2 3 Throwback Thursday and Will Mahoney | Ballet Webb

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Throwback Thursday and Will Mahoney


Throwback Thursday and Will Mahoney

Born William James Mahoney on February 5, 1894, Will came from an unlikely place: Helena, Montana. His father was a rancher who died when Will was only 2 years old. His mother went to work as a cook in logging camps to support the family.

Will and his brother Frank formed a duo called The Mahoney Brothers and they first performed onstage in 1902 – when Will was about eight years old. They ended up on the vaudeville circuit and by 1914 had toured North America, Mexico and visited Melbourne, Australia.

After his brother left the act, Will designed a xylophone platform, on which he danced with small mallets attached to his shoes. He soon achieved fame and George Gershwin wrote music for him.

Will appeared in three movies, and by the 1930s he was said to be the highest paid variety star in American – said to be earning $5500 a week – an enormous sum at that time.

By 1943, Will had changed direction, becoming a theatre manager of the Cremorne Theatre, in Brisbane, Australia. This venue attracted entertainers from overseas, among them Mahoney's friends Jack Benny, Bob Hope, Gary Cooper, and others.

In 1966, while performing onstage at the Tivoili in Funny Girl, Will collapsed. He died on February 9, 1967 and is buried in the Melbourne general cemetery.

From the Big Blue Book of Ballet Secrets
Dance History Factoid #174:
“Will Mahoney was said to be the highest-paid variety star in America.”

Link of the Day:

Quote of the Day:
“Make your ego porous. Will is of little importance, complaining is nothing, fame is nothing. Openness, patience, receptivity, solitude is everything.”
Rainer Maria Rilke

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