Brox Sisters
The Brox Sisterswere anAmericantrio of singing sisters, enjoying their greatest popularity in the 1920s and early 1930s.
Early life
[edit]The sisters were Lorayne (bornEunice,November 11, 1901 – June 14, 1993), Dagmar (later Bobbe) (bornJosephine,November 28, 1902 – May 2, 1999), and Patricia (bornKathleen,June 14, 1904 – August 27, 1988). They were born inIowaandIndiana,grew up inAlbertaandTennessee,and retainedSouthernaccents during their performing careers. The sisters began a singing career as a trio in Canada, first appearing as child performers inMother Lang's Children's Show.[1]
The family name "Brock" was changed to "Brox" for theater marquees.[2]
The Brox sisters began touring theVaudevillecircuit in the 1910s in the United States and Canada. At the start of the 1920s they achieved success in New York on theBroadwaystage.[3]Near the end of the decade they relocated toLos Angeles.The act broke up in the early 1930s after the sisters got married. They made their final professional reunion appearance on radio in 1939.
Broadway
[edit]
The trio performed inIrving Berlin'sMusic Box Revuefrom 1921 to 1924, at theNew York Theatre.Berlin's hit song "Everybody Step" was written for and debuted by the sisters.[4]They recorded a number of Berlin compositions, including "Bring on the Pepper," "How Many Times," "Lazy,""School House Blues, "" Some Sunny Day, "and" Tokio Blues. "
In 1925 and 1926, they performed on Broadway in the musical comedyThe Cocoanuts,with theMarx Brothers.In 1927, they appeared in theZiegfeld Follies of 1927at theNew Amsterdam TheatrewithcomedianEddie Cantor.
Film history
[edit]The Brox Sisters were among the earliest artists to appear on Warner Bros.'Vitaphonesound shorts in the late 1920s. They were featured in three productions:Glorifying the American Song,Down South(both in 1928), and the 6 minute short,Down Southin 1929. None of the features currently exists in full audio and visual format, with research underway to locate missing visual or audio components.[5]Down Southexists in camera negative at theLibrary of Congressand a scruffy Vitaphone disc was located by Ron Hutchinson of the Vitaphone Project, who raised funding for a restoration at UCLA Film & Television Archive circa 2018.
In 1929, they appeared in the filmThe Hollywood Revue of 1929,performing the songs "Singin' in the Rain"withCliff Edwardsand "Strike Up the Band"in the finale of the first act.
In 1930, the sisters appeared in the filmKing of Jazz.They performed the song "A Bench in the Park", withJoe VenutiandEddie Lang,and withThe Rhythm Boys(Bing Crosby,Harry BarrisandAl Rinker). In that year they also appeared in the filmSpring Is Herein which they performed the song "Crying for the Carolines".
They performed "Falling in Love Again"in the movieHollywood on Parade(1932).
Radio and recordings
[edit]The sisters also maderadiobroadcasts in the 1920s. They recorded a series ofphonograph recordsforBrunswick RecordsandVictor Records,as well as appearing on sides forColumbia.
References
[edit]- ^Aukerman, Cynthia, "Brox Sisters: from UC to Hollywood",The News Gazette(Winchester, Indiana), Jan 23, 2007
- ^ "Bobbe Brox, 98, Vocalist in A Family Trio".The New York Times.New York, NY. May 15, 1999.RetrievedMarch 1,2024.
- ^"Brox Sisters".Red Hot Jazz Archive.13 April 2020.Retrieved13 April2020.
- ^Bobbe Brox obituary
- ^The Vitaphone Project
External links
[edit]
- Bobbe Brox at Internet Broadway Database
- Lorayne Brox at Internet Broadway Database
- Patricia Brox at Internet Broadway Database
- The Brox Sisters at IMDB
- Bobbe Brox at IMDB
- Kathlyn Brox at IMDB
- Lorraine Brox at IMDB
- Bobbe Brox obituary at NY Times
- Brox Sisters pages at JazzAge 1920s site
- Brock Sisters from UC to Hollywood
- Bobbie Brox obit in The Independent
- Cameo performance inKing of Jazz
- Bobbe Van Heusen, original name: Josephine Van HeusenatFind a Grave(buried inDesert Memorial Park)
- Lorraine BroxatFind a Grave(buried inDesert Memorial Park)
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