The Duncan Sisters (Rosetta and Vivian Duncan) were an American

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 ...

duo who became popular in the 1920s with their act ''Topsy and Eva''.

Biography

Early career

Rosetta (November 23, 1894Sources differ on their birth dates. These are taken from the

Internet Movie Database IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...

. – December 4, 1959) and Vivian Duncan (June 17, 1897 – September 19, 1986) were born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, the daughters of a violinist turned salesman.Springer, John, and Jack Hamilton. ''They Had Faces Then''. Secaucus, NJ. Castle Books, 1974. They began their stage careers in 1911 as part of the cast of Gus Edwards' ''Kiddies' Revue''. Duncan sisters 01

During the next few years they perfected their act with Rosetta as a foghorn-voiced comedian and Vivian as the pretty-but-dumb blonde type. Within a few years they "matured into first-rate vaudeville troupers who wrote much of their music in dialogue."Bradley, Edwin M. ''The First Hollywood Musicals''. Jefferson, NC, and London. McFarland, 1996. They subsequently played not only in

, but also in night clubs and on stage in both

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. They made their first important

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

appearance in 1917 at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It opened in 1911 under designs by architect William Albert Swasey. The Winter Garden's current design dates to 1922, when ...

in a show with

Ed Wynn Isaiah Edwin Leopold (November 9, 1886 – June 19, 1966), better known as Ed Wynn, was an American actor and comedian. He was noted for his ''Perfect Fool'' comedy character, his pioneering radio show of the 1930s, and his later career as a d ...

and Frank Tinney entitled ''Doing Our Bit''. In 1923 the Duncans created their signature roles in ''Topsy and Eva'' (Rosetta as the former, in

blackface Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used predominantly by non-Black people to portray a caricature of a Black person. In the United States, the practice became common during the 19th century and contributed to the spread of racial stereo ...

, Vivian as the latter), a

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

derived from the novel ''

Uncle Tom's Cabin ''Uncle Tom's Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly'' is an anti-slavery novel by American author Harriet Beecher Stowe. Published in two volumes in 1852, the novel had a profound effect on attitudes toward African Americans and slavery in the U. ...

'' by

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and became best known for her novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (1852), which depicts the harsh ...

. For this production they wrote and introduced the songs "I Never Had a Mammy" and "Rememb'ring". A huge hit in its day, ''Topsy and Eva'' was subsequently adapted into a 1927

silent movie ''Silent Movie'' is a 1976 American satirical comedy film co-written, directed by and starring Mel Brooks, released by 20th Century Fox in the summer of 1976. The ensemble cast includes Dom DeLuise, Marty Feldman, Bernadette Peters, and Sid Cae ...

, directed by

Del Lord Delmer "Del" Lord (October 7, 1894March 23, 1970) was a Canadians, Canadian film director and actor best known as a director of Three Stooges films. Career Delmer Lord was born in the small town of Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. Interested in the the ...

with some additional scenes by D. W. Griffith.

''It's a Great Life''

1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by amazon (company), Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded o ...

released their early sound

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...

The Broadway Melody ''The Broadway Melody'', also known as ''The Broadway Melody of 1929'', is a 1929 American pre-Code musical film and the first sound film to win an Academy Award for Best Picture. It was one of the first musicals to feature a Technicolor sequen ...

'', starring

Bessie Love Bessie Love (born Juanita Horton; September 10, 1898April 26, 1986) was an American-British actress who achieved prominence playing innocent, young girls and wholesome leading ladies in silent and early sound films. Her acting career spanned e ...

and

Anita Page Anita Page (born Anita Evelyn Pomares; August 4, 1910 – September 6, 2008) was an American film actress who reached stardom in the final years of the silent film era. She was referred to as "a blond, blue-eyed Latin" and "the girl with the mos ...

as the fictional Mahoney sisters. The film proved to be highly successful so MGM decided to follow it up with a similar film, this time starring the real-life Duncan Sisters in the leads. The result was '' It's a Great Life'' (

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

), directed by

Sam Wood Samuel Grosvenor Wood (July 10, 1883 – September 22, 1949) was an American film director and producer who is best known for having directed such Hollywood hits as ''A Night at the Opera (film), A Night at the Opera'', ''A Day at the Races (fi ...

and featuring three sequences filmed in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

. In the film the Duncan Sisters performed two of their most popular songs, "I'm Following You" and "Hoosier Hop." ''

Photoplay ''Photoplay'' was one of the first American film (another name for ''photoplay'') fan magazines. It was founded in 1911 in Chicago, the same year that J. Stuart Blackton founded '' Motion Picture Story,'' a magazine also directed at fans. For mo ...

