Trixie Friganza
Encyclopedia
Trixie Friganza born Delia O’Callaghan, began her career as an operetta soubrette
, working her way from the chorus to starring in musical comedies to having her own feature act on the vaudeville
circuit.
She transitioned to film in the early 1920s mostly playing small characters that were quirky and comedic and retired from the stage in 1940 due to health concerns. She spent her last years teaching drama to young women in a convent school and when she died she left everything to the convent. She became a highly sought after comic actress after the success of The Chaperons (played "Aramanthe Dedincourt") and is most well known for her stage roles of Caroline Vokes (or Vokins?) in The Orchid
, Mrs. Radcliffe in The Sweetest Girl in Paris, for multiple roles in The Passing Show of 1912
, and of course her unforgettable run as a vaudeville headliner. During the height of her career, she used her fame to promote social, civic, and political issues of importance, such as self-love
and the Suffragist movement.
to a mother of Spanish descent and an Irish father, and was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio
. She had two younger sisters, and along with their mother, these four women were a tightly knit unit growing up. She was educated at St. Patrick's School in Cincinnati, beginning what would become a life-long allegiance to the Catholic Church. When asked by a reporter why she took the name Friganza she replied, “I didn't marry it”, an uncharacteristically flippant and assertive response for a woman in the early twentieth century. Friganza, in fact, is her mother’s maiden name (Margaret Jane Friganza), which she both liked and found to be suitable for the stage. A friend and colleague of hers by the name of Digby Bell
(of the Digby Bell Opera Co.), christened her “Trixie” early on and the name stuck, for she had never been fond of the name Delia.
She began working at a young age (12 or 13 years old) in order to help support her family, securing a cash girl position at Pogue’s store, and earning $3.00 a week. When she was sixteen she was promoted to the handkerchief counter at Pogue’s store and her salary went up to around $4.50-$5.00 a week, which was a substantial increase in income for her. It was her boyfriend at the time who encouraged her not to waste her talents as a singer and actress and to venture onto the stage where she could double or triple her current salary.
Motivated by the desire to provide more for her family and the responsibility she must have felt due to being the oldest of the three daughters, she auditioned for a chorus girl position in The Pearl of Pekin’ (1889). She got the part but in order to avoid any embarrassment to her mother and family (stage careers for women were not considered reputable at the time) she opted to begin performing once the production moved up to Cleveland, Ohio
.
Her mother was inconsolable and devastated at her daughter’s decision to take to the stage. She notified Cleveland authorities who brought Trixie before a Cleveland judge to justify her decision to work in theater. She presented such a compelling and rational case for this career move (she had to prove to the judge that she was neither “silly” nor “stage-struck”, that this was a business move) that the judge granted her clemency and telegraphed her mother saying that Trixie was doing the right thing. She remained on stage in some form or another for the next fifty years.
She worked mainly with musical comedies, however, she did perform in a few dramatic productions, opting to return to comedic performance relatively soon thereafter. Below is a list in chronological order of the productions with which she was involved. Supplementary information (roles; theatre company; additional cast members; theatre technicians; directors; producers
; personal statements or experiences), when available, is provided. (dates placed in italics are guesstimated based on the chronology of her performances, meaning the performance likely took place in that year but research did not provide a hard date to confirm this)
claims that her debut was at Keeney’s Theatre, May 6, 1905, whereas the Encyclopedia of Vaudeville lists her first appearance at the Hammerstein’s Theatre in New York, NY, in the summer of 1906. Regardless, from that time forward she shuttled back and forth between the theatre and the vaudeville stage until 1912-1913 when she began working primarily within the vaudeville circuit. Her fame as a comic actress buoyed her success and she soon became a headliner, given top billing in the shows.
During her career she headlined at the B.F. Keith’s Palace Theatre in New York no less than ten times. Records from the Theatre documented performers’ success by rating their reception, applause, counting the number of laughs received and how they finished. Records from appearances during the week ending April 28, 1918 indicate that the audience’s response to Trixie Friganza was huge, where she elicited a total of 29 laughs, second only to Charlie Chaplin
’s motion picture A Dog’s Life. In 1919 she toured with an act called “At A Block Party,” which featured songs and witty repartee representative of an actual city block party. Frederick James Smith, writing for the Dramatic Mirror (February 8, 1919) called her show “a vigorous comedy act” (Slide, Selected Vaudeville Criticism, pg. 88). During one appearance at the Palace, Variety Magazine called her act, “My Little Bag O’ Trix,” “a riotous hit” (March, 1920). Other one-woman shows included the “Trixie Friganza Road Show” (1921) and numerous others that she performed untitled.
