Joseph Simmons, head librarian for the Chicago Sun-Times, shows photos of the famous Duncan sisters to Vivian Duncan, surviving member of the Duncan Sisters Stage Team, and Janet Morris of Elmhurst, Vivian's life-long friend. Vivian will make a four-week appearance this fall at London's Palladium Theater, where she and Rosetta had starred several times. She also will continue work on a book that she and her sister began entitled "The Duncan Sisters' Story."Chicago Sun-Times Photo: Larry NocerinoThe Duncan Sisters were a vaudeville duo who became popular in the 1920s with their act Topsy and Eva.Rosetta (November 23, 1894 – December 4, 1959) and Vivian Duncan (June 17, 1897 – September 19, 1986) were born in Los Angeles, California, the daughters of a violinist turned salesman. They began their stage careers in 1911 as part of the cast of Gus Edwards' Kiddies' Revue.During the next few years they perfected their act with Rosetta as a foghorn-voiced comedienne and Vivian as the pretty but dumb blonde type. Within a few years they "matured into first-rate vaudeville troopers who wrote much of their music in dialogue." They subsequently played not only in vaudeville, but also in night clubs and on stage in both New York and London. They made their first important Broadway appearance in 1917 at the Winter Garden Theatre in a show with Ed Wynn and Frank Tinney entitled Doing Our Bit.In 1923 the Duncans created their signature roles in Topsy and Eva (Rosetta as the former, Vivian as the latter), a musical comedy derived from the novel Uncle Tom's Cabin by Harriet Beecher Stowe. 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, directed by Del Lord with some additional scenes by D.W. Griffith. (Wikipedia)
Photo measures 9 x 7 in.
