William Rock
William Rock | |
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| Born | William Baker Rock August 5, 1872 Evansville, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died | June 27, 1922 (aged 49) Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Comedian and dancer |
William Baker Rock (August 5, 1872 – June 27, 1922) was an American vaudeville comedian and dancer.[1][2]
Life and career[edit]
He was born on August 5, 1872, in Evansville, Indiana, to William Beverly Rock and Matilda Baker.[2][3][4] His early career was in musical comedy, before he teamed up with Maude Fulton in the vaudeville act of Rock and Fulton.[5] He is credited with being the first vaudeville performer to have a band accompanying his act on stage, and also one of the first to condense a Broadway musical into a vaudeville act.[3]
After Fulton left to become a solo performer, he formed a duo with former chorus girl Frances White (1898–1969), as Rock and White.[3] They made their debut together in 1916, but soon White became seen as the star performer, and the pairing split up in 1919.[3]
Rock married Jane Ryder on October 5, 1905, in Manhattan, New York City.[6] He later married Gladys Tilbury of Brighton, England. On July 6, 1921, he married Helen Eby of Altoona, Pennsylvania, who appeared with him in Hitchy-Koo.
On July 13, 1921, he was hospitalized and had one-third of his stomach removed.[1] He died on June 27, 1922, at the National Stomach Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, of cancer of the stomach.[2][3][7][8] He was buried in Fairview Cemetery in Bowling Green, Kentucky.[2]
References[edit]
- ^ a b "William Rock Operated On. A Portion of Stomach Removed From Dancer, Recently Married". New York Times. July 15, 1921. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
William Rock, for many years well known as a dancer and comedian in vaudeville and musical theater ...
- ^ a b c d "Death certificate for William B. Rock". Retrieved 2015-09-27.
- ^ a b c d e Anthony Slide (2012). "William Rock". The Encyclopedia of Vaudeville. University Press of Mississippi. pp. 424–426. ISBN 9781617032509.
- ^ My Life in Vaudeville: The Autobiography of Ed Lowry uses 1867 for the year of William Rock's birth.
- ^ "Maude Fulton, 69, Stage Star, Dead. Noted Actress Here for Many Years was Author of 'Brat' and 'The Humming Bird'". New York Times. November 11, 1950. Retrieved 2015-09-22.
- ^ New York City Marriage Records, 1829-1940
- ^ "William Rock, Dancer". New York Times. June 28, 1922. Retrieved 2015-09-24.
- ^ "William Rock of Stage Fame Dead". Ogden Standard-Examiner. June 28, 1922. Retrieved 2015-09-23.
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