The Student Prince in Heidelberg (1924). This sentimental tale became the most successful American operetta of the 1920s, with "Deep In My Heart," "The Drinking Song" and "Serenade" becoming standards. Donnelly and Romberg scored a modest success with My Maryland (1927). Donnelly died at age 47.

Donahue, Jack
Actor, singer, dancer
b. 1892 (Charlestown, MA) - d. Oct. 1, 1930 (NYC)
After perfecting his limber dancing style as a vaudeville song and dance man, Donahue appeared in Broadway choruses before his first featured role in Angel Faces (1919). He played increasingly better roles in the Ziegfeld Follies (1920), Molly Darling (1922) and Be Yourself (1924), achieving full-blown stardom as Jim Deming in the Marilyn Miller vehicle Sunny (1925). Donahue re-teamed with Miller for the equally successful "modern operetta" Rosalie (1928). A heavy drinker, Donahue developed heart disease and kidney problems that forced him to give up performing after Sons o' Guns (1929). Shortly after finishing the libretto for Princess Charming (1930), he died at age 38. His younger brother Joe Donahue steped in to play the role of Jim Demming in the screen version of Sunny (1930), offering his performance as an imitative homage.

Dressler, Marie
(b. Leila Marie Van Koerber)
Actress, singer
b. Nov. 9, 1869 (Coburg, Canada) - d. July 28, 1934 (Santa Barbara, CA)
Dressler's hefty physique (five foot eight, she towered over most women of her time), expressive face and instinct for comic timing led to long and varied career in musical theater. She made her Broadway debut in Maurice Barrymore's operetta Robber of the Rhine (1892), appeared with Eddie Foy in Little Robinson Crusoe, and played Lillian Russell's mother in a revival of the operetta Girofle-Girofla. After Dressler achieved star status in The Lady Slavey (1896), she became part of the Joe Weber & Lew Fields stock company, co-starring in such hit burlesque musicals as Higgledy Piggledy (1904) and Twiddle Twaddle (1906).

As the star of Tillie's Nightmare (1910), Dressler introduced the hit song "Heaven Will Protect the Working Girl." Soon afterwards, she played Tillie in a popular series of silent comedy films. Dressler continued to appear on Broadway through the 1920s, and was one of the most popular headliners on the vaudeville circuits, but her lasting claim to stardom came with the advent of talking film. In her sixties, she became one of Hollywood's most beloved performers and received an Academy Award for her performance in Min and Bill (1930). After her death due to cancer at age 65, she was buried at Forest Lawn in Glendale.

Dunne, Irene Marie
Actress, singer
b. Dec. 20, 1901 (Lousiville, KY) - d. Sept. 4, 1990 (Los Angeles)
Best remembered for her work in screen comedies and dramas, this attractive actress began her career on the musical stage. After starring in the American tour of Irene (1920), she appeared in such forgettable Broadway musicals as The Clinging Vine (1922) and The City Chap (1925). Dunne's major break came playing Magnolia in the road company of Show Boat (1929). Composer Jerome Kern brought her to Hollywood to play the title role in the screen version of Sweet Adeline (1935).

Dunne cemented her stardom in three more Kern films -- Roberta (1935), the first all-sound version of Show Boat (1936) and High, Wide and Handsome (1937). She also sang in the hilarious Joy of Living (1938) and Love Affair (1939) before starring in a wide range of non-musical roles -- including Anna Leonowens in Anna and the King of Siam and Queen Victoria in The Mudlark. In a career spanning more than 40 films, Dunne made only one return to musicals, playing a songwriter in the otherwise unremarkable Never A Dull Moment (1950). She left the screen in 1952, enjoying a long and active retirement in politics and corporate life. Dunne received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1985.

Emmet, Joseph Klein
Actor, singer
b. Mar. 13, 1841 (St. Louis, MO) - d. Jan 15, 1891 (Cornwall, NY)
Emmet polished his talents as a German-accented (or "Dutch") comedian in variety and minstrel shows before being cast in the title role of his career-defining musicals hit, Fritz, Our American Cousin (1870). Audiences adored his performance as a German immigrant who searches for his long-lost sister while simultaneously pursuing the girl the loves. He also introduced a memorable "Lullaby" that became a nationwide hit. Emmet toured in the role for the rest of his life, starring in a series of revivals and sequels, and even brought one of the Fritz musicals to London for a successful run in 1872. 

