Tot Qualters

Tot Qualters (March 28, 1894 – March 27, 1974) was an American actress, dancer, and singer in musical theatre.

Tot Qualters modeling a fur-trimmed swimsuit, from a 1921 publication.

Early life

Marguerite (or Margaret) Qualters was born in 1894, in Detroit, the daughter of Jack Qualters and Anna Qualters.[1] She and her four sisters went into stage careers after their father died.[2] Tot's sister Cassie Qualters joined the Ziegfeld Follies with her. Their brother Joe Qualters was a cabaret singer in Detroit.[3]

Career

Tot Qualters was on stage in Detroit from her early teens.[4] Qualters' New York debut came in 1912, in Ziegfeld's A Winsome Widow at the Moulin Rouge Theater. Other stage appearances included Chin Chin (1914), Stop! Look! Listen! (1915-1916), Ziegfeld Follies of 1916, Miss 1917, Midnight Rounders (1920), The Passing Show of 1921, Make It Snappy (1922, with Eddie Cantor) and Whoopee! (1928, also with Eddie Cantor).[5] "Tot Qualters sports a figure as cute as her name," observed The Dial's theatre reviewer in 1921.[6] The Boston Daily Globe described her specialty as "loose-jointed eccentric dancing" in 1922.[2]

She also appeared in the film Reaching for the Moon (1930), with Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Bebe Daniels.[5]

Personal life

Walter Winchell mentioned seeing Tot Qualters in 1968, as a fixture at Max's Stage Deli.[7] Tot Qualters died in 1974, the day before her 80th birthday, in New York City.[5]

References
  1. "'Curro Has Such Beautiful Eyes,' Said Cassie to Angry Mother" Detroit Free Press (November 29, 1908): 24. via Newspapers.comopen access
  2. "Tot Qualters and Her Own Style of Dancing" Boston Daily Globe (November 5, 1922): 54.
  3. "Detroit Girls in Ziegfeld Follies" Detroit Free Press (December 11, 1916): 11. via Newspapers.comopen access
  4. "The Lafayette" Detroit Free Press (June 7, 1908): 46. via Newspapers.comopen access
  5. "Tot Qualters Dies; Stage Actress, 79" New York Times (March 28, 1974): 42.
  6. S. T. "The Theatre" The Dial (May 1921): 604.
  7. Walter Winchell, "Kast of Kerrickters" Terre Haute Tribune (June 25, 1968): 4. via Newspapers.comopen access
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