Clan Fraser of West Hill Tribute to the O'Connor sisters

Fraser Tartan Badge

Canadian Descendants of the Frasers in Dryburn

LADIES & GENTLEMEN

Clan Fraser of West Hill

Is Proud to Present

Our Tribute to Canada's own

gift to the World of Musical Entertainment

The O'Connor Sisters

Vaudeville Stars from 1910 to 1937

Mary, Anna, Ada, Kathleen, Vera & Nellie

The O'Connor Sisters were the daughters of John O'Connor

and Ellen O'Leary. Born on their parents pioneering farm in southern

Etobicoke, they made their 1910 singing debut at Shea's in Buffalo. They

appeared with the likes of Eddie Cantor, Will Rogers, Jimmy Durante,

Buster Keaton, Sophie Tucker, Red Skelton, George Burns and

Gracie Allen. The Sisters played the major vaudville houses throughout

the North East United States and Canada.

Shea's Hippadrome in Toronto

Among the theatres where they appeared were Shea's Hippadrome in Toronto,

Fox Theatre in Detroit, Majestic in Chicago and Fifth Avenue in New York.

When sisters left the group to marry, three of the sisters continued as a

trio, working into the 1930's. The members of the group had always been

fluid, beginning as a quartet, it became a sextet when their manager

decided that would be original. They were the subject of a major CBC

special in 1973 with music arranged by Moe Koffman and Peter Appleyard.

Billed as the "Greatest Singing Voices in Vaudeville", some of their earliest

numbers were arranged by a young composer just beginning his career,

George Gershwin. Comedians as well as singers, their 12 minute act featured much

playful comedy, especially when one of the sisters discovered she

could sing baritone. The Sisters were also natural atheletes, with Mary holding

the World record for running the half mile. Their costumes were almost always

mentioned in reviews of their act, some of their gowns costing up to $1,000.--

an amazing sum for 1920.

The Sisters never let the world of show business erode their deep religious

faith. They often sang on Sunday mornings at major churches as they

travelled the country, "Leonard's Mass" being their favourite.

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