Pearl Eaton Levant (August 1, 1898 – September 10, 1958) was an American Broadway performer, actress, choreographer, and dance supervisor of the 1910s and 1920s.

Early life and career

Eaton was born in Washington, D.C., and was the daughter of Charles Henry Eaton. She began attending dance lessons in Washington D.C., along with her sisters Doris and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

, at a young age. In 1911, all three sisters were hired for a production of

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count (or Comte) Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in ...

's fantasy play '' The Blue Bird'' at the Shubert Belasco Theatre in Washington. While Eaton had a minor role in the show, it served as her introduction to the world of professional theatre. After ''The Blue Bird'', in 1912, the three Eaton sisters and their younger brother Joe began appearing in various plays and melodramas for the Poli stock company. They quickly gained reputations as professional, reliable, and versatile actors, and were rarely out of work. In 1915, all three sisters appeared in a new production of ''The Blue Bird'' for Poli; Doris and Mary were given the starring roles of Mytyl and Tytyl. The siblings were subsequently invited to reprise their roles for a New York and road tour of the play, produced by the

Shubert Brothers The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of the Broadway district, in New York City, as the hub of the theater industry in the United States. They dominated the legitimate theater and vaudeville in the first half of the 20th cen ...

. Although Pearl had a minor role in ''The Blue Bird,'' her dancing impressed the Shuberts, who offered her a place in the chorus of

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Eizer Yoelson; June 9, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-American Jews, Jewish singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. He was one of the United States' most famous and highest-paid stars of the 1920s, and was self-bi ...

's latest show 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 ...

, ''

Robinson Crusoe, Jr. ''Robinson Crusoe, Jr.'' is a musical with a book by Edgar Smith, lyrics by Harold R. Atteridge, and music by Sigmund Romberg and James Hanley. Production ''Robinson Crusoe, Jr.'' was an extravaganza that opened at the Winter Garden Theatre ...

'' It marked the beginning of her career as an adult musical theatre performer.

Success onstage and onscreen

Following her performance in ''Robinson Crusoe, Jr.,'' Eaton appeared in ''The Passing Show.'' When the production went on tour, Eaton remained with the cast. While on the road, she fell in love with one of the company musicians, violinist Harry Levant. The two were married in 1917; the following year, Eaton gave birth to a daughter, Doris. However, shortly after giving birth, she regained her dancing form and was back at the Winter Garden, appearing as a specialty dancer in ''Sinbad.'' Levant and Eaton were divorced in November 1928. In the spring of 1918, Eaton was hired as a chorus dancer for the latest edition of the ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' was a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934 and 1936. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as ''The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air ...

''. She would remain with Ziegfeld for five years, appearing in the ''Follies'' in 1918, 1922, and 1923 and the ''Midnight Frolics'' of 1919, 1920, and 1921. While she never was made a principal dancer with the ''Follies,'' from 1918 onwards, she also worked as an assistant to choreographer

Ned Wayburn Ned Wayburn ''(né'' Edward Claudius Weyburn; 30 March 1874 – 2 September 1942) was an American choreographer. Career Wayburn was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to Elbert Delos Weyburn and Harriet Landon Beach. Ned Wayburn spent much of ...

. In April 1923 Eaton starred in ''Plunder'' at Poli's Majestic Theater in New York City. On one occasion she filled in for

Marilyn Miller Marilyn Miller (born Mary Ellen Reynolds; September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, and the combination of these ...

in a Ziegfeld chorus when the star had the

mumps MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gener ...

. Eaton was reputed to have the most beautiful legs in America. It was reported that each time Ziegfeld encountered Eaton he asked her, "How are the legs?". After her final appearance with the ''Follies,'' in the 1923 road company, Eaton became associated with producer Charles Dillingham, becoming the only female musical comedy producer in New York at that time. She worked on Dillngham's productions for several years, both as a performer and a dance director. During this period she was a popular and respected presence on Broadway, and was even honored with a caricature on the walls at the theatrical restaurant

Sardi's Sardi's is a Continental food, continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Manhattan, New Yo ...

. Her final Broadway show was ''She's My Baby'' at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men, on land owned by Thomas Brend and inherited by his son, Nicholas Brend, and gra ...

in 1928. In the late 1920s Eaton moved to Los Angeles and worked as a dance director and choreographer for

RKO Studios RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, was an American film production and distribution company, one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith-Albee-Orpheu ...

, where her first film was ''

Street Girl ''Street Girl'' is a 1929 pre-Code musical film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Betty Compson, John Harron and Jack Oakie. It was adapted by Jane Murfin from "The Viennese Charmer", a short story by William Carey Wonderly. While it was ...

'' (1929). She created dances for such films as '' Hit the Deck'' with

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on Theatre, stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Charlie Chaplin, Chaplin's ''T ...

, and RKO's largest hit of the decade, the

Ziegfeld Florenz Edward Ziegfeld Jr. (; March 21, 1867 – July 22, 1932) was an American Broadway impresario, notable for his series of theatrical revues, the ''Ziegfeld Follies'' (1907–1931), inspired by the ''Folies Bergère'' of Paris. He also p ...

musical extravaganza, '' Rio Rita''. She was selected by Hungarian artist Erno Bakos for a portrait of the ''most typical American blonde'', in December 1928. Bakos studied stage and screen beauties and went to both Vassar and

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smith (Smith College ...

in his search for an ideal girl. He believed Eaton possessed the perfect combination of beauty, intelligence, personality, charm, and spirit.

1930s and beyond

Pearl, along with the rest of her family, found her career in sharp decline during the Great Depression. In spite of her well-respected work at RKO, she was let go by the studio in 1930. She continued performing in motion pictures throughout the 30s, albeit in small roles. In July 1931, she began teaching at the Ernest E. Ryan School of Dancing. Eaton also dabbled in various other careers, opening a dance studio, writing songs and stories, training to be a realtor, and working for the Los Angeles County Census Bureau. As with several of her siblings, she also battled

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

and dependence on prescription drugs. After the death of her second husband, oil company executive Richard Curtis “Dick” Enderly, she became reclusive and rarely left her home. Pearl Eaton was found dead, at the age of 60, in her Manhattan Beach apartment on September 10, 1958. While the police investigation ruled that the death was a homicide, the case was never solved.

References

Books

* Bridgeport Telegram, ''Amusements'', April 6, 1923, Page 40. * The Helena Independent, ''Follies Girls Join Talkies, Giving Broadway the Blues'', March 28, 1930, Page 8. * San Mateo Times, ''Blondes Real Beauties'', February 26, 1929, Page 1. * Travis, Doris Eaton. ''The Days We Danced'', Marquand Books, 2003,

External links