The Dillon Brothers were a popular

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

comedic

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

act from the late 1880s into the early 1900s, composed of brothers Harry (1866? - 1916) and John Dillon.(7 February 1916)
Harry Dillon, Comedian, Dead at Cortland Home
''

The Post-Standard ''The Post-Standard'' is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and ''The ...

''(7 February 1916)
Harry Dillon Dies; Writer of Songs
''

Brooklyn Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...

'' Harry and John Dillon were the sons of Mary Fitzgerald and Michael Dillon of

Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 17,556. The city of Cortland, near the county's western ...

, and had six other brothers and two sisters. Leaving home at age 15, Harry made his theater debut on the

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

circuit, joining Duprez & Benedict's Minstrels for a year in 1882. He was then joined by his brother John and began to perform sketch comedy and comedic songs. Their hits included "Do, Do, My Huckleberry Do" (1893), "

Put Me Off at Buffalo Put Me Off at Buffalo is a song by the vaudeville team of the Dillon Brothers, with lyrics by Harry Dillon and music by John Dillon. It was first published in 1895, and also appeared in the play ''A Trip to Chinatown''.(27 January 1897)Hoyt's Tri ...

" (1895), and "Why Did They Sell Killarney?" (1899). Harry retired from vaudeville due to illness some years before 1915, and John had returned to Cortland to go into business by 1914.(1 February 1915)
Dillon Brothers All Leave Stage
''

'' Harry died in Cortland on February 6, 1916. John and Harry's brother

William Dillon William Austin Dillon (November 6, 1877 – February 10, 1966) was an American songwriter and Vaudevillian. He is best known as the lyricist for the song " I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (1911), written in collaborati ...

(1877-1966) was also a popular performer best known as the lyricist for the song " I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (1911)

References

{{reflist Vaudeville performers Sibling musical duos People from Cortland, New York