Category is: 1940s

A Dancer’s Life: Meet Mona Crawford

The 1943 Miss Delaware, who received her pageant title at age 14 after entering the competition on a dare, would go to dance and sing in many nightclubs around the country, appear on television, as well as The Great White Way. Mona Crawford, a native of Wilmington, Delaware, remembers an inspiration to perform at the… continue reading ›

A Dancer’s Life: Meet Mollie Fennell Numark, Part II

I took the train with Betty [fellow dancer from Aladdin. See Part I of this article series] to London.  We arrived at the Prince of Whales Theatre where the auditions were to be held. Walking into a mob of female dancers, we thought we had a fat chance of getting the job. All morning groups… continue reading ›

A Dancer’s Life: Meet Mollie Fennell Numark, Part I

Born in England at the onset of The Great Depression, Mollie Fennell Numark embarked upon a dancer’s life under unlikely circumstances. Shaped by experiences from a world faced with vast uncertainty, her disciplined career brought her from the great stages of England to the most renowned American nightclubs of the mid-20th century. Mollie remembers her… continue reading ›

Remembering Francois Szony: A conversation with Ferenc Szony

A pioneer in the field, Francois Szony (1926-2020) brought adagio to new heights over the course of what would be an unusually long career. Born to Hungarian parents in Budapest where his father operated a restaurant in a major train station, Francois and Giselle began performing together at an early age. At their mother’s insistence,… continue reading ›

The Latin Quarter Social Club, 2019

Live entertainment enjoyed a great high in the United States from vaudeville of the late 1800’s to the rise of the Cafe Society following the end of Prohibition in the early 1930s. The mid-20th Century represents the beginning-of-the-end of this particular social tradition. Although photojournalism soared in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s, documentation from performers… continue reading ›

Remembering Manhattan nightclubs

Over the years the New York City area has had its fill of nightclubs and supper clubs. Brooklyn had Ben Maksik’s Town and Country. By the George Washington Bridge in New Jersey was Bill Miller’s Riviera. There was the Rainbow Room at Rockefeller Center. The Persian Room at the Plaza Hotel and the Maisonette at… continue reading ›