Donna Darling Collection – Part 9

Treasure Chest Thursday

By Don Taylor

This week on the Donna Darling “Treasure Chest” I have pulled three photos. Again, they were badly damaged. I have cropped and touched them up using Photoshop Elements to remove creases and tears as much as I could and still maintain the integrity of the photos.

The Donna Darling Review

Donna Darling Review c. 1927

The first photo shows the Donna Darling Review on stage. It appears that Sammy Clark is on the left and Donna in the middle. There is an unknown man on the right.  The photo is probably about 1927 and the location is unknown. There is no indication of the photographer. The back of the photo is stamped with “To Be Returned to Photographic & Press Bureau, Inc. Palace Theatre Bldg, New York City.”

Donna Darling Revue c. 1927 – Photo by Theatrical ????

Next is another of the photo of the Donna Darling Review showing who appears to be Sammy on the left, Donna center stage wearing what looks to be a halo. With her are two “ladies in waiting” wearing elaborate costumes. Again, the photo was taken about 1927 and the location is unknown. The studio is cut off on the bottom right of the image, but clearly sans “Theatrical” something. The back says, “Donna Darling Review” in handwriting.

In the snow in Montreal

Fox News photographs Donna Darling and the girls in the snow – c. 1927

Finally, is a photo of Donna at a photo shoot with three other women. Donna is wearing her mink coat and is holding her Pekingese dog, “Peke.” There is no mention of the photographer nor of the date, although I suspect it was about 1926 or 1927. On the back, she wrote:

Montreal Canada

Fox News Cameras girls not afraid to dance in snow (was scared plenty) I took my mink off (sparely) hot toddy kept us from freezing-
My “Peke” was along.

I haven’t uncovered a show date for Donna to be in Montreal, yet but will continue researching her shows.

These three photos provide an interesting glimpse into the 1920s vaudeville world. The photos here were sized for printing (300 DPI) and are available from me at a higher quality if needed.

Subsequent to this research, I looked further for an image of this photo shoot. I found a copy on Tumbir.