Pearl Eaton Levant (August 1, 1898 – September 10, 1958) was an American Broadway performer, actress, choreographer, and dance supervisor of the 1910s and 1920s.

Early life and career

Eaton was born in Washington, D.C., and was the daughter of Charles Henry Eaton. She began attending dance lessons in Washington D.C., along with her sisters Doris and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a female given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religion * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also called the Blesse ...

, at a young age. In 1911, all three sisters were hired for a production of

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in ...

's fantasy play '' The Blue Bird'' at the Shubert Belasco Theatre in Washington. While Eaton had a minor role in the show, it served as her introduction to the world of professional theatre. After ''The Blue Bird'', in 1912, the three Eaton sisters and their younger brother Joe began appearing in various plays and melodramas for the Poli stock company. They quickly gained reputations as professional, reliable, and versatile actors, and were rarely out of work. In 1915, all three sisters appeared in a new production of ''The Blue Bird'' for Poli; Doris and Mary were given the starring roles of Mytyl and Tytyl. The siblings were subsequently invited to reprise their roles for a New York and road tour of the play, produced by the

Shubert Brothers The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of Broadway theaters in New York City's Theater District, as the hub of the theatre industry in the United States. Through the Shubert Organization, founded by brothers Lee, Sam, and Jac ...

. Although Pearl had a minor role in ''The Blue Bird,'' her dancing impressed the Shuberts, who offered her a place in the chorus of

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 ...

's latest show at the

Winter Garden Theatre The Winter Garden Theatre is a Broadway theatre at 1634 Broadway in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Originally designed by architect William Albert Swasey, it opened in 1911. The Winter Garden's current des ...

, '' Robinson Crusoe, Jr.'' It marked the beginning of her career as an adult musical theatre performer.

Success onstage and onscreen

Following her performance in ''Robinson Crusoe, Jr.,'' Eaton appeared in ''The Passing Show.'' When the production went on tour, Eaton remained with the cast. While on the road, she fell in love with one of the company musicians, violinist Harry Levant. The two were married in 1917; the following year, Eaton gave birth to a daughter, Doris. However, shortly after giving birth, she regained her dancing form and was back at the Winter Garden, appearing as a specialty dancer in ''Sinbad.'' Levant and Eaton were divorced in November 1928. In the spring of 1918, Eaton was hired as a chorus dancer for the latest edition of 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 ...

''. She would remain with Ziegfeld for five years, appearing in the ''Follies'' in 1918, 1922, and 1923 and the ''Midnight Frolics'' of 1919, 1920, and 1921. While she never was made a principal dancer with the ''Follies,'' from 1918 onwards, she also worked as an assistant to choreographer

Ned Wayburn Ned Wayburn ''(né'' Edward Claudius Weyburn; 30 March 1874 – 2 September 1942) was an American choreographer. Career Edward Claudius Weyburn was born on March 30, 1874 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Elbert Delos Weyburn and his wife, Harri ...

. In April 1923 Eaton starred in ''Plunder'' at Poli's Majestic Theater in New York City. On one occasion she filled in for Marilyn Miller in a Ziegfeld chorus when the star had the

mumps MUMPS ("Massachusetts General Hospital Utility Multi-Programming System"), or M, is an imperative, high-level programming language with an integrated transaction processing key–value database. It was originally developed at Massachusetts Gen ...

. Eaton was reputed to have the most beautiful legs in America. It was reported that each time Ziegfeld encountered Eaton he asked her, "How are the legs?". After her final appearance with the ''Follies,'' in the 1923 road company, Eaton became associated with producer Charles Dillingham, becoming the only female musical comedy producer in New York at that time. She worked on Dillngham's productions for several years, both as a performer and a dance director. During this period she was a popular and respected presence on Broadway, and was even honored with a caricature on the walls at the theatrical restaurant

Sardi's Sardi's is a continental restaurant located at 234 West 44th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, in the Theater District of Manhattan, New York City. Sardi's opened at its current location on March 5, 1927. It is known for the caric ...

. Her final Broadway show was ''She's My Baby'' at the

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

in 1928. In the late 1920s Eaton moved to Los Angeles and worked as a dance director and choreographer for

RKO Studios RKO Radio Pictures Inc., commonly known as RKO Pictures or simply RKO, is an American film production and distribution company, historically one of the "Big Five" film studios of Hollywood's Golden Age. The business was formed after the Keith ...

, where her first film was ''

Street Girl ''Street Girl'' is a 1929 Pre-Code Hollywood, pre-Code musical film directed by Wesley Ruggles and starring Betty Compson, John Harron and Jack Oakie. It was adapted by Jane Murfin from "The Viennese Charmer", a short story by William Carey Won ...

'' (1929). She created dances for such films as '' Hit the Deck'' with

Jack Oakie Jack Oakie (born Lewis Delaney Offield; November 12, 1903 – January 23, 1978) was an American actor, starring mostly in films, but also working on stage, radio and television. He portrayed Napaloni in Chaplin's ''The Great Dictator'' (1940) ...

, and RKO's largest hit of the decade, the Ziegfeld musical extravaganza, '' Rio Rita''. She was selected by Hungarian artist Erno Bakos for a portrait of the ''most typical American blonde'', in December 1928. Bakos studied stage and screen beauties and went to both Vassar and

Smith College Smith College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in Northampton, Massachusetts, United States. It was chartered in 1871 by Sophia Smit ...

in his search for an ideal girl. He believed Eaton possessed the perfect combination of beauty, intelligence, personality, charm, and spirit.

1930s and beyond

Pearl, along with the rest of her family, found her career in sharp decline during the Great Depression. In spite of her well-respected work at RKO, she was let go by the studio in 1930. She continued performing in motion pictures throughout the 30s, albeit in small roles. In July 1931, she began teaching at the Ernest E. Ryan School of Dancing. Eaton also dabbled in various other careers, opening a dance studio, writing songs and stories, training to be a realtor, and working for the Los Angeles County Census Bureau. As with several of her siblings, she also battled

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

and dependence on prescription drugs. After the death of her second husband, oil company executive Richard Curtis “Dick” Enderly, she became reclusive and rarely left her home. Pearl Eaton was found dead, at the age of 60, in her Manhattan Beach apartment on September 10, 1958. While the police investigation ruled that the death was a homicide, the case was never solved.

References

Books

* Bridgeport Telegram, ''Amusements'', April 6, 1923, Page 40. * The Helena Independent, ''Follies Girls Join Talkies, Giving Broadway the Blues'', March 28, 1930, Page 8. * San Mateo Times, ''Blondes Real Beauties'', February 26, 1929, Page 1. * Travis, Doris Eaton. ''The Days We Danced'', Marquand Books, 2003,

External links