Fanchon and Marco were a duo of American dancers, theatrical producers, and entrepreneurs. A sister and brother, they performed as dancers in

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

and later produced spectacular theatrical dance shows, mainly in the 1920s and 1930s, as well as a range of other

show business Show business, sometimes shortened to show biz or showbiz (since 1945), is a vernacular term for all aspects of the entertainment industry.''Oxford English Dictionary'' 2nd Ed. (1989) From the business side (including managers, agents, produce ...

services. They were Fanchon Simon (born Fanchon Lucille Wolff; September 14, 1892 – February 3, 1965), and her brother Marco Wolff (April 21, 1894 – October 23, 1977).

Biography

Fanchon and Marco were among the children of Esther and Isaac Wolff, who were

Russian Jewish The history of the Jews in Russia and areas historically connected with it goes back at least 1,500 years. Jews in Russia have historically constituted a large religious and ethnic diaspora; the Russian Empire at one time hosted the largest po ...

immigrants to the United States. They were both born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

; some sources give their birth names as Fanny and Michael. They started their career in their parents' act, Wolff's Juvenile Orchestra. By 1902, billed as "Fanchon and Marco" they started performing together as dancers in vaudeville. By 1919, they started producing

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatre, theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketch comedy, sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural pre ...

s together, and their first major success was a 1921 touring show, ''Sun-Kist'', featuring a

chorus line A chorus line is a large group of dancers who together perform synchronized routines, usually in musical theatre. Sometimes, singing is also performed. While synchronized dancing indicative of a chorus line was vogue during the first half of th ...

of dancers. Larry Billman, "Fantastic Fanny Wolff — refashioned as Fanchon!", ''Arts Meme'', February 24, 2014
Retrieved 8 March 2024Anthony Slide, "Fanchon and Marco", ''The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville'', University Press of Mississippi, 2012, pp. 167-168 Mary Mallory, "Fanchon and Marco: Face the Music and Dance", ''L.A. Daily Mirror'', March 3, 2014
Retrieved 8 March 2024 In 1922 they began producing

prologue A prologue or prolog (from Ancient Greek πρόλογος ''prólogos'', from πρό ''pró'', "before" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is an opening to a story that establishes the context and gives background details, often some earlier st ...

s for

movie A film, also known as a movie or motion picture, is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, emotions, or atmosphere through the use of moving images that are generally, sinc ...

showings, initially at the Paramount Theatre, the largest purpose-built movie theatre in Los Angeles. Their younger brother Rube Wolf (who dropped the second 'f' in his name) led the orchestra at the theatre. They operated under the company name Fanchon and Marco Stageshows Inc. (with occasional variations). Their productions, termed "Ideas", were performed live before the movie showings, and often featured glamorous

showgirl A showgirl is a female performer in a theatrical revue who wears an exotic and revealing costume and in some shows may appear topless. Showgirls are usually dancers, sometimes performing as chorus girls, burlesque dancers or fan dancers, and ...

s in exotic settings. The productions were "distinguished by their snappy pace, intricate choreography, spectacular costumes, lavish sets, and teams of chorus dancers", and also toured nationally. Unlike other productions, Fanchon and Marco's "Ideas" were designed to be independent of the films shown, allowing them to be performed in many different cities and circumstances. The chorus dancers – up to 48 of whom were on stage at any time – became known as the Fanchonettes. Their main choreographer was Carlos Romero, and they used the services of dress designers

Helen Rose Helen Rose (February 2, 1904 – November 9, 1985) was an American costume designer and clothing designer who spent the bulk of her career with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Career Helen Rose was born on February 2, 1904, to William Bromberg and Ray Bobb ...

and

Bonnie Cashin Bonnie Cashin (September 28, 1908 – February 3, 2000) was an American fashion designer. Considered a pioneer in the design of American sportswear, she created innovative, uncomplicated clothing that catered to the modern, independent woman begi ...

. Among the performers whose careers started in Fanchon and Marco shows were

Dorothy Lamour Dorothy Lamour (born Mary Leta Dorothy Slaton; December 10, 1914 – September 22, 1996) was an American actress and singer. She is best remembered for having appeared in the ''Road to...'' movies, a series of successful comedies starring Bing C ...

Janet Gaynor Janet Gaynor (born Laura Augusta Gainor; October 6, 1906 – September 14, 1984) was an American actress. She began her career as an extra in shorts and silent films. After signing with Fox Film Corporation (later 20th Century-Fox) in 1926, she ...

