My Stepdad sent me this fab video of the Ross Sisters singing Solid Potato Salad. Their acrobatic and contortionism skills are incredible.
After seeing this I just had to find out more about them.
The Ross Sisters were a trio of female sibling singing dancers consisting of Aggie Ross, Elmira Ross, and Maggie Ross (whose real names were Veda Victoria, Dixie Jewel and Betsy Ann Ross). The Ross Sisters performed as a 3-part harmony trio wherein they also danced and did acrobatics and contortionism. Their public attention peaked during the 1940s, during which they were featured prominently in the film Broadway Rhythm. This clip also appears in the compilation film That's Entertainment! III.
The Ross Sisters were born in West Texas, to Charles Adolphus and Veda Cordelia Ross. Shortly after they made "Broadway Rhythm," they moved to Europe where they appeared in "Piccadilly Hayride," a post-war London stage revue that ran from 1946 to 1948. They also recorded "Five Minutes More," a song later covered by Frank Sinatra.
Betsy Ann Ross was born June 20, 1926, in Colorado City, Texas. She married Robert "Bunny" Hightower, an American dancer, on January 11, 1947. They had a son named Dana. The couple appeared together many times on The Ed Sullivan Show. Robert Hightower was previously married to dancer Vera-Ellen, best known as Rosemary Clooney's sister in White Christmas.
Veda Victoria (Vickie) Ross was born November 8, 1927, in Roscoe, Texas. She married Robert Lamouret April March 10, 1950, in Paris. She later had a second marriage to Bob Hender.
Dixie Jewel Ross was born August 9, 1929, in Loraine, Texas. She married on July 10, 1948, to Richard (Dickie) Henderson, OBE, (October 30, 1922 - September 22, 1985), whose father was a Music Hall comedian and singer famous for his short, rotund appearance, bowler hat, and beautiful singing voice. He was also famous for making the original recording of the popular song "Tiptoe Through the Tulips." Dixie died at age 34 on July 10, 1963, and is buried in Gunnersbury Cemetery, London, England.
Both Veda and Dixie are listed in wikipedia as dying on the same day 7/10/63 and both are buried in England. I was unable to locate a cause of death,
ReplyDeleteOh thanks for that snippet of information. It seems strange that both would die on the same day and at such a young age! x
DeleteFrom what I've read, they all took stage names. Dixie took her sister Veda's name as her stage name. So the Veda and Dixie who died on the same day and are buried in England are the same person. I also read she died of an overdose of barbituates on her wedding anniversary. Sounds very sad. One of the other sisters died in the 1990s, with the other dying in the 2000s.
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