Tommy Wonder (March 7, 1914 in

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columb ...

– December 11, 1993 in

Riverdale, Bronx Riverdale is a residential neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of the Bronx. Riverdale, which had a population of 47,850 as of the 2000 United States Census, contains the city's northernmost point, at the Coll ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

) was an American dancer,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, choreographer, and artist manager. He was a

principal dancer A principal dancer (often shortened to principal) is a dancer at the highest rank within a professional dance company, particularly a ballet company. A principal may be male or female. The position is similar to that of '' soloist''; however, p ...

in the 1943

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 Ai ...

.Tommy Wonder; Actor and 'Ziegfeld Follies' Dancer
in the ''

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''; published December 12, 1993; retrieved July 28, 2015 As a child, Wonder had an unspecified physical disability which hindered his ability to

walk Walking (also known as ambulation) is one of the main gaits of terrestrial locomotion among legged animals. Walking is typically slower than running and other gaits. Walking is defined by an ' inverted pendulum' gait in which the body vaults ...

; to help him, his mother used clothes and a

broomstick A broom (also known in some forms as a broomstick) is a cleaning tool consisting of usually stiff fibers (often made of materials such as plastic, hair, or corn husks) attached to, and roughly parallel to, a cylindrical handle, the broomstick. I ...

to build a puppet on which he could support himself. Wonder named the puppet "Suzanne", and with its help he was able not only to learn to walk, but to dance at a professional level; an upgraded version of "Suzanne", designed by members of the

Westmore family The Westmore Family is a prominent family in Hollywood make-up. Led by their patriarch, George Westmore, the family has had four generations serve Hollywood as make-up artists in various capacities since George's establishment of Hollywood's fir ...

, with human hair, and Wonder's mother's original broomstick, is in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

.American Puppetry: collections, history and performance
p. 209, edited by Phyllis T. Dircks, 2004; volume 23 of the Performing Arts Resource Series of the Theatre Library Association; via

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Career

Wonder began as a

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associated t ...

, performing in

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 ...

; he subsequently appeared in the '' Our Gang'' films.Tommy Wonder, 78, Ex-Ziegfeld Dancer
at the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

, December 18, 1993 As an adult, Wonder performed in numerous

musical comedies 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 ...

; he also appeared in more serious films, including the 1938 ''

Gangster's Boy ''Gangster's Boy'' is a 1938 American film directed by William Nigh. It stars Jackie Cooper in his second film for Monogram Pictures. The film was positively received, and has been released on DVD. Plot High school student Larry Kelly's father T ...

''. By 1946, his fame was such that his presence at social events was considered worth reporting.WIPO Domain Name Decisions: D2005-0293
at the

WIPO The World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO; french: link=no, Organisation mondiale de la propriété intellectuelle (OMPI)) is one of the 15 specialized agencies of the United Nations (UN). Pursuant to the 1967 Convention Establishin ...

; "The opening of the Casino was attended by many Hollywood stars of the day, such as Jimmy Durante, Tommy Wonder, Eddie Jackson and

Rose Marie Rose Marie (born Rose Marie Mazzetta; August 15, 1923 – December 28, 2017) was an American actress, singer, comedian, and vaudeville performer with a career ultimately spanning nine decades, which included film, radio, records, theater, night ...

." In 1970, Wonder retired from performing and co-founded an artist management business with his former singing partner

Don Dellair Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

.NEW YORKERS, Etc
at the

, by

Enid Nemy Enid Nemy (born 1924) was a reporter and columnist for ''The New York Times'' for many years. She began at the Times in 1963, and remained for four decades before retiring. She was awarded the 1984 Matrix Award ''"for achievement in newspapers and w ...

, August 14, 1988

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wonder, Tommy 1914 births 1993 deaths American male dancers American choreographers 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American dancers