She performed many successful acts, many of which revolved around her plus-sized figure, which she described as the “perfect forty-six”, and the trials and tribulations of love (Slide, Encyclopedia of Vaudeville, pg. 199). She was an advocate for being plump, topping the scales herself at 180 lbs, and went as far as suggesting that her success as a comic correlated directly to her mass. On July 21, 1915, the Dramatic Mirror reported successful completion of a 75-week tour on the Keith vaudeville circuit; during that span of time she never missed a performance, never was late or was involved in any altercations with the stage or house manager.
In 1929, Trixie made a ten-minute Vitaphone
short titled "My Bag O' Tricks," available in the Warner Bros. DVD of The Jazz Singer
. The first minute of the picture is lost to nitrate decomposition, but the entire Vitaphone soundtrack survives, preserving a glimpse of what must have been part of her vaudeville act of the time.
where she delivered a speech for women’s rights. She donated money to the cause and repeatedly went on record as an advocate for women’s rights, equality and independence. Her own personal life is consistent with those ideals; having taken her mother’s maiden name and refusing to leave her career in spite of marriage, she defied society’s proprieties and norms, modeling what Susan Glenn calls "New Woman".
Younger women were concerned with sexual freedom and equality, and demonstrated this by experimenting with “public behavior and new gender roles” (Glenn 6). Friganza used her celebrity status to promote and further the rights of women as well as other causes such as promoting the arts to the economically disenfranshised. Newspapers noted that many performances in which she was involved held performances for orphans and children from lower income families.
Trixie Friganza was quite a beauty, thick and thin, and though she used her occasional single status to sing songs (like “No Wedding Bells for Me”) and make jokes about being desperate for a man, she had many beaus. Her first marriage was to an unknown man in the late 1890s and newspapers reported that she was divorced from this “John Doe” in September 1899. Her second marriage, which took place during the summer of 1901, was to a Dr. Barry, the physician hired aboard the steamship Bohemian
, upon which the cast sailed from Boston. The wedding was held at Stermin’s Hotel and those in attendance were fellow actors and cast members of Belle of Bohemia. She and the Doctor were divorced several years later, though the exact date is unknown. On August 20, 1909, tabloids reported that Trixie was to be engaged to Nat M. Wills
, but nothing more was said of this and she did not in fact marry the man. Her third marriage, taking place in New York on March 10, 1912, was to her manager, Charles A. Goettler. She filed for a divorce in the summer of 1914 on the grounds of “failure to provide” and “cruelty”. Records do not indicate that she was ever married again. During all of her marriages she never changed her name and was adamant about continuing her career in show business. None of the relationships yielded any children for her.
games at the Rose Bowl
stadium.
At the age of 79, in an interview with the L.A. Times, she confessed to enjoying watching TV a great deal saying, “that’s where vaudeville has gone –into television” (Slide, Encyclopedia… pg. 199). She correctly identified the many comic and dramatic tropes borrowed from the stage and incorporated into American cinema and television. Despite her popularity, theatrical achievements and astounding record of stage and cinematic productions, which rivaled male comic greats such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, she died in relative obscurity in Flintridge at the age of 84 on February 27, 1955. She bequeathed all her possessions to the Academy and left a legacy to the American public.
Soubrette
A soubrette is a female stock character in opera and theatre. The term arrived in English from Provençal via French, and means "conceited" or "coy".-Theater:...
, working her way from the chorus to starring in musical comedies to having her own feature act on the vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
circuit.
She transitioned to film in the early 1920s mostly playing small characters that were quirky and comedic and retired from the stage in 1940 due to health concerns. She spent her last years teaching drama to young women in a convent school and when she died she left everything to the convent. She became a highly sought after comic actress after the success of The Chaperons (played "Aramanthe Dedincourt") and is most well known for her stage roles of Caroline Vokes (or Vokins?) in The Orchid
The Orchid
The Orchid is a musical play in two acts by James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton and additional numbers by Paul Rubens. It opened at Gaiety Theatre in London on 26 October 1903 and ran for 559 performances. It starred Gertie...
