Today is the birthday of Beatrice Curtis (Beatrice Zinn, 1906-1963). Curtis was second generation show biz, the daughter of agent (and former vaudevillian) Jack Curtis and singer and vaudeville actress Anna Chandler. Her half-brother was actor Jack Curtis, Jr.
Curtis was Harry Fox’ vaudeville partner for many years and was married to him 1922-1934. They were a top flight big time act, appearing at the Palace many times. She and Fox also appeared together in the Vitaphone short The Playboy in 1929. After breaking with Fox in 1934, she worked mostly in film at Columbia, usually in uncredited bit parts (you can see her in several Frank Capra films, among many others, for example). But she also got lots of co-starring roles in Columbia comedy shorts from 1937 through 1939 opposite the likes of Monte Collins, Andy Clyde and Charley Chase. She was married to vaudevillian and actor Sammy White from 1940 until his death in 1960. Curtis herself died by her own in 1963.
The photo above is from the web site of Lord Heath.
For more on vaudeville history, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.
(Travalanche) 