Tot Qualters (March 28, 1894 – March 27, 1974) was an American actress, dancer, and singer in musical theatre.

Early life

Marguerite (or Margaret) Qualters was born in 1894, in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, the daughter of Jack Qualters and Anna Qualters. She and her four sisters went into stage careers after their father died."Tot Qualters and Her Own Style of Dancing"
''Boston Daily Globe'' (November 5, 1922): 54. Tot's sister Cassie Qualters joined the

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

with her. Their brother Joe Qualters was a cabaret singer in Detroit.

Career

Tot Qualters was on stage in Detroit from her early teens. Qualters' New York debut came in 1912, in Ziegfeld's ''

A Winsome Widow ''A Winsome Widow'' is a 1912 musical produced by Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr., which was a revised version of Charles Hale Hoyt's 1891 hit, ''A Trip to Chinatown'', with a score by Raymond Hubbell. History The show debuted at the Moulin Rouge on April ...

'' at the Moulin Rouge Theater. Other stage appearances included ''Chin Chin'' (1914), ''Stop! Look! Listen!'' (1915-1916), ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1916'', ''

Miss 1917 ''Miss 1917'' is a musical revue with a book by Guy Bolton and P. G. Wodehouse, music by Victor Herbert, Jerome Kern and others, and lyrics by Harry B. Smith, Otto Harbach, Henry Blossom and others. Made up of a string of vignettes, the show fea ...

'', ''Midnight Rounders'' (1920), ''The Passing Show of 1921'', ''

Make It Snappy ''Make It Snappy'' was a musical revue that ran for 96 performances at the Winter Garden Theatre in the 1922–23 Broadway season. It ran from 13 April to 1 July 1922. It starred Eddie Cantor, who introduced the hit songs "Yes! We Have No Bananas" ...

'' (1922, with

Eddie Cantor Eddie Cantor (born Isidore Itzkowitz; January 31, 1892 – October 10, 1964) was an American comedian, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, film producer, screenwriter and author. Familiar to Broadway, radio, movie, and early television audiences, ...

) and ''

Whoopee! ''Whoopee!'' is a 1928 musical comedy with a book based on Owen Davis's play, ''The Nervous Wreck.'' The musical libretto was written by William Anthony McGuire, with music by Walter Donaldson and lyrics by Gus Kahn. The musical premiered on Bro ...

'' (1928, also with Eddie Cantor)."Tot Qualters Dies; Stage Actress, 79"
''New York Times'' (March 28, 1974): 42. "Tot Qualters sports a figure as cute as her name," observed ''The Dials theatre reviewer in 1921. The ''Boston Daily Globe'' described her specialty as "loose-jointed eccentric dancing" in 1922. She also appeared in the film ''Reaching for the Moon'' (1930), with

Douglas Fairbanks Sr. Douglas Elton Fairbanks Sr. (born Douglas Elton Thomas Ullman; May 23, 1883 – December 12, 1939) was an American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer. He was best known for his swashbuckling roles in silent films including '' The Thie ...

and

Bebe Daniels Phyllis Virginia "Bebe" Daniels (January 14, 1901 – March 16, 1971) was an American actress, singer, dancer, writer, and producer. She began her career in Hollywood during the silent film era as a child actress, became a star in musicals such ...

Personal life

Walter Winchell Walter Winchell (April 7, 1897 – February 20, 1972) was a syndicated American newspaper gossip columnist and radio news commentator. Originally a vaudeville performer, Winchell began his newspaper career as a Broadway reporter, critic and co ...

mentioned seeing Tot Qualters in 1968, as a fixture at Max's Stage Deli.Walter Winchell
"Kast of Kerrickters"
''Terre Haute Tribune'' (June 25, 1968): 4. 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. In November 2018, ...

Tot Qualters died in 1974, the day before her 80th birthday, in New York City.

References

External links

Tot Qualters' listing at IBDB.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Qualters, Tot American actresses American female dancers 1894 births 1974 deaths 20th-century American dancers 20th-century American women