Ruth and Kate were close knit sisters, born two years apart. I called Kate, Mom, and her dancing partner was my Aunt Ruth. Ruth married Harry near the beginning of World War II, and Kate married Tony at the end. Harry and Tony were best friends. Marriage brought children, and children brought new responsibilities. The dancing sisters still danced but less frequently. They “cut a rug”, as the saying goes, at weddings and the occasional night on the town. In all my years observing, I don’t recall Harry or Tony dancing fast. The girls didn’t care as they had each other as partners.
Kate and Tony bought a television shortly after moving into their Royal Oak home. I recall watching “Your Hit Parade” on Saturday night when I was about four or five. “Your Hit Parade” was a much loved music program that featured the most popular songs of the week. Listeners were informed the “Your Hit Parade” survey “checked the best sellers on sheet music and phonograph records, the songs most heard on the air, and the most played on jukeboxes. It was reported as an accurate, authentic tabulation of America’s taste in popular music.” A troupe of singers and dancers presented the top seven songs of each week.
Dad (Tony) told me that Mom (Kate) starred on the show each Saturday night. I believed him. For one entire season I thought Dorothy Collins was my mom. I could see the minor resemblance. Mom could certainly dance well, but I didn’t think her voice sounded the same. Dad explained that television could make singers sound better. He was my dad, so I believed him.
We watched each show, and I thought she looked just as pretty on TV as she did in real life. It took me several weeks of watching to figure out it wasn’t my mom on TV, but eventually I did.
If Kate had the opportunity to dance professionally, I think she would. She loved it that much. She was in her element when the music played. She would do the Charleston, jitterbug, swing, and jive and was open to any dance partner willing to give her a whirl.
The June Taylor dancers were regulars on the Jackie Gleason show. Kate would have been right at home as a part of the dance team. Her expertise wasn’t tap dancing like the June Taylor girls, but I’m sure she could learn. Rather than chase the dancing dream, she raised three children. Her sense of duty outweighed her wanderlust.
While Kate’s children didn’t fancy a life as a singer or dancer, a generation later the spouses of Kate’s grandchildren wouldn’t pass on their dreams. I’ve shared the story of the troubadour known as Sutton James. This talented singer, and Kate’s granddaughter, Elizabeth, sang their way through three countries and much of the United States for fifteen months. They appeared in saloons and honky-tonks chasing the dream of singing professionally. What you may not know is another dream chaser started a similar path while singing along side Sutton and Elizabeth. That’s when the legend of Rozlyn Heart began.
TBC