Central Library

As a teen, Ernestine Myers enrolled in Madame Marie Jung’s eminent Chicago Musical College. Myers studied under the famous Ruth St Dennis and Ted Shawn in LA. She became a headliner in New York’s 81st Street Theater, the Palace Theater and Winter Gardens. Her creative specialty was combining acrobatic toe dancing with...

Vivian Duncan was an American actress and motion picture figure of the 1920s. She performed with her sisters Rosetta and Evelyn as the Duncan Sisters. Later Rosetta and Vivian would find greater success as a vaudevillian duo with the stage act Topsy and Eva. Rosetta played the role of Topsy. In a contemporary context,...

This photograph captures a frontal view of an unknown actress. She is reminiscent of famed actress Bessie Love with her wide-eyes and her pursed lips. The woman is draped in a bright cloth, her left hand clasps the material at the center.

Lester "Charles" Henderson stands on the right side of the frame. The left side of his face is in the light and visible to the viewer with the right side of his face in shadow. Henderson is dressed dapperly in a dark suit and tie. The pocket square peeks adds some variance to the darkness of the suit and the newsboy ca...

As a child actor, Ina Hayward had theatrical debut’s performing in roles such as "Peck Bad Boys" and "Sidewalks of New York." Hayward soon gravitated to variety acts, using her talents as an equestrian, singer and dancer. Hayward performed at the Gayety Theater as it was burgeoning into a house of burlesque. Hayward...

The number of girls named Marilyn rose exponentially in the 1920s and early 1930s in homage to Marilyn Miller. Miller was one of the era's most popular Broadway stars. She was an actress, a dancer and a singer. As the daughter of Vaudeville-performing parents, by the age of 5 she had become a member of the family act....

Leo F. Forbstein was an American film music director and orchestra conductor. He was originally from St. Louis, Missouri and worked with orchestras throughout the state including that of the Newman Theater in Kansas City where he was the principal conductor. He later signed with Warner Bros. as one of the directors of...

American silent film actor Wallace Reid was referred to as “the screen’s most perfect lover.” Reid born in St. Louis, Missouri, had theatrical roots stemming from both sides of his parentage. Reid’s mother, Bertha Westbrook, was a stage actress, and his father, James Halleck Reid, was a playwright and actor. Reid’s...

Clifton Webb's mother, with whom he lived until her death at age 91, transferred her own theatrical ambitions to the son she called "little Webb." He performed in Vaudeville and on Broadway, primarily in musicals, before director Otto Preminger took notice and brought him to Hollywood to appear in the 1944 film noir "L...

George Augustus Andrews was born in London. Known professionally as George Arliss, he began his stage career at the age of 18 and then came to the United States in his mid-30s where he appeared in numerous Broadway productions and films. He successfully made the conversion from theater to silent film and then from sile...