The Seven Little Eatons
Encyclopedia
The Seven Little Eatons was a family of American
stage performers in the early part of the twentieth century.
The Eatons, from Norfolk
, Virginia
, began their careers in show business in 1911, when three of the children,
Doris
, Mary
, and Pearl
, were hired to appear in a production of Maurice Maeterlinck
's fantasy play The Blue Bird
at the Shubert Belasco Theatre in Washington.
After The Blue Bird closed, the sisters, younger brother Joe and cousin Avery, began appearing regularly in various plays and melodramas for the Poli stock company. Doris Eaton Travis, in her memoirs, noted that "the local stock managers at the Poli theatres knew that if you needed three or four or more children, you could call Mama Eaton and get them all in one place." The Eaton girls sometimes portrayed male roles; brother Joe sometimes portrayed female characters and was billed as "Josephine." They quickly gained reputations as professional, reliable and versatile actors, and were rarely out of work.
As their careers flourished, the Eatons moved to New York and, gradually, began performing in adult roles in musical theatre productions and silent films. They had a special connection to the Ziegfeld Follies
: between 1918 and 1922, at least one Eaton was a member of the Follies cast.
In the 1930s, with the advent of talkies, the decline of the Follies and the advent of the Great Depression
, the careers of the Eaton siblings declined. Several struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction; others went on to careers in the United States military and the Arthur Murray
chain of dance schools.
As of March 2009, Doris Eaton Travis
was the only surviving Eaton sibling. At an advanced age, she still performed annually on Broadway in benefits for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
. She wrote a memoir about her family, entitled The Days We Danced (2003) with her brother Charles, who died in 2004. Doris died on May 11, 2010 at the age of 106.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
stage performers in the early part of the twentieth century.
The Eatons, from Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, began their careers in show business in 1911, when three of the children,
Doris
Doris Eaton Travis
Doris Eaton Travis was a Broadway and film performer, dance instructor, and author. She was also the last surviving Ziegfeld girl.Travis began performing onstage as a young child, and made her Broadway debut at the age of 13...
, Mary
Mary Eaton
Mary Eaton was a leading stage actress, singer, and dancer in the 1910s and 1920s. A professional performer since childhood, she enjoyed success in stage productions such as the Ziegfeld Follies and early sound films such as Glorifying the American Girl and The Cocoanuts, but found her career in...
, and Pearl
Pearl Eaton
Pearl Eaton was a Broadway performer, choreographer, and dance supervisor of the 1910s and 1920s.-Early life and career:...
, were hired to appear in a production of Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Maeterlinck
Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck, also called Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who wrote in French. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1911. The main themes in his work are death and the meaning of life...
's fantasy play The Blue Bird
The Blue Bird
The Blue Bird may refer to:* The Blue Bird , by Maurice Maeterlinck** The Blue Bird , multiple adaptations of this play* "The Blue Bird" , by Madame d'Aulnoy...
at the Shubert Belasco Theatre in Washington.
After The Blue Bird closed, the sisters, younger brother Joe and cousin Avery, began appearing regularly in various plays and melodramas for the Poli stock company. Doris Eaton Travis, in her memoirs, noted that "the local stock managers at the Poli theatres knew that if you needed three or four or more children, you could call Mama Eaton and get them all in one place." The Eaton girls sometimes portrayed male roles; brother Joe sometimes portrayed female characters and was billed as "Josephine." They quickly gained reputations as professional, reliable and versatile actors, and were rarely out of work.
As their careers flourished, the Eatons moved to New York and, gradually, began performing in adult roles in musical theatre productions and silent films. They had a special connection to the Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld Follies
The Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
: between 1918 and 1922, at least one Eaton was a member of the Follies cast.
In the 1930s, with the advent of talkies, the decline of the Follies and the advent of the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, the careers of the Eaton siblings declined. Several struggled with alcoholism and drug addiction; others went on to careers in the United States military and the Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray
Arthur Murray was a dance instructor and businessman, whose name is most often associated with the dance studio chain that bears his name....
chain of dance schools.
As of March 2009, Doris Eaton Travis
Doris Eaton Travis
Doris Eaton Travis was a Broadway and film performer, dance instructor, and author. She was also the last surviving Ziegfeld girl.Travis began performing onstage as a young child, and made her Broadway debut at the age of 13...
was the only surviving Eaton sibling. At an advanced age, she still performed annually on Broadway in benefits for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS
Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the theatre community’s response to the AIDS crisis. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the theatre community, on Broadway, Off-Broadway and across the country, BC/EFA raises funds for AIDS-related causes across the United States...
