Bessie De Voie (born Elizabeth Van Dorn; [1] in the 1880s – June 30, 1974) was an American actress and dancer of vaudeville and the musical theatre. Her personal life was in the headlines from 1908 to 1910, due to her relationship with Frank Jay Gould.
Bessie De Voie | |
|---|---|
 Bessie De Voie, from a 1906 sheet music publication. | |
| Born | Elizabeth Van Dorn 1880s Bedford, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | June 30, 1974 Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Bessie Devoie, Bessie Van Dorn, Elizabeth Van Dorn |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, vaudeville performer |
| Years active | 1900–1917 |
| Known for | Involvement with Frank Jay Gould |
Early life
editBessie De Voie's origins were told in various ways in the press of her day. She was described by the Detroit Free Press as being from Mount Clemens, Michigan.[2] Other sources described her as being from Virginia, and "known in private life as Bessie van Dorn."[3] Still other reports said she was from Kentucky,[4] or had at lived in Paducah, Kentucky, the daughter of Robert Van Dorn, a railroad engineer who died in a train accident in 1893.[5][6] Other stories placed her hometown in Evansville, Indiana.[7][8]
Her 1974 obituary gives her birth name as Elizabeth Van Dorn, and her birthplace as Bedford, Indiana. The obituary suggests a birthdate of 1888; but she began touring the United States as a dancer by 1899, making a somewhat earlier birthdate more likely.[1] Her parents, Robert Van Dorn and May Clark Van Dorn, married around 1883.[9]
Career
editDe Voie began her career before 1900, and was half of Young and De Voie,[10] an "eccentric soft shoe dancers" act with fellow dancer Frank C. Young.[2][11][12] She also played soubrette roles.[13] Young and De Voie danced in the touring shows A Hole in the Ground (1900–1901), A Trip to Chinatown (1901), and Hunting for Hawkins (1901–1902).[14][15][16] De Voie was discovered by actress Maxine Elliott and replaced Paula Edwardes in The Show Girl (1902).[4] In 1904 she was part of the large Rogers Brothers Company, in the same cast as Fred Niblo.[17] Her Broadway appearances included the musicals Mr. Bluebeard (1903), The Rogers Brothers in Paris (1904), The Rogers Brothers in Ireland (1905–1906), The Dairymaids (1907). De Voie was in the cast of Mr. Bluebeard when it played at the Iroquois Theatre on the night of a fire in 1903, the deadliest single-building fire in American history.[18]
De Voie left the stage during the years of legal entanglement, but returned to higher fees after her fame had increased.[19][20] "It is a lamentable fact that where hundreds went to see the girl who was simply pretty and a graceful dancer before, thousands will now flock to see the dancer who thought she was going to marry Frank Gould," commented the National Tribune in 1910.[21] Variety reported that her 1910 vaudeville appearance, intended to exploit the high interest in her, was unsuccessful, and noted that "Where a woman – or a man – will make use of publicity through private affairs to secure an engagement or a re-engagement on the stage, no one regrets seeing him or her do a 'flop'."[22]
Later shows featuring De Voie were Our Miss Gibbs (1910), Three Twins (1910),[23] Louisiana Lou (1912–1913),[24] with Sophie Tucker,[25] and The Doll Girl (1914) with Hattie Williams and Richard Carle.[26] She danced with Al B. White in 1913,[27] Dare Phillips in 1914,[28] and with Guy Livingston in 1915.[29] In 1917, she was in Pom Pom with Mitzi Hajos.[30]
Personal life
editBessie De Voie was named in the 1908 society divorce between Frank Jay Gould and Helen Margaret Kelly.[31][32] In 1909, she sued Gould for fraud and misrepresentation, and asked $250,000 ($8,477,778 in today's money) in compensation for breaking a promise to marry her.[33] She published letters Gould sent her, "containing many expressions of affection".[34] The scandal sparked headlines across the United States in 1909 and 1910.[35] The suit was settled when Gould paid De Voie $10,000.[36]
Bessie Van Dorn became a saleswoman after 1920. She retired in 1962, and died in a convalescent hospital in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1974, about ninety years of age. Her gravesite is in Mattoon, Illinois.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c "Miss Elizabeth Van Dorn" Bridgeport Post (July 2, 1974): 51. via Newspapers.com