, Mrs. Radcliffe in The Sweetest Girl in Paris, for multiple roles in The Passing Show of 1912
The Passing Show
The Passing Show was a musical revue in three acts, billed as a "topical extravaganza", with a book and lyrics by Sydney Rosenfeld and music by Ludwig Engländer and various other composers. It featured spoofs of theatrical productions of the past season. The show was presented in 1894 by George...
, and of course her unforgettable run as a vaudeville headliner. During the height of her career, she used her fame to promote social, civic, and political issues of importance, such as self-love
Self-love
Self-love is the strong sense of respect for and confidence in oneself. It is different from narcissism in that as one practices acceptance and detachment, the awareness of the individual shifts and the individual starts to see him or herself as an extension of all there is...
and the Suffragist movement.
Early life
Friganza was born in Grenola, KansasGrenola, Kansas
Grenola is a city in Elk County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 216.-History:Grenola was established in 1879 when two towns, Green Field and Canola, combined after the railroad was built in between the two towns...
to a mother of Spanish descent and an Irish father, and was raised in Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...
. She had two younger sisters, and along with their mother, these four women were a tightly knit unit growing up. She was educated at St. Patrick's School in Cincinnati, beginning what would become a life-long allegiance to the Catholic Church. When asked by a reporter why she took the name Friganza she replied, “I didn't marry it”, an uncharacteristically flippant and assertive response for a woman in the early twentieth century. Friganza, in fact, is her mother’s maiden name (Margaret Jane Friganza), which she both liked and found to be suitable for the stage. A friend and colleague of hers by the name of Digby Bell
Digby Bell
Digby Bell was a popular vaudeville entertainer and Broadway performer at the beginning of the 20th century.-Performing career:...
(of the Digby Bell Opera Co.), christened her “Trixie” early on and the name stuck, for she had never been fond of the name Delia.
She began working at a young age (12 or 13 years old) in order to help support her family, securing a cash girl position at Pogue’s store, and earning $3.00 a week. When she was sixteen she was promoted to the handkerchief counter at Pogue’s store and her salary went up to around $4.50-$5.00 a week, which was a substantial increase in income for her. It was her boyfriend at the time who encouraged her not to waste her talents as a singer and actress and to venture onto the stage where she could double or triple her current salary.
Motivated by the desire to provide more for her family and the responsibility she must have felt due to being the oldest of the three daughters, she auditioned for a chorus girl position in The Pearl of Pekin’ (1889). She got the part but in order to avoid any embarrassment to her mother and family (stage careers for women were not considered reputable at the time) she opted to begin performing once the production moved up to Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
.
Her mother was inconsolable and devastated at her daughter’s decision to take to the stage. She notified Cleveland authorities who brought Trixie before a Cleveland judge to justify her decision to work in theater. She presented such a compelling and rational case for this career move (she had to prove to the judge that she was neither “silly” nor “stage-struck”, that this was a business move) that the judge granted her clemency and telegraphed her mother saying that Trixie was doing the right thing. She remained on stage in some form or another for the next fifty years.
Theatre career (1889-1917)
Trixie toured with many theatre companies in the coming years working her way from roles in the chorus to more prominently featured roles with speaking parts. Part of her success can be attributed to her constant willingness to step in and take over roles when others fell ill or could not appear. These instances provided her an opportunity to demonstrate her ability and ingenuity. She impressed agents, audiences and other actors alike with her stellar singing voice and ability to command audiences with her humorous interpretation of characters.She worked mainly with musical comedies, however, she did perform in a few dramatic productions, opting to return to comedic performance relatively soon thereafter. Below is a list in chronological order of the productions with which she was involved. Supplementary information (roles; theatre company; additional cast members; theatre technicians; directors; producers
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
; personal statements or experiences), when available, is provided. (dates placed in italics are guesstimated based on the chronology of her performances, meaning the performance likely took place in that year but research did not provide a hard date to confirm this)
- Pearl of Pekin’ - 1889
- The Tar and the Tartar – 1890 - Carlton Opera Co.
- Understudied for Laura Joyce Bell and took her part when she was unable to appear.
- Jupiter (comic opera) – 1891 – Carlton Opera Co.
- Role of “Ganymede”
- George Odell in the Annals of the New York Stage, said of Trixie, “The attendant Ganymede of Trixie Friganza, in later years a very heavy maiden, amuses me.”
