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Stage Name |
Birth Name |
| The
WHITMAN SISTERS |
Alberta
Whitman |
| “Royalty
of Negro Vaudeville” |
Alice
Whitman |
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Essie
Whitman |
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Mabel "May" Whitman |
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The sisters grew up in a religious home with their father as a
minister and sang Jubilees at church. When they were young they
arranged shows for their church which gave them allot of experience
when it came to producing later on in life. They would tour at
a young age, singing and dancing in various Church functions and
Vaudeville shows with their mother in tow as chaperone and finally
started their own act called The Whitman Sisters New Orleans Troubadours
around 1903 Which consisted of Alberta, Mabel and Essie, Alice
would join them after their mother died in 1909.
Because they were light skinned, they dyed their hair blonde,
looking very much like Gibson Girls who were able to start their
show business career touring in many white Vaudeville shows. The
Whitman Sisters would become the highest paid black act on the
Negro Vaudeville circuit, Later when they managed their own shows
which became the biggest, classiest, fastest, flashiest most dignified
shows in black vaudeville.
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-- These four African American women danced, sang, and played
banjos and were profoundly talented entertainers and impressive
entrepreneurs, whose own Stage
company would be the very springboard for many up and coming musical
and Stage luminaries to come. They would have anywhere from 20 to
30 performers in the show and had six to eight programs running
at any one time and always did a Shake Dance to Diga-diga-do.
Mabel (or May) successfully ran the production company (producer, manager and director.) She was
a voice of change in the racially corrupt practices and racial
segregation in vaudeville. In 1910 Mabel created her own troupe
of Picks (Pickaninny's) called Mabel Whitman and the Dixie Boys
while Mabel sang and the boys danced. Mabel was the first to quit
performing in the shows. May also coached the Picks in the shows.
*Essie
who was a big-voiced comic-singer and labeled as a real coon shouter
at the time. Was in charge of designing and making the costumes
for the group. Essie retired in the late twenties and became preacher
at the Metropolitan Church.
*Alberta
(or Bert) who was an agile flash dancer also worked as a male
impersonator which in most of her acts and handled all the shows
finances. Was in charge of the Music end, and Composed much of
the Music that the group would use. Alberta did the "Strut"
as her dance act.
*Alice,
the youngest was regarded by many as the "Queen of Taps and
Champion Cakewalk dancer." Alice joined the group in 1909
and would sing and dance. She was praised by many for having a
fabulous figure as well. She did many dances of the day including
the Shim Sham Shimmy, Ballin' The Jack, Walkin' the Dog and the
Sand as well as the standards like Tap dance. Alice's son Albert
also joined the show and grew to become a great dancer in his
time.
|
Name |
Birth Place |
Birth Date |
Spouse |
Offspring |
| Alberta |
Atlanta,
GA ? |
d.1964? |
Maxie
McCree |
?? |
| Alice |
Atlanta,
GA ? |
?? |
Aaron
Palmer |
Albert |
| Essie |
Atlanta,
GA ? |
d.1964? |
?? |
?? |
| Mabel |
Atlanta,
GA ? |
d.1942 |
(Uncle)
Dave Payton |
?? |
| -Albert
"Pops" Palmer |
n/a |
1919-1950 |
?? |
?? |
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| Dancers
in their shows (p) = a "Pick" |
| Aaron
Palmer (1910) (p) |
Jenni
Le Gon (p) |
Leonard
Reed (1926) |
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| Billy
Adams (w/ Albert) |
Joe
Jones (p) |
Maxie
McCree (p) |
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| Bill
'Bojangles' Robinson |
Julius
Foxworth (p) |
Princess
Wee-Wee (p. midget) |
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| Groundhog
(1928-36 w/ Albert) |
Louis
Williams (w/ Albert) |
Tommy
Hawkins (p) |
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Nightclubs |
Theaters |
Stage / Circuits
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| n/a |
Jefferson
Theatre (Alabama) |
Pantages
Circuit |
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Minsky's
Theatre (Pittsburgh) |
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Regal
Theatre (Chicago) |
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Books, Magazine Articles on the dance... |
| Title |
Author |
Date |
Publisher |
| The
Whitman Sisters & the Negotiation of Race, Gender &
Class in African American Theater |
Nadine
George-Graves |
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| $
The Royalty of Negroe Vaudeville |
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Films |
Television |
Other |
| n/a |
n/a |
n/a |
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