Fall, Leo
Composer
b. Feb. 2, 1873 (Olmutz, Austria-Hungary) - d. Sept. 16, 1925 (Vienna)
After an unsuccessful attempt to write grand opera, this prolific composer turned his talents to operetta, becoming one of the most successful Viennese composers of the 20th Century. Fall achieved international success with Die Dollarprinzessin (1907), which had long runs in both London and New York as The Dollar Princess. With Fall's rapturous, swirling melodies, he was able to capitalize on  Franz Lehar's worldwide success with several international hits of his own. He composed more than 35 operettas, most notably Die Geschiedene Frau (1908), Der Liebe Augustin (1912), Die Rose von Stambul (1916) and Mamdame Pompadour (1922). He remained active until cancer silenced him at age 52.

Field, Ron
Choreographer, director, dancer
b. 1934 (New York City) - d. Feb. 6. 1989 (NYC)
Field made his Broadway debut as a child in Lady In the Dark (1941), and danced in the ensembles of such hits as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1949), Kismet (1954) and The Boy Friend (1955) before becoming a choreographer. After the disappointing Nowhere But Up (1962) and Cafe Crown (1964), he won a Tony for his dazzling work in Cabaret (1966) -- which he recreated for the first London production. Field supplied the folk-like dances for Zorba (1968), then received another Tony for Applause (1970). 

Finn, William
Composer, lyricist, librettist
b. 1952 (Boston, MA)
This gifted, idiosyncratic artist won notice with a trilogy of musicals about the fictional Marvin, a married father who realizes he is gay and must redefine his life to include wife, son and lover. All three premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. The first, In Trousers (1979) got little notice, but March of the Falsettoes (1981) received rave reviews and an extended commercial run. The final installment, Falsettoland (1990) repeated that success. Then a combination of the second and third installments re-titled Falsettos (1992) came to Broadway, winning Tonys for Best Book and Best Score. Finn's other Off-Broadway projects have included the short-lived Romance In Hard Times (1989). His own near-fatal illness led to the powerful A New Brain (1998) which had a brief run at Lincoln Center. With The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005), Finn earned fresh raves and a his longest Broadway run to date.

Ford, Helen
(b. Helen Isabel Barnett)
Actress, singer
b. June 6, 1897 (Troy, NY) - d. Jan. 19, 1982 (Glendale, CA)
Petite and attractive, Ford enjoyed a nineteen year reign as one of Broadway's favorite musical ingénues. She made her debut as a replacement in Sometime (1919), and was featured in such forgettable musical comedies as Always You (1920) and The Gingham Girl (1922) before starring (appropriately) in the title role of Helen of Troy (1923). Ford then caught the attention of Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, who cast her as Revolutionary-era heroine Betsy Burke in their early hit Dearest Enemy (1925), where she introduced "Here In My Arms." She starred in two more R&H musicals -- Peggy Ann (1926) and the short-lived Chee-Chee (1928). After playing Adele in a adaptation of Die Fledermaus called Champagne, Sec (1933), as the short lived Great Lady (1938) Ford withdrew from the stage.

Fox, Della
Actress, singer
b. Oct. 13, 1871 (St. Louis, MO) - d. June 16, 1913 (NYC)
One of the most celebrated musical soubrettes of her day, the diminutive Fox made her Broadway debut in the short-lived The King's Fool (1890). Stardom came when she joined actor DeWolf Hopper in a trio of hit musical comedies -- Castles in the Air (1890), Wang (1891) and Panjandrum (1893). Fox became an audience favorite, her bobbed hair establishing a new fashion craze. She starred in The Little Trooper (1894) and Fleur de Lis (1895), and co-starred with Lillian Russell in The Wedding Day (1897). After the failure of The Little Host (1898), Fox left the stage for several years due to a combination of marriage and poor health. She returned in the ill-advised Toto, then toured in vaudeville until her death at age 41.

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