John Donahue (December 29, 1888 – October 1, 1930) was an American dancer, comedian, and musical theatre

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who worked 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 ...

, films, and on Broadway.

Life and career

Born in

Charlestown, Boston Charlestown is the oldest Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, in the United States. Also called Mishawum by the Massachusett, it is located on a peninsula north of the Charles River, across from downtown Bost ...

in 1888 (though some sources mistakenly state 1892), Jack Donahue was the eldest of seven children born to

Irish immigrants The Irish diaspora () refers to ethnic Irish people and their descendants who live outside the island of Ireland. The phenomenon of migration from Ireland is recorded since the Early Middle Ages,Flechner, Roy; Meeder, Sven (2017). The Irish ...

Julia Buckley and Dennis Donahue. He decided to become a dancer, and left home at the age of ten to join a

medicine show Medicine shows were touring acts (traveling by truck, horse, or wagon teams) that peddled "miracle cure" patent medicines and other products between various entertainments. They developed from European Charlatan, mountebank shows and were common ...

. He then joined a small

repertory company A repertory theatre, also called repertory, rep, true rep or stock, which are also called producing theatres, is a theatre in which a resident company presents works from a specified repertoire, usually in alternation or rotation. United Kingdom ...

, performing eccentric dances between acts in

melodrama A melodrama is a Drama, dramatic work in which plot, typically sensationalized for a strong emotional appeal, takes precedence over detailed characterization. Melodrama is "an exaggerated version of drama". Melodramas typically concentrate on ...

s, before going into

.Anthony Slide, "Jack Donahue", ''The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville'', University Press of Mississippi, 2012, p.133"Jack Donahue biography", ''Library of Congress Performing Arts Database''
Retrieved March 5, 2024Cliff Aliperti, "Joe Donahue, 'World’s Greatest Dancer' and Sunny Co-Star", ''Immortal Ephemera'', November 27, 2013
Retrieved 5 March 2024 Donahue performed

soft shoe Tap dance (or tap) is a form of dance that uses the sounds of tap shoes striking the floor as a form of percussion; it is often accompanied by music. Tap dancing can also be performed with no musical accompaniment; the sound of the taps is its own ...

, tap and sand dancing. Initially he danced with male partners, before meeting Alice Stewart, who later became his wife. As the pairing of Donahue and Stewart, they performed a mixture of dance and comedy, with Donahue as the

straight man The straight man (or straight woman in the case of female characters), also known as a "comedic foil", is a stock character in a comedy performance, especially a double act, sketch comedy, or farce. When a comedy partner behaves eccentrically ...

and Stewart as a male dancer. Donahue appeared on his own in a comic role on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

in ''The Woman Haters'' in 1912, and again, after Stewart had retired from the stage, at the prestigious Palace Theatre in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

in 1915. While continuing to perform in vaudeville, Donahue became a star on the Broadway stage in the 1920s, appearing in such shows as ''Angel Face'' (1919), the ''

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

of 1920'', ''Molly Darling'' (1922), '' Sunny'' (1925), and '' Rosalie'' (1928). He was regarded as one of vaudeville's greatest dancers, and on several occasions starred with

Marilyn Miller Marilyn Miller (born Mary Ellen Reynolds; September 1, 1898 – April 7, 1936) was one of the most popular Broadway musical stars of the 1920s and early 1930s. She was an accomplished tap dancer, singer and actress, and the combination of thes ...

. In late 1929, he starred as the main character in the show '' Sons O' Guns'' to which he also co-wrote the lyrics with Alfred Swanstrom. He took the show on the road the following year, but was taken ill while performing in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

. His illness was attributed to overwork. After returning to New York, he died in October 1930, from heart failure, at the age of 41. A memoir, ''Letters of a Hoofer to his Ma'', was published posthumously. In the 1930 film version of ''Sunny'', his younger brother Joe Donahue took his role.Cliff Aliperti, "Joe Donahue, “World’s Greatest Dancer” and Sunny Co-Star", ''Immortal Ephemera'', November 27, 2013
Retrieved 6 March 2024 The 1949 film ''

Look for the Silver Lining "Look for the Silver Lining" is a 1919 popular song with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by B.G. DeSylva. Background The song was written in 1919 for the unsuccessful musical ''Zip, Goes a Million''. In 1920, it was published and reused in th ...

'', in which Donahue was played by

Ray Bolger Raymond Wallace Bolger (; January 10, 1904 – January 15, 1987) was an American actor, dancer, singer, vaudevillian, and stage performer (particularly musical theater) who started his movie career in the silent-film era. Bolger was a major B ...

, was loosely based on his life and that of Marilyn Miller. In 2010, the play ''My Vaudeville Man'' was also based on Donahue's life. "My Vaudeville Man", ''The Guide to Musical Theatre''
Retrieved 5 March 2024

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Donahue, Jack 1888 births 1930 deaths American vaudeville performers American musical theatre actors Dancers from Massachusetts