'' magazine stated in their review: Unfortunately, the film "faltered at the box office and helped to cut short the Duncans' movie career." The movie, seldom seen for decades in part due to the color footage being missing, resurfaced in 2010 in a restored print released by Warner Bros. Archive.

did cast the Duncans in their all-star 1930 extravaganza ''The March of Time'', but that film was never completed. In 1935 the Duncans returned to the screen in the short musical ''Surprise!'' which featured footage of them reprising their Topsy and Eva characters.

Later years

In 1930 Vivian married actor

Nils Asther Nils Anton Alfhild Asther (17 January 1897 – 19 October 1981)Swedi ...

, who had co-starred with her and Rosetta in the film version of ''Topsy and Eva.'' Rosetta (who was lesbian)''Vaudeville, Old and New,'' By Frank Cullen, Florence Hackman, Donald McNeilly Page 338, see: https://books.google.com/books?id=XFnfnKg6BcAC&pg=PA338&dq=duncan+lesbian+rosetta&hl=en&ei=BzwnTd6cHsX7lwfdmd3xAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCMQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=duncan%20lesbian%20rosetta&f=false ;''Eccentrics of comedy'' By Anthony Slide, Page 3, see: https://books.google.com/books?id=TyFaAAAAMAAJ&q=duncan+lesbian+rosetta&dq=duncan+lesbian+rosetta&hl=en&ei=BzwnTd6cHsX7lwfdmd3xAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAQ attempted a solo career for a few years, but was rejoined with Vivian in 1932 after Vivian's divorce from Asther.

Although by now past their prime, the Duncan Sisters continued as a popular night club entertainers act for several more decades. They also appeared in several soundies

and also on

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

's ''

You Asked For It ''You Asked for It'' is a human interest television show created and hosted by Art Baker. Initially titled ''The Art Baker Show'', the program originally aired on American television between 1950 and 1959. Later versions of the series were see ...

''. In the late 1940s the Duncans wrote and recorded four Christmas selections for the Hollywood Recording Guild Inc.: "Dear Santy", "The Angel on the Top of the X-mas Tree", "Twimmin' de Cwis'mas Twee" and "Jolly Ole Fella". These appeared on 7" extended play 78rpm kiddie records. In 1956 both Rosetta and Vivian appeared on

Liberace Władziu Valentino Liberace (May 16, 1919 – February 4, 1987) was an American pianist, singer, and actor. A child prodigy born in Wisconsin to parents of Italian and Polish origin, he enjoyed a career spanning four decades of concerts, recordi ...

's television show. They sang some of their songs and did their Topsy and Eva routine. Their act ended in 1959 when Rosetta died from injuries sustained in an automobile accident, where she apparently fell asleep at the wheel while returning from a performance engagement, in

Cicero Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

.Chicago Tribune, ''One of Duncan Sisters Badly Hurt In Crash''. December 2, 1959, pg D3. Vivian, who by that time had remarried to Frank Herman, subsequently continued performing as a single act on the club circuit. She died of

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

in 1986.

Unrealized movie project

In 1946,

Twentieth Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

considered making a musical biography about the sisters' life after the success of a film of another sister act, '' The Dolly Sisters''. The project never got beyond the idea stage. In 1952,

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 ...

announced plans for a biopic on the Duncans to star

Betty Hutton Betty Hutton (born Elizabeth June Thornburg; February 26, 1921 – March 11, 2007) was an American stage, film, and television actress, comedian, dancer, and singer. Early life and education Hutton was born Elizabeth June Thornburg on February 2 ...

and

Ginger Rogers Ginger Rogers (born Virginia Katherine McMath; July 16, 1911 – April 25, 1995) was an American actress, dancer and singer during the Classical Hollywood cinema, Golden Age of Hollywood. She won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her starri ...

. Ms. Hutton demanded a rewrite after reading the first script draft and soon afterward walked out of her contract with the studio. Production plans for the film were then abandoned and never resumed.

Broadway appearances

Screen appearances

Selected recordings

References

External links

* * * *
An article on ''Topsy and Eva''

Duncan Sisters (Vocal group)
on ''Discography of American Historical Recordings'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Duncan Sisters American women comedians American comedy duos Vaudeville performers Sibling duos Sibling musical duos American musical duos Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American musicians 20th-century American comedians 20th-century American women musicians