Bonnie Thornton
Elizabeth "Bonnie" Thornton (née Cox; c. 1871-March 13, 1920) was an American vaudeville comedian[1] and singer. She was considered "one of vaudeville's first headliners"[2] and a "popular seriocomic singer".[3]
Life and career
[edit]Thornton was born as Elizabeth Cox around 1871[2] in the old 4th Ward of New York.[4] In 1885, she married the songwriter and singer James Thornton after a courtship that lasted two years.[5] The couple had no children.[4] She began her theater career at age 17 as a seriocomic, performing sentimental and comic songs, and appearing in concert halls.[4]
By 1888,[5] Thornton made her debut at Tony Pastor's Theatre as a singing comedian. In 1893, she began performing in vaudeville as a double act with James Thornton, her husband.[3] She sang James Thornton's music in her performances, and helped make a number of his pieces popular during the time, including the song, "My Sweetheart's the Man in the Moon".[4][6] She performed this new song during the start of the 1893 season at Tony Pastor's, along with the song "After Dark".[7]
Thornton became a local favorite at Tony Pastor's, and was sometimes a featured singer on his theater bills. She continued to be an entertainer at Tony's until at least 1903.[7] Thornton also performed in variety acts on stage, and vaudeville on tour.[4] She entertained at Allen's Bal Mabille on Bleecker Street, where James was also a singing waiter.[8]
In the 1910s, she and Jim divorced,[3] although at the time of her death, they were reported as husband and wife;[4] their divorce, which occurred in secrecy, would be publicly disclosed by 2007.[4]
Around 1915, Thornton began to run a millinery business in New York City, which she operated until her death. Her last vaudeville performance was with James- who was at the time publicly presumed to still be her husband- in 1919.[4] She died of double pneumonia in New York City on March 13, 1920.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ Mantle, Burns, ed. (1920). The Best Plays of 1919-20. Small, Maynard & Company. p. 466.
- ^ a b Slide, Anthony (1994). The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville. University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-4968-0108-1. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ a b c Cullen, Frank; Hackman, Florence; McNeilly, Donald (2007). Vaudeville Old & New. Routledge. p. 1104. ISBN 978-0-415-93853-2. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Bonnie Thornton". Variety. 58 (4): 28. 19 March 1920. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ a b "The Saga of Jim Thornton". The New York Times. 1 December 1929. p. X3. Retrieved 12 July 2021.
- ^ Ewen, David (1961). History of popular music. New York, Barnes & Noble. p. 54. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ a b Fields, Armond (2007). Tony Pastor, Father of Vaudeville. McFarland. pp. 147, 153, 182. ISBN 978-0-7864-3054-3. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
- ^ Marks, Edward B. (Edward Bennett) (1934). They All Sang: From Tony Pastor to Rudy Vallée. The Viking Press. pp. 77–79. Retrieved 6 February 2022.