The Dillon Brothers were a popular

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

comedic

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 ...

act from the late 1880s into the early 1900s, composed of brothers Harry (1866? – 1916) and John Dillon.(7 February 1916)
Harry Dillon, Comedian, Dead at Cortland Home
''

The Post-Standard ''The Post-Standard'' is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and ''Th ...

''(7 February 1916)
Harry Dillon Dies; Writer of Songs
''

Brooklyn Eagle The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''Kings County Democrat'', later ''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle'' before shortening title further to ''Brooklyn Eagle'') was an afternoon daily newspaper published in the city ...

'' Harry and John Dillon were the sons of Mary Fitzgerald and Michael Dillon of

Cortland, New York Cortland is a city and the county seat of Cortland County, New York, United States. Known as the Crown City, Cortland is in New York's Southern Tier region. As of 2024, the estimated population of Cortland, New York, is 17,196, reflecting a dec ...

, and had six other brothers and two sisters. Leaving home at age 15, Harry made his theater debut on the

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. The term originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist enter ...

circuit, joining

Duprez & Benedict's Minstrels Duprez & Benedict's Minstrels were an United States, American minstrel show, minstrel group led by Charles H. Duprez and Lew Benedict, which enjoyed its greatest popularity in the late 1860s and 1870s. Background Charles H. Duprez began performi ...

for a year in 1882. He was then joined by his brother John and began to perform sketch comedy and comedic songs. Their hits included "Do, Do, My Huckleberry Do" (1893), " Put Me Off at Buffalo" (1895), and "Why Did They Sell Killarney?" (1899). Harry retired from vaudeville due to illness some years before 1915, and John had returned to Cortland to go into business by 1914.(1 February 1915)
Dillon Brothers All Leave Stage
''

'' Harry died in Cortland on February 6, 1916. John and Harry's brother William Dillon (1877-1966) was also a popular performer best known as the lyricist for the song " I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)" (1911)

References

{{reflist American vaudeville performers Sibling musical duos People from Cortland, New York