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Stage Names |
Birth Names |
| 'Duncan Sisters' |
Evelyn Duncan
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| 'Topsy
and Eva' |
Rosetta
"Rose" Duncan (Topsy) |
| 'The
Misses Duncan' |
Vivian
Duncan (aka: Eva) |
Composers, Lyricists, Performers, Dancers and Singers.
The Duncan sisters were a very talented family. There were actually three sisters as the
Duncan sisters, however Rosetta and Vivian's greatest success came with the play Topsy
and Eva which made them a household word back in the day.
Rosetta Duncan was one of the major female comics of
her day. TOPSY and EVA was a musical comedy in three acts by Catherine Chisholm Cushing
which was based upon Harriet Beecher Stowe's "Uncle Tom's Cabin." It was created
for the music writing, singing and dance talents of
|
| the Rosetta
and Vivian Duncan. Rosetta played the blackface role of Topsy, and played it with such
enthusiasm and skill that it was irresistible to most. Her older sister Vivian, played
the less glitzy but angel faced Eva, but she had the distinction of being that rarest
of beings, the musical comedy ingenue, who could be self-conscious and aggressively coy
at the same time and made the audience like it and want more.
The Duncan Sisters were extremely successful with the Topsy and
Eva theme and laid the ground work for many musicals to come with many Stage acts and
plots written after them. The Gumm Sisters (Judy Garland) is said to have patterned their
acts after the Duncan Sisters. The 1920s saw the creation of "Sitting Pretty,"
again based on the talents of the Duncan Sisters. In 1946, there was talk of a film being
made titled "the Duncan Sisters," tailored after the success of the prior Dolly
Sisters film. It would have starred Rita Hayworth and Betty Grable but the film was never
made. Another film was "The Broadway Melody," which is said to have been created
after the acts of the Duncan Sisters (a bio pic) who were supposed to play the leads but
were already engaged in another film titled "It's a Great Life."
Their career as Topsy and Eva kinda type-cast them, but
they made it last for many years. Rosetta died in an auto accident at the age of 65 in
1959.
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Birth Place |
Birth Date |
Spouse |
Offspring |
(E) Los Angeles, CA. |
1/21/1893-6/8/1972 |
n/a |
n/a |
(R) Los Angeles, CA. |
11/23/1894-12/4/1959 |
n/a |
n/a |
(V) Los Angeles, CA. |
6/17/1902-9/19/1986 |
Nils Asther, Valentín Parera |
Evelyn |
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Posters, Lobby Cards etc. |
Sheet Music Covers |
Music Titles |
| n/a |
A Gay Caballero |
A Gay Caballero |
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I
Never Had A Mammy |
Argentines, The Portuguese and the Greeks, the |
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I'm
Following You |
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When
Shall We Meet Again |
Baby Sister Blues |
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Do Re Mi |
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I Never Had a Mammy |
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Moon Am Shinin' |
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Rememb'ring |
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Someday Soon (Lyrics) |
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Um-Um-Da-Da |
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When it's Sweet Onion time in Bermuda |
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Night Clubs |
Theaters |
Television |
Lido Club |
Grumman's Egyptian Theatre (6/1927) |
1997 - Vaudeville |
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Loew's Theatre (New Jersey) |
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Films |
Ballets / Stage |
1915 - Peer Gynt (Evelyn) |
1919 - She's A Good Fellow |
1927 - Two Flaming Youths (Rosetta) |
1920 - Tip Top |
1927 - Topsy and Eva |
1921 - Lilies of the Field (Evelyn) |
1929 - Hollywood Snapshots #11 (Rosetta) |
1926 - Topsy and Eva |
1929 - It's A Great Life |
1958 - Adventures of Wild Bill Hickok |
1930 - Voice of Hollywood No. 7 |
Doing Our Bit |
1933 - Surprise (Vitaphone) |
Ziegfeld Follies |
1935 - Broadway Brevities |
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Dances |
Jazz Dance (Vernacular) |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
Tap Dance |
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Dance Partners / Singing Partners |
Political |
Harriet Hoctor (Topsy and Eva) |
London Palace Girls (Pickaninnies in Topsy & Eva) |
1941 Fort Ord |
Myrtle Ferguson |
Gueneth Omeron (Lido Club) |
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Books, Magazine Articles on this dancer ... |
Title |
Author / Writer |
Date Published |
Publisher |
Scribner's Magazine |
J. Frank Davis |
4/1925 |
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Dance Lovers Magazine |
- |
8/1925 |
Dance Review Publishing Co. |
Who's Who in Comedy |
Ronald L. Smith |
1992 |
- |
Musicians / Bands |
Singers |
Artists |
Poets / Writers |
Phil Bovero A.B.C. Orchestra with the Silhouettes |
n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
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