Joseph Arthur Donahue (January 3, 1899 – January 3, 1943) was an American dancer and film actor. Joe Donahue was born in

Boston, Massachusetts Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, the fifth of seven children of

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, and the younger brother (by ten years) of

Jack Donahue John Donahue (c. 1806 – 1 September 1830), also spelled Donohoe, and known as Jack Donahue and Bold Jack Donahue, was an Irish-born bushranger in Australia between 1825 and 1830. He became part of the notorious "Wild Colonial Boys". Early l ...

, who became a successful dancer and comedian 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 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 ...

.Cliff Aliperti, "Joe Donahue, “World’s Greatest Dancer” and Sunny Co-Star", ''Immortal Ephemera'', November 27, 2013
Retrieved 6 March 2024"Joseph Arthur Donahue", ''Geni.com''
Retrieved 6 March 2024 Joe Donahue claimed to have started dancing aged 12, though during the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he worked as a shipfitter at the

Boston Navy Yard The Boston Navy Yard, originally called the Charlestown Navy Yard and later Boston Naval Shipyard, was one of the oldest shipbuilding facilities in the United States Navy. It was established in 1801 as part of the recent establishment of t ...

. By 1919, he sometimes worked as his brother's

understudy In theatre, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

in shows, including the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

'' Sunny'' in 1925, which starred

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 ...

. After Jack Donahue became terminally ill in 1930, Miller invited Joe to fill his brother's role in the screen adaptation of ''Sunny''. He appeared in four more films, '' Party Husband'', '' The Reckless Hour'' (both 1931), '' Expensive Women'' and ''The Boudoir Butler'' (both 1932). He then returned to

, where for a few years he was billed as "The World's Greatest Dancer", or as "Jack Donahue's Little Brother". His success did not last, and he died 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 ...

, on his 44th birthday in 1943; the cause was given as

pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...

. Cliff Aliperti, "RIP At Last, Joe Donahue, 1899–1943", ''Immortal Ephemera'', September 22, 2014
Retrieved 6 March 2024

References

External links

* 1899 births 1943 deaths 20th-century American male actors American vaudeville performers Dancers from Massachusetts {{US-film-actor-stub