Beryl Wallace (born Beatrice Heischuber, September 29, 1912 – June 17, 1948) was an American singer, dancer and actress.

Biography

Wallace was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, the second of nine children of working class

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish immigrants from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

. Pursuing a dancing career, she was in her teens when she saw a casting call advertisement in the

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

and landed a role in the 1928

Earl Carroll Earl Carroll (September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, songwriter and composer. Early life Carroll was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1893. He lived as an infant in the Nunnery Hill ( Fine ...

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

production of ''

Vanities ''Vanities'' is a comedy-drama stage production written by Jack Heifner. The story centers on the lives and friendship of three Texas cheerleaders starting from high school in 1963, continuing through college as sorority sisters in 1968, and end ...

'' that was billed as having the "most beautiful girls in the world". She adopted the surname "Wallace" as her

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

and went on to appear in six similar risqué productions that featured scanty costumes for the female performers and full nudity for the first time on Broadway. Beryl Wallace and producer Earl Carroll began a personal relationship that would take them to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood, ...

where she would perform in film and at his

Earl Carroll Theatre The Earl Carroll Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 753 Seventh Avenue near 50th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built by impresario Earl Carroll and designed by architect George Keister, it opened on Febr ...

. The theatre-

supper club A supper club is a traditional dining establishment that also functions as a social club. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselves as having a high-class image ...

's facade was adorned by what at the time was one of Hollywood's most famous

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures or f ...

s: a -high

neon Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypton ...

facial portrait of Beryl Wallace of which
recreation
can be seen today at

Universal CityWalk Universal CityWalk is the name shared by the entertainment and retail districts located adjacent to the theme parks of Universal Parks & Resorts. CityWalk began as an expansion of Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood, and serves as ...

, at Universal City, as part of the collection of historic neon signs from the

Museum of Neon Art The Museum of Neon Art (MONA) is an institution that exists to encourage learning and curiosity through the preservation, collection, and interpretation of neon art. The first museum devoted to art that incorporates neon lighting, it exclusively e ...

. Beryl Wallace made her film debut in 1934 in an uncredited role in the

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

film production of Carroll's Broadway play ''

Murder at the Vanities ''Murder at the Vanities'' is a 1934 American Pre-Code musical film based on the 1933 Broadway show with music by Victor Young. It was released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Mitchell Leisen, stars Victor McLaglen, Carl Brisson, Jack ...

''. She went on to appear in a number of small roles until 1937, when she co-starred in the

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

" B"

Western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

production of ''Romance of the Rockies'' with Tom Keene. This led to another co-starring role in the 1938 film, ''Air Devils''. In the early 1940s she continued appearing in bit parts, but also had good secondary roles in

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...

"B" Westerns starring the likes of

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998) was an American singer, actor, and television host. Following early work under his given name, first as co-founder of the Sons of the Pioneers and then acting, the rebra ...

and

Richard Dix Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

. While acting in twenty-two films over a ten-year period, Wallace's primary job was as a star entertainer at Earl Carroll's theatre. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, Wallace sang weekly on two 15-minute radio shows and on Monday evenings hosted a half-hour entertainment show on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

radio called ''Furlough Fun''. In addition to helping entertain soldiers at the

Masquers Club The Masquers Club is a private social club for actors in Los Angeles, California. It was created in 1925 by actors from New York City who had left Broadway to act in motion pictures. It was similar to the Lambs Club in New York. The Club produced th ...

, on Sunday afternoons she was a volunteer dancer at the

Hollywood Canteen The Hollywood Canteen operated at 1451 Cahuenga Boulevard in the Los Angeles, California, neighborhood of Hollywood between October 3, 1942, and November 22, 1945 (Thanksgiving Day), as a club offering food, dancing and entertainment for servi ...

Death

On June 17, 1948, while en route from Los Angeles to New York City, Beryl Wallace and Earl Carroll died in the crash of

United Airlines Flight 624 United Airlines Flight 624, a Douglas DC-6 airliner, registration NC37506, was a scheduled passenger flight from San Diego, California to New York City. The four-engined, propeller-driven airplane crashed at 1:41 pm Eastern Daylight Time on ...

Aristes, Pennsylvania Aristes is a census-designated place (CDP) in Conyngham Township, Columbia County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania. The population was 311 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Bloomsburg-Berwick micropolitan ...

. They were interred together in the Garden of Memory at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.

Broadway performances

* ''

Earl Carroll's Vanities ''The Earl Carroll Vanities'' was a Broadway revue that Earl Carroll presented in the 1920s and early 1930s. Carroll and his show were sometimes controversial. Distinguishing qualities In 1923, the ''Vanities'' joined the ranks of New York� ...

'' (1940) * '' The Women'' (1936) * ''

Earl Carroll's Sketch Book Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. The title originates in the Old English word ''eorl'', meaning "a man of noble birth or rank". The word is cognate with the Scandinavian form ''jarl'', and meant "chieftain", particular ...

'' (1935) * ''

'' (1934) * ''Earl Carroll's Vanities'' (1932) * ''Earl Carroll's Vanities'' (1931) * ''Earl Carroll's Vanities'' (1930) * ''Earl Carroll's Vanities'' (1928)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Beryl 1912 births 1948 deaths Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania Actresses from New York City American female dancers Dancers from New York (state) Jewish American actresses American film actresses American stage actresses People from Brooklyn Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1948 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American dancers 20th-century American Jews