The Seven Little Eatons was a family of young American stage
performers in the early part of the twentieth century.Although they
were called The Seven Little Eatons, in fact only five of the siblings
embarked on a career in showbiz.The Eatons were born to Mary and
Charles Eaton between and in Norfolk, Virginia, and began their
careers in show business in , when three of the children, Doris, Mary,
and Pearl, were hired to appear in a production of Maurice
Maeterlinck's fantasy play The Blue Bird at the Shubert Belasco
Theatre in Washington.After The Blue Bird closed, the sisters, younger
brother Joe and cousin Avery, began appearing regularly in various
plays and melodramas for the Poli stock company. Doris Eaton Travis,
in her memoirs, noted that "the local stock managers at the Poli
theatres knew that if you needed three or four or more children, you
could call Mama Eaton and get them all in one place." The Eaton girls
sometimes portrayed male roles; brother Joe sometimes portrayed female
characters and was billed as "Josephine." They quickly gained
reputations as professional, reliable and versatile actors, and were
rarely out of work.
performers in the early part of the twentieth century.Although they
were called The Seven Little Eatons, in fact only five of the siblings
embarked on a career in showbiz.The Eatons were born to Mary and
Charles Eaton between and in Norfolk, Virginia, and began their
careers in show business in , when three of the children, Doris, Mary,
and Pearl, were hired to appear in a production of Maurice
Maeterlinck's fantasy play The Blue Bird at the Shubert Belasco
Theatre in Washington.After The Blue Bird closed, the sisters, younger
brother Joe and cousin Avery, began appearing regularly in various
plays and melodramas for the Poli stock company. Doris Eaton Travis,
in her memoirs, noted that "the local stock managers at the Poli
theatres knew that if you needed three or four or more children, you
could call Mama Eaton and get them all in one place." The Eaton girls
sometimes portrayed male roles; brother Joe sometimes portrayed female
characters and was billed as "Josephine." They quickly gained
reputations as professional, reliable and versatile actors, and were
rarely out of work.
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