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Kitty Doner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kitty Doner
Kitty Doner, from a 1916 publication
Kitty Doner, from a 1916 publication
Background information
Birth nameCatherine Donohoe
Born(1895-09-06)September 6, 1895
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
DiedAugust 26, 1988(1988-08-26) (aged 92)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
GenresMusic hall
Years active1898–1952

Kitty Doner (born Catherine Donohoe, September 6, 1895 – August 26, 1988) was an American vaudeville performer. She was a male impersonator, actress, and dancer, specializing in boy roles, and later in life worked as a choreographer and television producer.

Early life

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Catherine Donohoe was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her parents Joe Doner and Nellie Doner, both born in England, were also vaudeville performers, as were her siblings Ted and Rose.[1][2][3]

Career

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Kitty Doner was considered the best American male impersonator of her day, compared favorably to British acts such as Vesta Tilley and Ella Shields.[4] She was petite, and her characters were often youthful.[5] She was known for changing from masculine to feminine clothing on stage, in view of the audience, to demonstrate how much of her impersonation was skill rather than elaborate costume.[6] In 1921, she performed at a benefit for the Women's Auxiliary of the National Disabled Soldiers League at the Apollo Theater.[7] That same year, she also performed at a benefit for the American Committee for Relief in Ireland, at the Metropolitan Opera House.[8]

Her Broadway credits included The Passing Show of 1913, Dancing Around (1914, with Al Jolson),[9] Robinson Crusoe Jr. (1916, again with Jolson),[10] Sinbad (1918, again with Jolson), and The Dancing Girl (1923, appearing with her brother and sister).[2] Doner's act was preserved in an early sound short film, A Bit of Scotch (1928).[11]

In 1945 she co-produced a now-lost musical television series for CBS, Choreotones, with dancer Pauline Koner. After that, the pair produced some shows for "Holiday on Ice". Koner remembered, "With a famous show biz career behind her, Kitty was still looking for new trends. Her taste was impeccable. A lively force behind the scenes, she was always scouting material and interesting talent."[12] Her last work before retirement was auditioning acts for Ted Mack's Amateur Hour in the early 1950s.[4]

Personal life

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Kitty Doner died in 1988, aged 92 years, in Los Angeles, California.[13] There is a collection of Doner's papers, including an unpublished autobiography, photographs and scrapbooks, archived at the University of California Santa Barbara Library.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Frank Cullen, Florence Hackman, Donald McNeilly, Vaudeville Old & New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performances in America (Psychology Press 2007): 319-320. ISBN 9780415938532
  2. ^ a b Gilliam M. Rodger, Just One of the Boys: Female to Male Cross-Dressing on the American Variety Stage (University of Illinois Press 2018). ISBN 9780252050169
  3. ^ "Ted Doner Coming Back" New York Times (July 18, 1929): 14. via ProQuest
  4. ^ a b Anthony Slide, The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville (University Press of Mississippi 2012): 133-136. ISBN 9781617032509
  5. ^ "Born to Dance – And She's Doing It" New York Times (October 18, 1914).
  6. ^ "Kitty Doner Comes Back to Colonial" The Morning Call (February 3, 1929): 11. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  7. ^ "Stars to Aid Soldiers" New York Times (May 7, 1921): 8. via ProQuest
  8. ^ "Stage Stars Raise $57,000 for Irish" New York Times (April 4, 1921): 2. via ProQuest
  9. ^ "Kitty Doner as a Stage Door Johnnie is a Start in Jolson's 'Dancing Around'" Star Tribune (September 5, 1915): 32. via Newspapers.comOpen access icon
  10. ^ "Clothes and the Girl" Green Book Magazine (September 1916): 545.
  11. ^ Edwin M. Bradley, The First Hollywood Sound Shorts, 1926-1931 (McFarland 2009): 369. ISBN 9781476606842
  12. ^ Pauline Koner, Solitary Song (Duke University Press 1989): 139-148. ISBN 9780822308782
  13. ^ "Kitty Doner, Male Impersonator in Vaudeville" Los Angeles Times (September 3, 1988).
  14. ^ Guide to the Kitty Doner Papers, University of California Santa Barbara Library, Special Collections.
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