Mitzi Hajos (April 27, 1889 – June 1, 1970), sometimes written as Mizzi Hajos, was a Hungarian-born American stage performer specializing in comic and musical roles.

Early life

Magdalena "Mitzi" Hajos was born in 1889 (some sources give 1891, and Hajos herself gave various dates), near

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, Hungary.

Career

As a young teenager she performed in music hall shows in Europe. At age 20, she moved to the United States at the invitation of

William Morris William Morris (24 March 1834 – 3 October 1896) was an English textile designer, poet, artist, writer, and socialist activist associated with the British Arts and Crafts movement. He was a major contributor to the revival of traditiona ...

to appear in ''Barnyard Romeo'', a show she had performed in Vienna. From 1914 to 1925, she worked exclusively for opera producer

Henry Wilson Savage Henry Wilson Savage (1859 – 1927) was an American theatrical manager and real estate entrepreneur. Biography Henry Wilson Savage was born in New Durham, New Hampshire, on March 21, 1859. He earned his degree from Harvard in 1880. In 1895, he ...

. She was often described as "tiny" and "diminutive", and often played children or characters pretending to be children. A reviewer in the ''New York Times'' approved, saying, "she makes such an adorable boy, too." Because her surname was difficult for American audiences, she went by the single name "Mitzi" in programs and publicity materials at the peak of her career. Broadway shows she appeared in included ''

La Belle Paree ''La Belle Paree'' was a musical revue that launched the legitimate theatre career of Al Jolson. The book was by Edgar Smith (librettist), Edgar Smith, music by Jerome Kern and Frank Tours and lyrics by Edward Madden (lyricist), Edward Madden. Bill ...

'' (1911), ''Her Little Highness'' (1913), ''

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'' (1914, 1930), ''Pom-pom'' (1916), ''Head over Heels'' (1918), ''Lady Billy'' (1920-1921), ''The Magic Ring'' (1923), ''Naughty Riquette'' (1926), ''The Madcap'' (1928), '' You Can't Take It With You'' (1936-1938), ''Mr. Big'' (1941), and ''

Cafe Crown ''Cafe Crown'' is a three-act play by Hy Kraft that premiered on Broadway on January 23, 1942, at the Cort Theatre. The cast included Sam Jaffe and Morris Carnovsky. Its action presented "a motley group of amiable squatters found in a Second Av ...

'' (1942). Between Broadway appearances she would tour the United States with her shows. In 1916, she was named vice president of Sunbeam Motion Picture Corporation. She endorsed Mason & Hamlin Pianos in a 1919 advertisement. The child actress

Mitzi Green Mitzi Green (born Elizabeth Keno; October 22, 1920 – May 24, 1969) was an American actress and singer known for her work as a child actress for Paramount and RKO, in the early "talkies" era. She then acted on Broadway and in other stage w ...

was given her stage name after Mitzi Hajos in the 1920s. Hajos was drawn at least twice by Broadway illustrator

Al Hirschfeld Albert Hirschfeld (June 21, 1903 – January 20, 2003) was an American caricaturist best known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars. Early life and career Al Hirschfeld was born in 1903 in a two-story duplex apa ...

. In midlife, when roles became scarce and her husband was ill, Hajos worked as a secretary for

The Shubert Organization The Shubert Organization is a theatrical producing organization and a major owner of theatres based in Manhattan, New York City. It was founded by the three Shubert brothers — Lee, Sam, and Jacob J. Shubert — in the late 19th century. T ...

Personal life

Mitzi Hajos was married to her frequent co-star

Boyd Marshall Boyd Marshall (June 22, 1884 – November 10, 1950) was an American actor of the stage and screen during the early decades of the 20th century. Born in Ohio in 1884, he moved to New York to pursue a career in acting. He began on the stage and i ...

from 1920 until he died in 1950. By that marriage, she became an American citizen."Mitzi Hajos Weds Leading Man and Becomes American"
''New York Herald'' (May 22, 1920): 9. via

Newspapers.com Ancestry.com LLC is an American genealogy company based in Lehi, Utah. The largest for-profit genealogy company in the world, it operates a network of genealogical, historical records, and related genetic genealogy websites. It is owned by The ...

She died in 1970 in Connecticut, aged 81 years. Her remains were buried in her husband's family's plot in

Port Clinton, Ohio Port Clinton is a city in and the county seat of Ottawa County, Ohio, United States, located at the mouth of the Portage River on Lake Erie. The population was 6,025 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Port Clinton micropolita ...

References

External links

Mitzi Hajos listing
at IBDB *
Two audio recordings of Mitzi Hajos singing
in 1916, at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

, National Jukebox {{DEFAULTSORT:Hajos, Mitzi 1889 births 1970 deaths American stage actresses Emigrants from Austria-Hungary to the United States