- The Mascot (comic opera) – 1892-4 – Digby Bell Opera Co.
- Presented at Palmer’s Theater in NYC running from July 18th- October 1st
- Role of “Frederic, Prince of Pisa”
- Also starring Henry E. DixeyHenry E. DixeyHenry E. Dixey was an American actor and theatre producer. He was born January 6, 1859 in Boston, Massachusetts. He made his stage debut in Boston in 1868, joining the variety stock actors at the Howard Athenaeum, where in 1869 he played the character Peanuts in the Augustin Daly play Under the...
- Prince Kam or A Trip to Venus (musical comedy) – 1893-4
- Role of “Isis”
- Written by C.A. Byrne and Louis Harrison
- Bill available from the Park Theatre (Robinson Locke Collection, New York City Public Library for the Performing Arts)
- One Christmas Night (drama) - 1894
- The Little Trooper - 1894
- Chorus role along with Della FoxDella FoxDella May Fox was an American singing comedienne, whose popularity peaked in the 1890s when the diminutive Fox appeared opposite the very tall De Wolf Hopper in several musicals. She also toured successfully with her own company.-Biography:Fox was born in St. Louis, Missouri, the daughter of...
- Opened at the CasinoCasinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
in New York, August 30 - The Little Joker (comedy) – 1894-5
- Written by Carrie W. Colburn
- Offered the lead role of “Kate” by Colburn who saw her performing in the chorus and wanted her to star in her play, which became T.F’s first starring role on stage.
- Fleur de Lis - 1895
- Performed with Della Fox
- Production opened at the Palmer’s Theater in NYC
- A Trip to ChinatownA Trip to ChinatownA Trip to Chinatown is a musical comedy in three acts by Charles H. Hoyt with music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Hoyt, that became a silent film featuring Anna May Wong half a century later. In addition to the Gaunt and Hoyt score, many songs were interpolated into the score at one time or another...
– 1896-7 - Role of the “Widow” (principal)
- La PoupeeLa poupéeLa poupée is an opéra comique in a prelude and three acts composed by Edmond Audran with a libretto by Maurice Ordonneau. It opened at the Théâtre de la Gaîté, Montparnasse, Paris on 31 October 1896. Along with Miss Helyett La poupée was one of Audran's late successes. The libretto was based on...
- 1897 - Role of “Henry” (boy’s part- principal)
- Performed with Anna HeldAnna HeldHelene Anna Held was a Polish-born stage performer, most often associated with impresario Florenz Ziegfeld, her common-law husband. -Early life:...
- Show opened in Lyrie, NY, October 9th
- The Man in the Moon – 1898-99
- Role in the front row of the chorus
- The Country Sport – 1898-99
- Role in the chorus
- Understudied for Kate Davis and got to play the principal when she fell ill
- The Casino Girl - 1900
- Opened in Casino, NY; had a chorus role
- The Belle of Bohemia – 1900-1
- Role of “Mrs. Muggins” (principal)
- First appearance in London at the ApolloApolloApollo is one of the most important and complex of the Olympian deities in Greek and Roman mythology...
in this role – February 21, 1901 - The Whirl of the Town - 1901
- Role of “Samanthy Brown”
- Performed with Henry E. Dixey and Madge Lessing
- Opened in London, September 11, 1901
- The Rounders – 1901
- One of the four daughters (principal)
- The Girl From Paris – 1901-2
- Role of “Julie Bonbon” (principal); Show toured back in the U.S. and in Montreal
- The Belle of New York - 1902
- Role of “Salvation Army girl”
- When asked to kick a tambourine as the character does in the German translation of the play, she “refused to stultify her artistic conscience in that way”
- The Chaperons (musical comedy) - 1902
- Role of “Aramanthe Dedincourt” (principal)
- Director Frank L. Perley; Music by Isidore Witmark; Book and Lyrics by Frederic Ranken
- Opened in New York, NY on June 5th
- Performed with Walter Jones, Eddie Redway, Lou Middleton, Harry Conor, Eva TanguayEva TanguayEva Tanguay was a Canadian-born singer and entertainer who billed herself as "the girl who made vaudeville famous".-Early life:...
, and May Boley - F.C. Havenmeyer, a wealthy 71 year old man, followed the production around the country showering the female actresses with gifts from Tiffany’s, T.F. included.
