William Lewis decided on a dancing career after seeing the Frisco Kid perform in the early 1920s. He began in vaudeville with the group, Sunshowers, and later with a travelling minstrel show. His wife Elsie studied Russian ballet and tap dancing. The collection consists of photographs, theater programs, and ephemera relating to the vaudeville careers of William and Elsie Lewis, and to vaudeville in America in the 1920s.

William Lewis was born in Providence, Rhode Island; he decided on a dancing career after seeing the Frisco Kid perform in the early 1920s; began in vaudeville with the group, Sunshowers, and later with a travelling minstrel show; his wife Elsie studied Russian ballet and tap dancing; danced at Capital Music Hall in New York with the the Chester Hale Girls; William and Elsie joined a touring group, Gobs of joy; after 1932, William Lewis returned to Rhode Island and opened a dancing school; after their baby was born, Lewis danced and served as an MC throughout the state; after the U.S. became involved in World War II, he took a job in an ammunitions factory; continued to do MC work until 1960, after which he continued to perform in nursing homes.

1 oversize box

Property rights to the physical object belong to the UCLA Library, Department of Special Collections. Literary rights, including copyright, are retained by the creators and their heirs. It is the responsibility of the researcher to determine who holds the copyright and pursue the copyright owner or his or her heir for permission to publish where The UC Regents do not hold the copyright.

COLLECTION STORED OFF-SITE AT SRLF: Advance notice required for access.