Edith Clasper Explained

Edith Clasper
Birth Date:October 12, 1894
Birth Place:Stranton, Hartlepool, U.K.
Death Date:May 1984
Death Place:United States
Occupation:Dancer, vaudeville performer
Years Active:1920s

Edith Crosbie Clasper (October 12, 1894[1] – May 1984) was an English-born American dancer active on the vaudeville stage in the 1920s.

Early life and education

Clasper was born in Stranton, Hartlepool, the daughter of Robert Clasper and Barbara Crosbie Clasper.[2] Her mother was born in Scotland. Her father died in 1898.[3] Clasper moved to the United States as a little girl, with her widowed mother, and lived with relatives in Chicago.[4]

Career

Clasper was billed as "the daintiest of dancers".[5] [6] She headlined on tours of the United States and Canada in the 1920s,[7] [8] as the leader of Edith Clasper and Boys, a comedy dance act.[9] [10] She cautioned beginning dancers that "it is just downright hard work"[11] and advised them to "dance, not only with your heels, but with your head."[12] In 1920 she was stricken mid-performance with appendicitis in Madison, Wisconsin; her male assistants carried her off-stage and continued the act, while she took a train back to Chicago for medical attention.[13]

The Pacific Coast Musical Review reported in 1920 that Clasper "has every asset necessary to the successful dancer — appearance, youth, grace, abandon, and poetry."[14] The Montreal Star observed in 1923 that Clasper "obviously delights to dance. There is a freshness about her work that is infectious."[15] Variety magazine reported on her stage costumes in detail.[16]

In his youth, actor Dick Baldwin was one of the male dancers in Clasper's act.[17]

Personal life

Later in life, Clasper worked as a baby nurse for a family on Park Avenue.[18] She became a naturalized United States citizen in 1953. She died in 1984, at the age of 89.[19]

Notes and References

  1. Edith Crosbie Clasper, in the New York, U.S., Index to Petitions for Naturalization filed in New York City, 1792-1989; via Ancestry
  2. Edith Crosbie Clasper, in the England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975; via Ancestry.
  3. News: January 4, 1898 . Death of Mr. Robert Clasper . 3 . Northern Guardian . August 13, 2023 . The British Newspaper Archive, via The Wikipedia Library.
  4. Edith C. Clasper, in the 1900 Federal Census, via Ancestry.
  5. News: 1920-08-29 . Edith Clasper, Dancer, to top Columbia Bill: Dainty Star to Feature Program Here First of this Week . 14 . Quad-City Times . 2023-08-13 . Newspapers.com.
  6. Book: National Vaudeville Artists . National vaudeville artists : May 11, 1924 . 1924 . Media History Digital Library . Internet Archive.
  7. News: 1922-12-29 . Orpheum . 9 . Altoona Tribune . 2023-08-13 . Newspapers.com.
  8. News: 1924-08-26 . Real Vaudeville Bill at Orpheum; Edith Clasper in her Dancing Act Makes Hit; Nelson a Riot . 4 . Calgary Herald . 2023-08-13 . Newspapers.com.
  9. May 14, 1921 . Edith Clasper and Boys . Dramatic Mirror . 83 . 866.
  10. News: Hutton . Maurice C. . 1925-05-04 . Music Lovers Get 'Kick' from Keith 'Band' Burlesque . 4 . The Dayton Herald . 2023-08-13 . Newspapers.com.
  11. News: 1923-10-05 . Edith Clasper . 24 . The Kentucky Post and Times-Star . 2023-08-13 . Newspapers.com.
  12. News: 1920-12-02 . Miss Clasper Has Wholesome Advice . 7 . The Vancouver Sun . 2023-08-13 . Newspapers.com.
  13. News: September 13, 1920 . Orpheum Actress Stricken in Act . 1 . The Capital Times . August 13, 2023 . Internet Archive.
  14. https://books.google.com/books?id=G3I9AQAAMAAJ&dq=%22Edith+Clasper%22+vaudeville&pg=RA12-PA6 "Orpheum"
  15. News: 1923-11-20 . Edith Clasper Brings Charm and Originality to Imperial Program . 6 . The Montreal Star . 2023-08-13 . Newspapers.com.
  16. Mac . Alice . June 18, 1920 . Among the Women . Variety . 59 . 4 . 5 . Internet Archive.
  17. News: Niemeyer . H. H. . 1937-08-22 . Making a Touchdown in Movies . 53 . St. Louis Post-Dispatch . 2023-08-13 . Newspapers.com.
  18. Edith Clasper, in the 1950 United States Federal Census, in the Judson Bell Shafer household on Park Avenue, New York City; via Ancestry.
  19. Edith Clasper, in the U.S., Social Security Death Index, 1935-2014; via Ancestry.

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