- Sally in Our Alley - 1903
- Role of “Sally” (principal)
- Played at McVicker’s Theater
- The Darling of the Gallery Gods - 1903
- Role of “Whoa San” (principal)
- The Dress Parade - 1903
- Role of “DuBarry” (principal)
- Opened in Crystal Gardens, NY, June 22nd
- The Prince of Pilsen – 1903
- Role of “Mrs. Madison Crocker” (principal)
- Opened on Broadway, NY, July 4th , 1903 and in Shaftesbury, London, May 14, 1904
- Wears a gown covered with roses which was her “invention.”
- The Sultan of Sulu – 1904
- Role of the “Widow”
- Higgledy-Piggledy – 1905 – Joe Weber’s All Star Co.Joe Weber (vaudevillian)Joe Weber born Joseph Morris Weber was a vaudevillian who, along with Lew Fields, formed the comedy team of Weber and Fields....
or Joe Weber Music Hall Stock Co. - Role of “Mimi de Chartreuse” (principal)
- Opened in Weber’s M.H., New York, February 13
- The Girl From Paris - 1906
- Revived role of “Julie Bonbon” (principal)
- Opened in Manhattan Beach, New York, July 21st
- Twiddle-Twaddle – 1905
- Role of “Matilda Grabfelder” (principal)
- Opened at Joe Weber’s Theatre
- The Three Graces – 1906 – Kohl and Castle
- Opened at the Chicago Opera HouseChicago Opera HouseThe Chicago Opera House, was a theater complex in Chicago, Illinois, USA, designed by the architectural firm of Cobb and Frost. The Chicago Opera House building took the cue provided by the Metropolitan Opera of New York as a mixed-used building: it housed both a theater and unrelated offices,...
and went on tour - His Honor the Mayor – 1906
- Role of “Katrinka” (principal)
- Performed with Harry KellyHarry KellyHarry Kelly may refer to:* Harry Kelly , American anarchist* Harry Kelly , American Division I basketball player with over 3,000 career points and 1,000 rebounds* Harry Kelly , the Governor of Michigan...
- The OrchidThe OrchidThe Orchid is a musical play in two acts by James T. Tanner, with lyrics by Adrian Ross and Percy Greenbank and music by Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton and additional numbers by Paul Rubens. It opened at Gaiety Theatre in London on 26 October 1903 and ran for 559 performances. It starred Gertie...
– 1906-7 - Role of “Caroline Vokes” (or Vokins?) (principal)
- Performed with Eddie FoyEddie FoyEddie Foy, Sr. , was an actor, comedian, dancer and vaudevillian.-Early years:...
- Opened in Herald Square Theatre, New York, April 8th
- The Girl from Yama - 1907
- Role of “The Girl from Yama” (principal)
- The American Idea (musical comedy) - 1908
- Role of “Mrs. Waxtapper (principal)
- Written by George M. CohanGeorge M. CohanGeorge Michael Cohan , known professionally as George M. Cohan, was a major American entertainer, playwright, composer, lyricist, actor, singer, dancer, and producer....
- Costarring George BebanGeorge BebanGeorge Beban was an American actor, director, writer and producer. Beban began as a child performer in San Francisco, California, and became a well-known vaudevillian and stage actor in the 1890s and 1900s...
- First public performance at the Star TheatreStar TheatreStar Theatre or Star Theater may refer to:In films:*Star Theatre In Australia:* Star Theatre, Sydney, within the The Star casino, Sydney, New South WalesIn India:*Star Theatre, CalcuttaIn the United States:...
in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
, September 7th - Opened in New York, New York, October 5th
- The Sweetest Girl in Paris (musical comedy) – 1910-11
- Role of “Mrs. Ned Radcliffe (principal)
- Opened at the Chicago LaSalle Opera House, August 8th and went on tour
- The Passing Show of 1912The Passing ShowThe Passing Show was a musical revue in three acts, billed as a "topical extravaganza", with a book and lyrics by Sydney Rosenfeld and music by Ludwig Engländer and various other composers. It featured spoofs of theatrical productions of the past season. The show was presented in 1894 by George...
– 1912-13 – Winter Garden Co. - Roles of “Keokuk,” “Julia Scream,” and “Nancy Sikes”
- Opened in Winter Garden, NY, July 22nd and went on tour
- A Parody of ‘’Oliver TwistOliver TwistOliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy's Progress is the second novel by English author Charles Dickens, published by Richard Bentley in 1838. The story is about an orphan Oliver Twist, who endures a miserable existence in a workhouse and then is placed with an undertaker. He escapes and travels to...