. She wrote a memoir about her family, entitled The Days We Danced (2003) with her brother Charles, who died in 2004. Doris died on May 11, 2010 at the age of 106.
The Eatons
Although the family was called the "Seven Little Eatons," in fact only five of the children were actively involved in show business.- Charles EatonCharles Eaton (actor)Charles Eaton was an American juvenile stage and film performer, and the most important performing male member of the clan once referred to as The Seven Little Eatons. The siblings, all appeared, at one time or another, in The Ziegfeld Follies each year between 1918 through 1923.-Career:On stage...
(1910 - 2004)
- Doris Eaton TravisDoris Eaton TravisDoris Eaton Travis was a Broadway and film performer, dance instructor, and author. She was also the last surviving Ziegfeld girl.Travis began performing onstage as a young child, and made her Broadway debut at the age of 13...
(1904 - 2010)
- Evelyn Eaton Mills (1894 - 1980) was the eldest of the Eaton siblings. While she was never a performer herself, she was perhaps somewhat responsible for the Eaton family's entrance into show business: she brought her three sisters to audition for their first show, The Blue Bird. She became, somewhat reluctantly, the "second mother" to the performing children of the family, and was compelled by her parents to leave school to look after them.
- Evelyn married Bob Mills in 1917; they had three children, Edwin, Warren and Evelynne (also credited as Evelyn Eaton, 1924 - 1964). All three children had successful careers as juvenile actors on Broadway. Doris Eaton Travis, in her memoirs, notes that Evelyn was a very aggressive stage motherStage motherIn the performing arts, a stage mother is a term for the mother of a child actor. The mother will often drive her child to auditions, make sure he or she is on the set on time, etc...
, and eventually ended up alienating her children. Evelyn was the last person ever to sign a contract with Flo Ziegfeld, on behalf of her daughter, who played the character of Kim as a child in a 1932 revival of Show BoatShow BoatShow 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...
.
- Joseph Eaton (1905 - 1998) began his career at the age of five in Mrs. Wiggs and the Cabbage Patch. From 1912 to 1914, he appeared in nearly twenty different productions with the Poli Stock Company and elsewhere, often alongside one or more of his sisters. Joe performed in the 1921 edition of the Ziegfeld Follies, replacing his younger brother Charlie. However, unlike the other Eaton siblings, he did not pursue show business as an adult.
- He attended the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of PennsylvaniaThe University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
, where he performed with the Mask and Wig Society. After college, he worked with RKO Studios, joined the Civilian Conservation CorpsCivilian Conservation CorpsThe Civilian Conservation Corps was a public work relief program that operated from 1933 to 1942 in the United States for unemployed, unmarried men from relief families, ages 18–25. A part of the New Deal of President Franklin D...
, and worked as an Arthur Murray dance instructor. During World War IIWorld War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
he enlisted in the US Army, where he worked under the command of General Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. EisenhowerDwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
, rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel and was awarded a Bronze StarBronze Star MedalThe Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration that may be awarded for bravery, acts of merit, or meritorious service. As a medal it is awarded for merit, and with the "V" for valor device it is awarded for heroism. It is the fourth-highest combat award of the...
. After the war, he returned to work as a dance teacher in one of the Arthur Murray schools owned by his sister Doris. He was married to wife Lucille for over fifty years, and was the father of two children.
- Mary EatonMary EatonMary Eaton was a leading stage actress, singer, and dancer in the 1910s and 1920s. A professional performer since childhood, she enjoyed success in stage productions such as the Ziegfeld Follies and early sound films such as Glorifying the American Girl and The Cocoanuts, but found her career in...
(1901-1948)
- Pearl EatonPearl EatonPearl Eaton was a Broadway performer, choreographer, and dance supervisor of the 1910s and 1920s.-Early life and career:...
Levant (1898 - 1958)
- Robert Eaton (1896-1935), the eldest Eaton son, was not involved in show business. He served in the US Army during World War IWorld War IWorld War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
, and later formed a maintenance service with his wife. He died of pneumoniaPneumoniaPneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...
in 1935.