Etta Pillard
Etta Pillard | |
|---|---|
 Etta Pillard, from a 1914 newspaper | |
| Born | Henrietta Freda Pillard September 3, 1888 Buffalo, New York, U.S. |
| Died | after 1946 |
| Occupation(s) | Dancer, vaudeville performer |
| Spouse | George Stone |
Henrietta Freda Pillard Stone (September 3, 1888 – after 1946), known as Etta Pillard, was an American vaudeville and burlesque performer, in a dancing act with her husband George Stone during the 1910s and 1920s.
Early life
[edit]Pillard was from Buffalo, New York,[1][2] the daughter of John V. Pillard and Alvena Ahrens Pillard.[3] She began her stage career in her teens.[4]
Career
[edit]Pillard and Stone were a novelty dancing act billed as "Dancing Demons"[5][6] in vaudeville and burlesque programs in the 1910s and 1920s.[7][8] "As a dancing team, George Stone and Etta Pillard have no equal," reported a 1914 newspaper account.[9] She appeared in The Social Maids,[7] Artists and Models,[10] The Wizard of Oz,[2] The Ragdoll of Ragland,[11] The Rose of Algeria,[12] Babes in Toyland,[12] Busy Little Cupid,[13] and other musical shows. In the 1920s, Pillard and Stone starred in Flappers of 1925,[10] and Flappers of 1926,[14][15] and had their own company.[8]
Pillard was often described as "dainty",[16] but her weight fluctuated enough for a 1913 newspaper to comment that "she blossomed into a heavyweight last year", before it described her reducing regimen of hot baths.[17] She described the hard work of burlesque dancers in interviews,[6] suggesting that "the burlesque managers would get better results, as much if not more money, and burlesque performers more enjoyment in their work, if there were not the deadly drag and drudgery of two shows a day."[2] She also gave tips on dressing quickly, like a showgirl, by planning and assembling outfits ahead of time.[18]
In the 1930s, George Stone ran a roadside cafe in Nassau County.[19] After he died in 1939, Etta Pillard and her brother Jack ran Stone's Tavern, advertised as "the Show Place of Baldwin".[20]
Personal life
[edit]Pillard married fellow vaudevillian George Stone in 1911. Her husband died in 1939.[19] Etta Pillard Stone lived with her mother in Baldwin, New York until 1947.[21]
References
[edit]- ^ "Friends Flock to See Miss Etta Pillard at the Gayety". Buffalo Courier Express. 1914-11-24. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-08-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c Henderson, Charles (1915-09-23). "Burlesque's Other Side". The Plain Dealer. p. 8. Retrieved 2024-08-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Alvena Pillard (death notice)". Newsday (Suffolk Edition). 1947-07-25. p. 46. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Miss Henrietta Pillard". Buffalo Courier. 1904-12-18. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Etta Pillard Makes Hit, Grand Theater; Dancing Demon and Partner, Geo. Stone, in Uproarious Comedy". New Britain Herald. 1915-12-21. p. 2. Retrieved 2024-08-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Little Dancing Demon Tells Some of her Troubles in Letter Full of Individuality". The Pittsburgh Press. 1916-02-13. p. 40. Retrieved 2024-08-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Gayety--'Social Maids'". The Washington Herald. 1913-08-24. p. 18. Retrieved 2024-08-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Talented Burlesquers". The Pittsburgh Press. 1927-01-02. p. 62. Retrieved 2024-08-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Geo Stone & Etta Pillard in 'The Social Maids' at New Nixon". Atlantic City Sunday Press the Sunday Gazette. 1914-05-10. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-08-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "'Flappers of 1925' is Season's Best Show". Press and Sun-Bulletin. 1925-10-15. p. 21. Retrieved 2024-08-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Etta Pillard and George Stone in Extravaganza at Lyric". Dayton Daily News. 1917-01-08. p. 13. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Stone and Pillard show comes to the Academy this week; Etta Pillard, Buffalo girl, and her partner". Buffalo Courier Express. 1920-05-30. p. 55. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Gayety Theatre". The Buffalo Commercial. 1916-05-06. p. 4. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Stone and Pillard at Casino". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1926-01-19. p. 10. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "'Flappers of 1926' Comes to Gayety". The Windsor Star. 1926-04-24. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Dancing is Second Nature with Dainty Etta Pillard". The Pittsburgh Press. 1917-11-18. p. 57. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "At the Theatres; Etta Pillard Becomes Spirituelle". The Omaha Evening Bee. 1913-11-13. p. 9. Retrieved 2024-08-19 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "A Few Tips in Dressing by Etta Pillard". Dayton Daily News. 1917-01-12. p. 26. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "George Stone, 61; Ex-Vaudevillian". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 1939-07-11. p. 11. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Stone's Tavern (advertisement)". Nassau Daily Review. December 28, 1946. p. 7 – via NYS Historic Newspapers.
- ^ "Mrs. Alvena Pillard". Buffalo Courier Express. 1947-07-24. p. 24. Retrieved 2024-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.