’’ - Town TopicsTown Topics (musical)Ned Wayburn's Town Topics was a musical comedy revue that ran at the Century Theatre from 23 September 1915 to 20 November 1915. It was written Harry B. Smith, Thomas J. Gray and Robert B. Smith and composed by Harold Orlob....
(musical comedy) – 1915 - Role of “Albany Dayline”
- Conceived of and staged by Ned WayburnNed WayburnNed Wayburn, born Edward Claudius Weyburn, was a choreographer. He was born in Pennsylvania but spent much of his childhood in Chicago where he was introduced to theater and studied classical piano. At the age of 21, he abandoned his family’s tradition of manufacturing and began teaching at the...
- Canary Cottage – 1916-17
- Role of “Blanche Moss”
Vaudeville career (1906-1932)
Trixie Friganza easily made the transition from musical comedy to vaudeville though her first vaudeville appearance is a contested matter. The newspaper, Brooklyn EagleBrooklyn Eagle
The Brooklyn Daily Bulletin began publishing when the original Eagle folded in 1955. In 1996 it merged with a newly revived Brooklyn Daily Eagle, and now publishes a morning paper five days a week under the Brooklyn Daily Eagle name...
claims that her debut was at Keeney’s Theatre, May 6, 1905, whereas the Encyclopedia of Vaudeville lists her first appearance at the Hammerstein’s Theatre in New York, NY, in the summer of 1906. Regardless, from that time forward she shuttled back and forth between the theatre and the vaudeville stage until 1912-1913 when she began working primarily within the vaudeville circuit. Her fame as a comic actress buoyed her success and she soon became a headliner, given top billing in the shows.
During her career she headlined at the B.F. Keith’s Palace Theatre in New York no less than ten times. Records from the Theatre documented performers’ success by rating their reception, applause, counting the number of laughs received and how they finished. Records from appearances during the week ending April 28, 1918 indicate that the audience’s response to Trixie Friganza was huge, where she elicited a total of 29 laughs, second only to Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
’s motion picture A Dog’s Life. In 1919 she toured with an act called “At A Block Party,” which featured songs and witty repartee representative of an actual city block party. Frederick James Smith, writing for the Dramatic Mirror (February 8, 1919) called her show “a vigorous comedy act” (Slide, Selected Vaudeville Criticism, pg. 88). During one appearance at the Palace, Variety Magazine called her act, “My Little Bag O’ Trix,” “a riotous hit” (March, 1920). Other one-woman shows included the “Trixie Friganza Road Show” (1921) and numerous others that she performed untitled.
She performed many successful acts, many of which revolved around her plus-sized figure, which she described as the “perfect forty-six”, and the trials and tribulations of love (Slide, Encyclopedia of Vaudeville, pg. 199). She was an advocate for being plump, topping the scales herself at 180 lbs, and went as far as suggesting that her success as a comic correlated directly to her mass. On July 21, 1915, the Dramatic Mirror reported successful completion of a 75-week tour on the Keith vaudeville circuit; during that span of time she never missed a performance, never was late or was involved in any altercations with the stage or house manager.
In 1929, Trixie made a ten-minute Vitaphone
Vitaphone
Vitaphone was a sound film process used on feature films and nearly 1,000 short subjects produced by Warner Bros. and its sister studio First National from 1926 to 1930. Vitaphone was the last, but most successful, of the sound-on-disc processes...
short titled "My Bag O' Tricks," available in the Warner Bros. DVD of The Jazz Singer
The Jazz Singer (1927 film)
The Jazz Singer is a 1927 American musical film. The first feature-length motion picture with synchronized dialogue sequences, its release heralded the commercial ascendance of the "talkies" and the decline of the silent film era. Produced by Warner Bros. with its Vitaphone sound-on-disc system,...
. The first minute of the picture is lost to nitrate decomposition, but the entire Vitaphone soundtrack survives, preserving a glimpse of what must have been part of her vaudeville act of the time.
Filmography
- Mind Over Motor (1923)
- The Charmer (1925)
- Proud FleshProud Flesh (film)Proud Flesh is a 1925 silent comedy-drama film directed by King Vidor.-Plot:A San Francisco earthquake orphan is adopted by relatives in Spain and gets wooed by a Romeo there. She turns him down to return to a San Francisco plumber.-Cast:...
