Kitty Doner (born Catherine Donohoe, September 6, 1895 – August 26, 1988) was an American

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 ...

performer. She was a male impersonator, actress, and dancer, specializing in boy roles, and later in life worked as a choreographer and television producer.

Early life

Catherine Donohoe was born in

Chicago, Illinois Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. Her parents Joe Doner and Nellie Doner, both born in England, were also vaudeville performers, as were her siblings Ted and Rose.Gilliam M. Rodger
''Just One of the Boys: Female to Male Cross-Dressing on the American Variety Stage''
(University of Illinois Press 2018).

Career

Kitty Doner was considered the best American male impersonator of her day, compared favorably to British acts such as

Vesta Tilley Matilda Alice Powles, Lady de Frece (13May 186416September 1952) was an English music hall performer. She adopted the stage name Vesta Tilley and became one of the best-known male impersonators of her era. Her career lasted from 1869 until 19 ...

and Ella Shields.Anthony Slide
''The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville''
(University Press of Mississippi 2012): 133–136. She was petite, and her characters were often youthful. She was known for changing from masculine to feminine clothing on stage, in view of the audience, to demonstrate how much of her impersonation was skill rather than elaborate costume. In 1921, she performed at a benefit for the Women's Auxiliary of the National Disabled Soldiers League at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

. That same year, she also performed at a benefit for the American Committee for Relief in Ireland, at the Metropolitan Opera House. Her Broadway credits included ''The Passing Show of 1913'', ''Dancing Around'' (1914, with

Al Jolson Al Jolson (born Asa Yoelson, ; May 26, 1886 – October 23, 1950) was a Lithuanian-born American singer, comedian, actor, and vaudevillian. Self-billed as "The World's Greatest Entertainer," Jolson was one of the United States' most famous and ...

), ''Robinson Crusoe Jr.'' (1916, again with Jolson), ''Sinbad'' (1918, again with Jolson), and ''The Dancing Girl'' (1923, appearing with her brother and sister). Doner's act was preserved in an early sound short film, ''A Bit of Scotch'' (1928). In 1945 she co-produced a now-lost musical television series for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

, ''Choreotones'', with dancer Pauline Koner. After that, the pair produced some shows for " Holiday on Ice". Koner remembered, "With a famous show biz career behind her, Kitty was still looking for new trends. Her taste was impeccable. A lively force behind the scenes, she was always scouting material and interesting talent." Her last work before retirement was auditioning acts for '' Ted Mack's Amateur Hour'' in the early 1950s.

Personal life

Kitty Doner died in 1988, aged 92 years, in

Los Angeles, California 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, ...

. There is a collection of Doner's papers, including an unpublished autobiography, photographs and scrapbooks, archived at the University of California Santa Barbara Library.Guide to the Kitty Doner Papers
University of California Santa Barbara Library, Special Collections.

References

External links

* * *
1923 photograph of Kitty Doner
from the New York World-Telegram and the Sun Newspaper Photograph Collection, Library of Congress.
A 1921 photograph of Kitty Doner
from the University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections.

from the ''Los Angeles Times'' files, part of the "Mystery Photo" feature, ''Los Angeles Times'' blog (April 9, 2010). {{DEFAULTSORT:Doner, Kitty 1895 births 1988 deaths American vaudeville performers Actresses from Chicago American people of English descent 20th-century American women 20th-century American people