Eva Puck
Encyclopedia
Eva Puck was a vaudeville headliner who later found success performing in Broadway musical comedies.
song and dance
act known as the Two Little Pucks.
On the tenth of May, 1903, police raided the Trocadero Music Hall in Manhattan’s Fort George district where the Puck children were performing as headliners and arrested their parents and the theater manager, Freeman Bernstein. They were charged with a violation of Section 289 of the Penal Code in unlawfully consenting to the employment, and in the employment, of minors in a theatrical exhibition. The investigators were concerned over the hours that Eva and her brother were keeping and also found the Trocadero an unsuitable environment for children with patrons smoking and consuming alcohol. The three were later brought to trial in the Court of Special Sessions, and found guilty. The judge, in passing sentence said, in part:
"We cannot resist the conviction that these parents have been living largely upon the earnings of these children, which amount from $125 to $150 per month. Now, this sort of business cannot be continued or permitted, and if these defendants come before this Court again the punishment will be more drastic.”
Her father was fined $100, or thirty days jail time; and her mother $25, or fifteen days in the City Prison. Bernstein was fined $50.
For the next few years the Two Little Pucks continued to perform at venues outside New York and later, as they entered their teens, toured as Eva and Harry Puck until disbanding sometime around 1918. Harry went on to be a successful choreographer, composer
, songwriter
and music publisher
while Eva remained in vaudeville soon teaming up with her future husband, song and dance comedian Sammy White
. Their younger brother, Laurence "Larry" Puck, became a radio and television producer and general manager of Unicorn Productions Inc., a subsidiary of CBS
. He later married Mable Withee, a singer and dancer active on Broadway over the 1920s.
musical The Girl Friend
(1926) and Jerome Kern
's Show Boat
(1927). The two played in the original 1927 Broadway
stage version of the classic musical Show Boat. In the musical, White played the role of comic dancer Frank Schultz, and Puck played the role of Ellie May Chipley, who eventually marries Frank. The two reprised their roles in the first Broadway revival of the show, in 1932. However, by the time the Universal Pictures
film version
was made in 1936, the two had divorced, so the role of Ellie went to Queenie Smith
, with White repeating his performance as Frank in the film.
Puck and White appeared in a short film made by Lee De Forest
in his Phonofilm
sound-on-film
process, which premiered at the Rivoli Theater in New York City
on 15 April 1923. The film shows Puck and White performing their comic routine entitled "Opera Vs. Jazz", and is preserved in the Maurice Zouary film collection at the Library of Congress
.
In the mid 1930s Eva Puck married Robert Groves (or Graves), a California merchant and retired from the stage.
. A resident of Pacific Palisades, she passed away after an extended illness on July 17, 1972.
Early Life
She was born in New York City, the middle of three children raised by Abraham and Lena (née Salmon) Puck. There is some question about the family surname being Puck or Salmon, both were used in early press articles. Little is known of her mother who came to America from Poland in 1874 or her English father who immigrated in 1882. They married in 1887 and by 1899 had Eva and her older brother Harry performing in a vaudevilleVaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
song and dance
Song and Dance
Song and Dance is a musical comprising two acts, one told entirely in "Song" and one entirely in "Dance", tied together by a love story.The first part is Tell Me On A Sunday, with lyrics by Don Black and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, about a young British woman's romantic misadventures in New York...
act known as the Two Little Pucks.
On the tenth of May, 1903, police raided the Trocadero Music Hall in Manhattan’s Fort George district where the Puck children were performing as headliners and arrested their parents and the theater manager, Freeman Bernstein. They were charged with a violation of Section 289 of the Penal Code in unlawfully consenting to the employment, and in the employment, of minors in a theatrical exhibition. The investigators were concerned over the hours that Eva and her brother were keeping and also found the Trocadero an unsuitable environment for children with patrons smoking and consuming alcohol. The three were later brought to trial in the Court of Special Sessions, and found guilty. The judge, in passing sentence said, in part:
"We cannot resist the conviction that these parents have been living largely upon the earnings of these children, which amount from $125 to $150 per month. Now, this sort of business cannot be continued or permitted, and if these defendants come before this Court again the punishment will be more drastic.”
Her father was fined $100, or thirty days jail time; and her mother $25, or fifteen days in the City Prison. Bernstein was fined $50.