- ^ a b "Actress in Gould Case is Mt. Clemens Girl" Detroit Free Press (July 26, 1908): 2. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Wants $200,000 from Gould" Sioux City Journal (December 5, 1909): 2. via Newspapers.com
- ^ a b "Notes of the Stage" New-York Tribune (June 15, 1902): 51. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Bessie Devoie, New York Dancer, Once Lived Here" News-Democrat (January 11, 1910): 9. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "A Curious Coincidence" The Twice-a-Week Messenger (August 3, 1893): 2. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Players in a Row" Evansville Press (July 25, 1907): 4. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Leniency Promised Julia Fleming" Evansville Press (July 25, 1908): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Untitled news item, Mattoon Gazette (July 28, 1893): 5. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Amusements" The Akron Beacon Journal (September 6, 1899): 6. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Music and the Drama" The Times-Democrat (June 14, 1903): 28. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Frank Young" Variety (July 1910): 18. via Internet Archive
- ^ "Show Girl Attractions" The Portsmouth Herald (August 14, 1902): 3. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Third Avenue Theatre" The Seattle Republican (October 18, 1901): 5. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "A Mole in the Ground" The Hutchinson News (February 26, 1901): 6. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Hunting for Hawkins" Sioux City Journal (March 20, 1902): 8. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "The Rogers Brothers Coming" The Buffalo Times (July 17, 1904): 28. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Adam Seltzer, "The Iroquois Theatre Fire (or: How Bad WAS 'Mr. Blue Beard?')" Mysterious Chicago Tours.
- ^ "Suit of Gould is Worth While" The Decatur Herald (December 31, 1909): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Temporary Heart Balm for Dancer" Pittsburgh Press (December 30, 1909): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "People" The National Tribune (January 13, 1910): 8. via Newspapers.com
- ^ Sime, "Bessie De Voie" Variety (January 1910): 50. via Internet Archive
- ^ Untitled news item, Philadelphia Inquirer (October 9, 1910): 24. via Newspapers.com
- ^ G. Grinham, "Chief Figures in Current Plays" The St. Louis Star and Times (September 24, 1912): 11. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "'The Blue Bird' Fairy Spectacles Comes Next Week" St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 15, 1912): 18. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "National" The Washington Post (March 29, 1914): 56. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Al White and Bessie DeVoie" Variety (June 1913): 68. via Internet Archive
- ^ "Attractions at the Theatres" The Boston Globe (May 10, 1914): 62. via Newspapers.com
- ^ W. S. Johnston, "Theaters" Kansas City Globe (September 17, 1915): 4. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Capacity House Greets Pom-Pom" The Morning News (February 7, 1917): 12. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Further Confessions in Gould Conspiracy" Los Angeles Times (July 28, 1908): 2. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Frank Gould Admits He Knows Actress" New York Times (July 29, 1908): 1. via ProQuest
- ^ "Gould Nearly Ready to File His Answer" Evansville Press (January 14, 1910): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Gould Love Notes" The Courier-News (December 29, 1909): 6. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Frank Gould Denies Promise" Pittston Gazette (December 28, 1909): 1. via Newspapers.com
- ^ "Gould Paid Dancer $10,000 as Balm" The Daily Record (November 3, 1910): 8. via Newspapers.com
External links
edit
- Bessie De Voie at the Internet Broadway Database
- Bessie De Voie at Playbill Vault
- Photograph of Bessie De Voie (undated), from the American Vaudeville Museum Archive, Special Collections at University of Arizona Libraries.
