Beryl Wallace (born Beatrice Heischuber; September 29, 1912 – June 17, 1948) was an American singer, dancer and actress.

Biography

Wallace was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, the second of nine children of working class

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

ish immigrants from

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

. Pursuing a dancing career, she was in her teens when she saw a casting call advertisement in the

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

and landed a role in the 1928

Earl Carroll Earl Carroll (September 16, 1893 – June 17, 1948) was an American theatrical producer, director, writer, songwriter and composer. Early life Carroll was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1893. He lived as an infant in the Nunnery Hill ( Fin ...

Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences#-re, -er, American and British English spelling differences), many of the List of ...

production of '' Vanities'' that was billed as having the "most beautiful girls in the world". She adopted the surname "Wallace" as her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

and went on to appear in six similar risqué productions that featured scanty costumes for the female performers and full nudity for the first time on Broadway. Beryl Wallace and producer Earl Carroll began a personal relationship that would take them to

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 ...

where she would perform in film and at his

Earl Carroll Theatre The Earl Carroll Theatre was a Broadway theatre at 753 Seventh Avenue near 50th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Built by impresario Earl Carroll and designed by architect George Keister, it opened on Feb ...

. The theatre-

supper club A supper club is a traditional dining establishment that also functions as a social club. The term may describe different establishments depending on the region, but in general, supper clubs tend to present themselves as having a high-class imag ...

's facade was adorned by what at the time was one of Hollywood's most famous

landmark A landmark is a recognizable natural or artificial feature used for navigation, a feature that stands out from its near environment and is often visible from long distances. In modern-day use, the term can also be applied to smaller structures ...

s: a -high

neon Neon is a chemical element; it has symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is the second noble gas in the periodic table. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with approximately two-thirds the density of ...

facial portrait of Beryl Wallace of which
recreation
can be seen today at

Universal CityWalk Universal CityWalk is the name shared by the entertainment and retail districts located adjacent to the theme parks of Universal Destinations & Experiences. CityWalk began as an expansion of Universal's first park, Universal Studios Hollywood, an ...

, at Universal City, as part of the collection of historic neon signs from the Museum of Neon Art. Beryl Wallace made her film debut in 1934 in an uncredited role in the

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 ...

film production of Carroll's Broadway play ''

Murder at the Vanities ''Murder at the Vanities'' is a 1934 American pre-Code musical film with music by Victor Young. It was released by Paramount Pictures and directed by Mitchell Leisen. The film stars Victor McLaglen, Carl Brisson, Jack Oakie, Kitty Carlisle ...

''. She went on to appear in a number of small roles until 1937, when she co-starred in the

Monogram Pictures Monogram Pictures Corporation was an American film studio that produced mostly low-budget films between 1931 and 1953, when the firm completed a transition to the name Allied Artists Pictures Corporation. Monogram was among the smaller studios i ...

" B"

Western film The Western is a film genre defined by the American Film Institute as films which are "set in the American West that mbodythe spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier." Generally set in the American frontier between the Calif ...

production of ''Romance of the Rockies'' with Tom Keene. This led to another co-starring role in the 1938 film, ''Air Devils''. In the early 1940s she continued appearing in bit parts, but also had good secondary roles in

Republic Pictures Republic Pictures is currently an acquisition-only label owned by Paramount Pictures. Its history dates back to Republic Pictures Corporation, an American film studio that originally operated from 1935 to 1967, based in Los Angeles, California ...

"B" Westerns starring the likes of

Roy Rogers Roy Rogers (born Leonard Franklin Slye; November 5, 1911 – July 6, 1998), nicknamed the King of the Cowboys, was an American singer, actor, television host, and Rodeo, rodeo performer. Following early work under his given name, first as a c ...

and

Richard Dix Richard Dix (born Ernst Carlton Brimmer; July 18, 1893 – September 20, 1949) was an American motion picture actor who achieved popularity in both silent film, silent and sound film. His standard on-screen image was that of the rugged and sta ...

. While acting in twenty-two films over a ten-year period, Wallace's primary job was as a star entertainer at Earl Carroll's theatre. 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 ...

, Wallace sang weekly on two 15-minute radio shows and on Monday evenings hosted a half-hour entertainment show on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

radio called ''Furlough Fun''. In addition to helping entertain soldiers at the Masquers Club, on Sunday afternoons she was a volunteer dancer at the Hollywood Canteen.

Death

On June 17, 1948, while en route from Los Angeles to New York City, Beryl Wallace and

died in the crash of United Airlines Flight 624 in Aristes, Pennsylvania. They were interred together in the Garden of Memory at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetery, Glendale, California.Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Locations 25047-25048). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.

Broadway performances

* '' Earl Carroll's Vanities'' (1940) * '' The Women'' (1936) * '' Earl Carroll's Sketch Book'' (1935) * ''

'' (1934) * ''Earl Carroll's Vanities'' (1932) * ''Earl Carroll's Vanities'' (1931) * ''Earl Carroll's Vanities'' (1930) * ''Earl Carroll's Vanities'' (1928)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, Beryl 1912 births 1948 deaths Accidental deaths in Pennsylvania American female dancers Dancers from New York (state) Jewish American actresses American film actresses American stage actresses Actresses from Brooklyn Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1948 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale) 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American dancers 20th-century American Jews