Charles Walters Charles Powell Walters (November 17, 1911 – August 13, 1982) was an American Cinema of the United States, Hollywood director and choreographer most noted for his work in MGM musicals and comedies from the 1940s to the 1960s. Early years Char ...

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, and

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. Possessing a strong contralto voice, she was celebrated for her emotional depth and versatility across film, stage, and concert performance. ...

. Later productions used various choreographers including

Busby Berkeley Berkeley William Enos, (November 29, 1895 – March 14, 1976) known professionally as Busby Berkeley, was an American film director and musical choreographer. Berkeley devised elaborate musical production numbers that often involved complex geo ...

. By 1931, Fanchon and Marco produced about fifty hour-long productions each year, and had a staff of six thousand. The pair diversified successfully in the early 1930s, based at the F&M Studios built for them on

Sunset Boulevard Sunset Boulevard is a boulevard in the central and western part of Los Angeles, California, United States, that stretches from the Pacific Coast Highway (California), Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles, Pacific Palisad ...

, and other family members ran some of the enterprises. They operated a costume company, a talent and ballet school (one of whose pupils was

Cyd Charisse Cyd Charisse (born Tula Ellice Finklea; March 8, 1922 – June 17, 2008) was an American dancer and actress. After recovering from polio as a child and studying ballet, Charisse entered films in the 1940s. Her roles usually featured her abilit ...

), a string of theatres in Los Angeles, and nightclubs. They also produced a number of vaudeville acts, and produced radio shows. The company closed its

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

office in 1936.William Simon Jr., "Fanchon and Marco History", ''Fanchon and Marco: Theatrical Pioneers''
Retrieved 8 March 2024 The following year, Fanchon became a producer at

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation, commonly known as Paramount Pictures or simply Paramount, is an American film production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the flagship namesake subsidiary of Paramount ...

, and produced the films ''

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'' and ''

Thrill of a Lifetime Thrill of a Lifetime may refer to: * Thrill of a Lifetime (TV series), a Canadian television reality series * Thrill of a Lifetime (film) Thrill of a Lifetime may refer to: * Thrill of a Lifetime (TV series) ''Thrill of a Lifetime'' is a televisi ...

''. At the

1939 World's Fair The 1939 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1939–1940 New York World's Fair) was an international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activities ...

, she staged and directed the

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. She continued to produce the spectacular shows annually, at the

Pan-Pacific Auditorium The Pan-Pacific Auditorium was a landmark structure in the Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California, Fairfax District of Los Angeles, California. It once stood near the site of Gilmore Field, an early Los Angeles baseball venue predating Dodger ...

in Los Angeles, supervising not only the

ice dancing Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. A ...

but all aspects of the presentation. Marco produced the 1944 Academy Awards show, but largely withdrew from show business to concentrate on church activities. Fanchon started to work for

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc., formerly 20th Century Fox, is an American film studio, film production and Film distributor, distribution company owned by the Walt Disney Studios (division), Walt Disney Studios, the film studios division of the ...

and produced the musical sequences in films including those by

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and

Betty Grable Elizabeth Ruth Grable (December 18, 1916 – July 2, 1973) was an American actress, pin-up girl, dancer, model, and singer. Her 42 films during the 1930s and 1940s grossed more than $100 million, and for 10 consecutive years (1942–1951) she p ...

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she devised the format for small

USO The United Service Organizations Inc. (USO) is an American nonprofit-charitable corporation that provides live entertainment, such as comedians, actors and musicians, social facilities, and other programs to members of the United States Armed F ...

shows as entertainment for troops, comprising three female singers and dancers, and a male host who could also provide a speciality act, a format which worked successfully and required little staging. She also produced the 1945 film '' The All Star Bond Rally''. When the Paramount Theatre reopened in 1950, Fanchon and Marco revived stage productions there for a short time. Fanchon Wolff married restaurateur William H. Simon in 1923. Their adopted daughter became a film actress under the name Faye Marlowe and an author under the name Faye Hueston. Hueston's autobiography, "Fanchon's Daughter," which told the story of her life as the child of the famous show business producer, was published in 2014. Fanchon died in Los Angeles in 1965, at the age of 72. Marco Wolff died in the same city in 1977, aged 83. "Fanchon and Marco Collection of Photographs and Ephemera", ''Online Archive of California''
Retrieved 8 March 2024

References

External links

* *{{IMDb name, 0545772, Marco
Jennifer A. Watts, "Let Us Entertain You: Fanchon and Marco's big "Ideas" revolutionized the 1920s theater world"
American musical theatre producers Brother-sister duos Dancers from California