Neither the small Scotty dog from The Wizard of Oz, nor the rather embarrassing 70s’ rock band, nor the later Italian movie star, this Toto was a successful clown who conquered many kinds of stages, often performing with a dog named Whiskey. Born in 1888 in Switzerland, he came to the States during the First World War . He achieved the highest fame possible in his line during that era. 1918 was the peak for him in the U.S. — in that year he first played the Palace and began making comedy shorts for Hal Roach. The Roach shorts didn’t work out. Toto left the studio the following year, leaving a void that was filled by Stan Laurel. But he continued to play the Palace many times until its switch to feature films in 1932. In 1938, it was erroneously reported that he had died. He wrote the newspaper to complain. The following day he was dead. Never jump to conclusions!
To find out more about show business past and present, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.
And don’t miss my new book Chain of Fools: Silent Comedy and Its Legacies from Nickelodeons to Youtube, just released by Bear Manor Media, also available from amazon.com etc etc etc
(Travalanche) 