Aug 21, 2010

Hurry! Last Three Days!


August 21, 1945: “Sis and I dressed and went downtown to the Oriental. Met Sunny and saw Jealousy —very corny, but we also saw lovable Dick Haymes and a grand stage show.”


In addition to lovable Dick Haymes, there were other performers live on stage that night, as the ad above shows.

Steve Evans appears to have been a comedian. Someone by that name appeared on a few, early 1950s TV shows, such as Ed Sullivan's Toast of the Town, and Jackie Gleason's Cavalcade of Stars.

The Shyrettos were a circus act. They evidently appeared with Steve Evans on those same TV programs:
Alfred Schieritz was a member of the trick cycling and bicycling act, the Shyrettos, a trio that included his sister Hanni and Walter Heinze. The Shyrettos toured in Russia before they came to the United States in 1938. In their first five years in the United States they performed at the International Casino, New York. They then played night clubs, theaters. They toured with Ringling-Barnum 1941-43 and with major Shrine and Police circuses and fair dates in the 1940s-1950s. Alfred married comic Sue Carson in 1957 and then managed her career.
I was unable to learn who “A. Hartman” or the “Lang & Orchestra” were. A “De Simone” appears in the credits for a 1965 Italian film, The Dolls, but I am not sure it's the same person. Leave a comment if you can add anything, please.

As for Dick Haymes:
(Haymes) never became a United States citizen and avoided military service during World War II by asserting his non-belligerent status as a citizen of Argentina, which was neutral. Hollywood-based columnists Louella Parsons and Hedda Hopper seized upon this at the time, questioning Haymes' patriotism; but the story had little effect on Haymes' career.

About that time, he was classified 4-F by the draft board because of hypertension. As part of his draft examination, he was confined for a short period to a hospital at Ellis Island, which confirmed his hypertension. However, Haymes' decision would come back to haunt him in 1953 when he went to Hawaii (then a territory and, technically, not part of the United States) without first notifying immigration authorities. Haymes was nearly deported back to Argentina.

Haymes experienced serious financial problems later in life and at one point was forced into bankruptcy.

Haymes was married six times; but drinking, debts, and abuse led to the dissolution of all but his sixth marriage. His more notable marriages were to film actresses Joanne Dru (1941–1949), Rita Hayworth (1953–1955), and Fran Jeffries (1958–1964). He was also married to Nora Eddington, a former wife of Erroll Flynn. Haymes' wives bore him six children in all. His daughter Stephanie Haymes was married to Bernie Taupin, Sir Elton John's lyricist.

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