For the next few years the Two Little Pucks continued to perform at venues outside New York and later, as they entered their teens, toured as Eva and Harry Puck until disbanding sometime around 1918. Harry went on to be a successful choreographer, composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, songwriter
Songwriter
A songwriter is an individual who writes both the lyrics and music to a song. Someone who solely writes lyrics may be called a lyricist, and someone who only writes music may be called a composer...
and music publisher
Music publisher (sheet music)
The term music publisher originally referred to publishers who issued printed sheet music....
while Eva remained in vaudeville soon teaming up with her future husband, song and dance comedian Sammy White
Sammy White
Samuel or Sam White may refer to:*Samuel White , lawyer and U.S. Senator from Delaware*Samuel White , Member of Parliament for Leitrim*Samuel Albert White , Australian ornithologist...
. Their younger brother, Laurence "Larry" Puck, became a radio and television producer and general manager of Unicorn Productions Inc., a subsidiary of CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
. He later married Mable Withee, a singer and dancer active on Broadway over the 1920s.
Career
Eva Puck became a member of the vaudeville comedy act Clayton and White that, after Lew Clayton’s departure around 1920, became known as Puck and White. One of their popular vaudeville sketches at that time portrayed White as a scholarly music teacher and Eva as his inept student. The couple married in 1922. and together appeared in Broadway shows such as the Greenwich Village Follies (1923), Rodgers and HartRodgers and Hart
Rodgers and Hart were an American songwriting partnership of composer Richard Rodgers and the lyricist Lorenz Hart...
musical The Girl Friend
The Girl Friend
The Girl Friend is a musical comedy with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Lorenz Hart and book by Herbert Fields. This was the longest running show to date for the trio.-Production:...
(1926) and Jerome Kern
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over 100 stage works, including such classics as "Ol' Man River", "Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man", "A...
's Show Boat
Show Boat
Show Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
(1927). The two played in the original 1927 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
stage version of the classic musical Show Boat. In the musical, White played the role of comic dancer Frank Schultz, and Puck played the role of Ellie May Chipley, who eventually marries Frank. The two reprised their roles in the first Broadway revival of the show, in 1932. However, by the time the Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures
-1920:* White Youth* The Flaming Disc* Am I Dreaming?* The Dragon's Net* The Adorable Savage* Putting It Over* The Line Runners-1921:* The Fire Eater* A Battle of Wits* Dream Girl* The Millionaire...
film version
Show Boat (1936 film)
Show Boat is a 1936 film based on the musical play by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II , which the team adapted from the novel by Edna Ferber....
was made in 1936, the two had divorced, so the role of Ellie went to Queenie Smith
Queenie Smith
Queenie Smith was an American stage, television, and film actress.-Biography:Smith got an early start, being trained in ballet and dance and spent her teen years performing as a dancer with the Metropolitan Opera Company in operas such as Aida, La Traviata, and Faust...
, with White repeating his performance as Frank in the film.
Puck and White appeared in a short film made by Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest
Lee De Forest was an American inventor with over 180 patents to his credit. De Forest invented the Audion, a vacuum tube that takes relatively weak electrical signals and amplifies them. De Forest is one of the fathers of the "electronic age", as the Audion helped to usher in the widespread use...
in his Phonofilm
Phonofilm
In 1919, Lee De Forest, inventor of the audion tube, filed his first patent on a sound-on-film process, DeForest Phonofilm, which recorded sound directly onto film as parallel lines. These parallel lines photographically recorded electrical waveforms from a microphone, which were translated back...
sound-on-film
Sound-on-film
Sound-on-film refers to a class of sound film processes where the sound accompanying picture is physically recorded onto photographic film, usually, but not always, the same strip of film carrying the picture. Sound-on-film processes can either record an analog sound track or digital sound track,...
process, which premiered at the Rivoli Theater in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on 15 April 1923. The film shows Puck and White performing their comic routine entitled "Opera Vs. Jazz", and is preserved in the Maurice Zouary film collection at the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
.
In the mid 1930s Eva Puck married Robert Groves (or Graves), a California merchant and retired from the stage.
Death
Eva Puck died in 1979, aged 86, at the Granada Hills Community Hospital in Los Angeles. She had a daughter, Lauretta (sometimes spelled Laurette) Puck, born in New York in 1912. Nothing is known here about her father except that he was born in Hungary. She appeared in the 1937 film Should Wives Work and had previously toured with the Arthur Ashley Players. Lauretta later married William R. Golden, a Hollywood executive, and became a nationally known exhibitor and breeder of Irish SettersIrish Setter
The Irish Setter , is a setter, a breed of gundog and family dog. The term Irish Setter is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognized by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred Red Setter recognised by the Field Dog Stud Book....
. A resident of Pacific Palisades, she passed away after an extended illness on July 17, 1972.