Tag Archives: Vaudeville

Donna Darling at Lafayette Square (Buffalo, 1925)

Posted on July 27, 2026 by Don Taylor

A Polish-language newspaper advertisement from August 1, 1925, places Donna Darling and her Bathing Girl Revue at the Lafayette Square Theatre in Buffalo, New York. Sharing the bill with Irene Rich’s film My Wife and I and featuring Max Sennett’s “Original Beauties.” This discovery adds another documented engagement to Donna Darling’s touring career. Continue reading →

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Russell Erwin Kees (1927–2016)

Posted on July 24, 2026 by Don Taylor

Ancestor SketchFamily line: Brown-MontranBy Don Taylor Identity Question How did Russell Erwin Kees — born Russell Erwin Clark Amsterdam to Madonna Mae Montran and Samson Clark Amsterdam, and later known by an unofficial surname taken from his mother’s partner (a … Continue reading →

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IN THE NEWS – Harris Grand Theatre, Bloomington, Indiana – April 23–25, 1925

Posted on June 20, 2026 by Don Taylor

In April 1925, my grandmother Madonna Montran — performing as Donna Darling — headlined her “Bathing Girls’ Revue” at the Harris Grand Theatre in Bloomington, Indiana. The three-day Keith Circuit engagement drew five days of advance and review coverage in the local press, naming her seven supporting performers and praising the elaborate production. Continue reading →

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Donna at Fox Washington Theatre, Detroit, MI – Week of June 6, 1926

Posted on June 6, 2026 by Don Taylor

In June 1926, vaudeville performer Donna Darling and her Metropolitan Five headlined the live bill at Detroit’s Fox Washington Theatre, appearing alongside the silent film The Shamrock Handicap. A penciled note in Donna’s own hand — “week June 6, Detroit” — anchors this appearance in her career chronology. Continue reading →

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Donna in the News – Bloomington, IN, April 1925.

Posted on May 14, 2026 by Don Taylor

Donna Darling and her “Bathing Girls’ Revue” brought a Hollywood-organized vaudeville extravaganza to Bloomington, Indiana’s Harris Grand Theatre in April 1925, dazzling audiences and earning recognition as the biggest vaudeville number ever seen on that stage. Continue reading →

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