(1925) - The White Desert (1925)
- The Coming of Amos (1925)
- The Road to YesterdayThe Road to YesterdayThe Road to Yesterday is a 1925 silent film directed by Cecil B. DeMille. Prints of the film reportedly survive at George Eastman House and in private collections.-Cast:* Joseph Schildkraut - Kenneth Paulton* Jetta Goudal - Malena Paulton...
(1925) - Borrowed Finery (1925)
- The Waiter from the Ritz (1926)(* not released)
- Monte CarloMonte Carlo (1926 film)-Plot:An American adventurer hides from pursuing detectives in the hotel room of a young schoolteacher.-Cast:* Lew Cody - Tony Townsend* Gertrude Olmstead - Sally Roxford* Roy D'Arcy - Prince Boris* Karl Dane - The Doorman* Zasu Pitts - Hope Durant...
(1926) - Almost a Lady (1926)
- The Whole Town's Talking (1926)
- A Racing Romeo (1927)
- Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1928)
- Thanks for the Buggy Ride (1928)
- My Bag o'Trix (1929) (*short)
- Free and Easy (1930)
- Strong and Willing (1930) (*short)
- The Unholy ThreeThe Unholy Three (1930 film)The Unholy Three is a 1930 melodrama involving a crime spree, directed by Jack Conway. It is a remake of the 1925 film The Unholy Three. Both were based on the novel of the same name by Clarence Aaron "Tod" Robbins....
(1930) (*uncredited) - Myrt and Marge (1933)
- Wanderer of the Wasteland (1935)
- Silks and Saddles (1936)
- A Star is BornA Star Is Born (1937 film)A Star Is Born is a 1937 Technicolor romantic drama film produced by David O. Selznick and directed by William A. Wellman, with a script by Wellman, Robert Carson, Dorothy Parker and Alan Campbell. It stars Janet Gaynor as an aspiring Hollywood actress, and Fredric March as an aging movie star who...
(1937) - How to Undress in Front of Your Husband (1937)
Personal life
Trixie Friganza was civic minded and socially attuned. She was not progressive by modern standards, but for a woman at the turn of the twentieth century to align herself with women’s suffrage and to promote a positive female body image was pretty radical. On October 28, 1908, Trixie attended a women’s suffrage rally at New York City HallNew York City Hall
New York City Hall is located at the center of City Hall Park in the Civic Center area of Lower Manhattan, New York City, USA, between Broadway, Park Row, and Chambers Street. The building is the oldest City Hall in the United States that still houses its original governmental functions, such as...
where she delivered a speech for women’s rights. She donated money to the cause and repeatedly went on record as an advocate for women’s rights, equality and independence. Her own personal life is consistent with those ideals; having taken her mother’s maiden name and refusing to leave her career in spite of marriage, she defied society’s proprieties and norms, modeling what Susan Glenn calls "New Woman".
Trixie Friganza was quite a beauty, thick and thin, and though she used her occasional single status to sing songs (like “No Wedding Bells for Me”) and make jokes about being desperate for a man, she had many beaus. Her first marriage was to an unknown man in the late 1890s and newspapers reported that she was divorced from this “John Doe” in September 1899. Her second marriage, which took place during the summer of 1901, was to a Dr. Barry, the physician hired aboard the steamship Bohemian
Bohemian
A Bohemian is a resident of the former Kingdom of Bohemia, either in a narrow sense as the region of Bohemia proper or in a wider meaning as the whole country, now known as the Czech Republic. The word "Bohemian" was used to denote the Czech people as well as the Czech language before the word...
, upon which the cast sailed from Boston. The wedding was held at Stermin’s Hotel and those in attendance were fellow actors and cast members of Belle of Bohemia. She and the Doctor were divorced several years later, though the exact date is unknown. On August 20, 1909, tabloids reported that Trixie was to be engaged to Nat M. Wills
Nat M. Wills
Nat M. Wills , was a popular stage star, vaudeville entertainer, and recording artist at the beginning of the 20th century...
, but nothing more was said of this and she did not in fact marry the man. Her third marriage, taking place in New York on March 10, 1912, was to her manager, Charles A. Goettler. She filed for a divorce in the summer of 1914 on the grounds of “failure to provide” and “cruelty”. Records do not indicate that she was ever married again. During all of her marriages she never changed her name and was adamant about continuing her career in show business. None of the relationships yielded any children for her.
