Donna Darling Collection – Part 61

Rivoli Theater

Treasure Chest Thursday
By Don Taylor

For this week’s Treasure Chest Tuesday, I’m looking at clippings from the Donna Darling Collection that talk about the Rivoli Theater.

The first item is a newspaper clipping from the Rivoli Theatre where F. L. Koppelberger was manager. It says Donna played there January 7, 8, 9, &10 January 1925. Previous research found that Donna played at the Rivoli theater in La Cross, Wisconsin on those dates. So that is a clear add-in clipping for.

January 7-10, 1925 – La Cross, Wisconsin – Rivoli – California Bathing Beauties Revue.

This is a particularly interesting clipping. It shows the two-dozen vignettes that comprised of Donna’s 1925 Bathing Beauty Show.

• Clarice Allyn
• Betty Bryant
• Katheryn Carlson
• Donna Darling
• Murry Earl
• FNU Flaherty
• Alice Louise
• Mildred O’Brien
• Al Ross

Donna was “Miss Prolog” and “Miss 1860.” She starred in “The Globe Trotter,” “Donna” (herself), “You Bet Your Life,” “The Jazzbo Bathers,” and in the closing review.

Other shows on the bill included “Douglas MacLean in “Never Say Die” and Larry Semon giving the news and in “Trouble Brewing.” That will help confirm the other clippings. In 1925, two years before the first “talkies” theaters often provided a news segment that was narrated by a local individual. In this case, Larry Semon was the narrator. His name on other advertising shows which Rivoli theater would be correct. Other clippings show that his Rivoli theater had unique rivets in the theater logo.

The ads use different names for two of the cast – Miss Katheryn Kolleen and Miss Myrtle Carlson are identified as members of the show.

Also, the clippings include two advertisements from the Rivoli. One shows a woman diving, but the other shows a woman sitting in a shell. I’ve not seen that image before in Donna’s advertising.

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There is another set of “Rivoli” Theatre clipping that appears to relate to Donna and Sammy playing at the Rivoli in Portland, Oregon.  I’ll look at those closer next time.