Later life
Trixie Friganza suffered from arthritis beginning in the 1930s and because of it by 1940 could no longer work in Hollywood or on stage. In 1940 she turned over all of her assets and money to the Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, a convent and school in La Canada Flintridge, California. She taught drama there as long as she could until her health prevented her from doing so. She reportedly had a room in the institution that that looked over the city of Pasadena where every year she would watch the footballAmerican football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
games at the Rose Bowl
Rose Bowl (stadium)
The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium in Pasadena, California, U.S., in Los Angeles County. The stadium is the site of the annual college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl, held on New Year's Day. In 1982, it became the home field of the UCLA Bruins college football team of the Pac-12...
stadium.
At the age of 79, in an interview with the L.A. Times, she confessed to enjoying watching TV a great deal saying, “that’s where vaudeville has gone –into television” (Slide, Encyclopedia… pg. 199). She correctly identified the many comic and dramatic tropes borrowed from the stage and incorporated into American cinema and television. Despite her popularity, theatrical achievements and astounding record of stage and cinematic productions, which rivaled male comic greats such as Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, she died in relative obscurity in Flintridge at the age of 84 on February 27, 1955. She bequeathed all her possessions to the Academy and left a legacy to the American public.
Written works
During her career Trixie Friganza published articles and poems in newspapers, some of which still exist today in the Robinson Locke Collection at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Those still available (mostly on microfilm) are listed below accompanied by a short description of content.- “Ballad” – From the “Trixie Ballads,” published in 1903 in an unknown newspaper
- “Comediennes Chosen By Weight” – April 1907, Newspaper Article
- This article written by Trixie argued that in the future female comics would be selected not based on reputation, rather on their excess pounds. She recognized the value of having thin actresses play leading dramatic and romantic roles, but if any woman would succeed in comedy it would be the larger lady of the two.
- “Six Trixie Friganza Tricks Which Make Women Laugh” – May 16, 1909, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
- The article derived from an interview in which the reporter quoted T.F. at length, her dialogue comprising over 70% of the text. In it she shares her desire to play to women’s sense of humor, encouraging their laughter, and the theatrical strategies necessary to do so.
- “These Stories” – June 26, 1910, published in an unknown newspaper
- A collection of humorous short anecdotes, most of which seem to derive from real life experiences and place the woman as the humorist or satirist.
- “Bromides” – February 3, 1915, poem in New Jersey Star
- The poem documented the internal questions and worries of a stage actor.
Quotes
- “Once I asked Miss Friganza, why people laughed at her. ‘They don’t’, she said, ‘they laugh with me. Or at least I like to jolly myself into believing that they do. You know I wasted a lot of time trying to be pretty and cute and all that sort of thing.”
- From Dramatic Section, “Her Breadth is Her Meal Ticket, Quoth the Mirthful Trixie” by Archie Bell
- “’I do not believe any man –at least no man I know –is better fitted to form a political opinion than I am.’”
- From the New York Telegraph, Oct. 27, 1908 (archived in the Robinson Locke Collection, Vol. 220).
- “I make it my business to compel women to laugh. Now you will understand that I understand when I tell you that I can always do this. When one woman can compel another woman to laugh heartily and earnestly, she understands her sex pretty well, eh?”
- From the Chicago Tribune, “Six Trixie Friganza Tricks Which Make Woman Laugh,” published May 16, 1909
Nicknames
- "The Cincinnati Girl"
- "The Perpetual Flapper"” dubbed this by The BillboardThe BillboardThe Billboard is a massive granite monolith in the Sarnoff Mountains of the Ford Ranges of Marie Byrd Land, West Antarctica, standing just west of Mount Rea between Arthur Glacier and Boyd Glacier...
in 1931 - "The Champagne Girl"
External links
- Internet Movie Database
- Musical Performers
- B.F. Keith’s ledger for Theatre in Indianapolis: Aug. 29th- June 14, 1925
- New York Times Movies (search for Trixie Friganza)
- American Variety Stage 1870-1920
- Trixie Friganza portrait gallery Corbis
- Trixie Friganza portrait as a young woman (with hour glass figure) University of Louisville Macauley Theater Collection
- Trixie Friganza early portraits University of Washington, Sayre collection
- Trixie Friganza; Findagrave