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Viola Essen

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Viola Essen
Born
Violeta Colchagoff

August 11, 1925
Saint Louis, Missouri
DiedJanuary 16, 1970 (age 44)
Occupation(s)Dancer, actress
Spouse5, including Gabriel Dell

Viola Essen (August 11, 1925 – January 16, 1970[1]), was an American ballet dancer. She was a student of Mikhail Mordkin, and an original member of the Ballet Theatre, precursor to the American Ballet Theatre.

Early life and education

Essen was born Violeta Colchagoff in Saint Louis, Missouri and raised in New York City and Los Angeles, the daughter of Asen Hristov Colchagoff (also known as Sam Essen) and Maria "Masha" Vasileva Essen. Her parents were born in Bulgaria; both were naturalized as United States citizens in 1923.[2] Her father was a furrier. She was a child performer, after winning a baby contest.[3][4] She attended the Birch Wathen School in New York, studied piano with Vladimir Drozdoff, and dance with Mikhail Mordkin.[4][5][6]

Career

Essen danced in Mordkin's productions of The Sleeping Beauty (1936), The Goldfish (1937), and Giselle (1937), with Lucia Chase in the lead roles.[4][7][8] In 1944, she won praise as the Queen in a production of Swan Lake, when John Martin of The New York Times wrote that she "dances with a fresh and ingratiating young competence, if not with as much style as she will one day acquire."[9] On the New York stage, Essen appeared in Hollywood Pinafore (1945),[10] and Along Fifth Avenue (1949).[11] Al Hirschfeld made a caricature of Essen in the cast of Hollywood Pinafore.[12] She appeared in the ballet-themed thriller film Specter of the Rose (1946)[13][14] and in the televised adaptation of the operetta The Desert Song (1955).

Essen danced in the first productions of the Ballet Theatre in 1940,[15][16] and in 1955 reprised her part in Jardin aux lilas with Hugh Laing, at the company's fifteenth anniversary event, held at the Metropolitan Opera House.[17] In 1956, she ran a dance studio in New York City, and Marlon Brando once played bongos for the students.[18] In 1963, Walter Winchell reported that she was looking for work in television commercials,[19] and in 1965 he reported that she had recently experienced an armed burglary and a fire while running a florist shop in New York City.[20]

Personal life

Essen married at least five times, but all the marriages were brief. Her first husband was actor Richard Deane; they divorced in 1944.[21] Her second husband was Polish-born violinist Werner Ludwig Gebauer; they married in 1946 and divorced in 1948. Peter Cadeby was her third husband; they married in 1949.[22][23] Her fourth husband was Herbert Crane; they married in 1953. Her fifth husband was actor Gabriel Dell; they married in 1956, and had a son, Beau.[24] She declared bankruptcy in 1949.[25] She died in 1970, in her forties.

References

  1. ^ Birth and death dates as given on IMDB and IBDB. Viola Colchagoff appears in the 1930 United States Federal Census, in her parents' household in Manhattan; she is listed as a six-year-old, which suggests that her birth year may have been slightly earlier than 1925; via Ancestry.
  2. ^ U.S. Federal Naturalization papers for Maria Assen Vasileva Colchagoff and Assen Colchagoff, both dated February 17, 1923; via Ancestry
  3. ^ "Baby Ballerina Had Baby Contest Debut". Daily News. 1949-04-17. p. 511. Retrieved 2023-09-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b c Ewing, Alex C. (2009-09-27). Bravura!: Lucia Chase and the American Ballet Theatre. University Press of Florida. p. 32. ISBN 978-0-8130-4203-9.
  5. ^ Kinard, Epsie (1944-11-14). "First U.S. Ballet Star is Jitterbug at Heart; Viola Essen Has Star on Her Door". Shawnee News-Star. p. 5. Retrieved 2023-09-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Walker, Danton (1937-04-06). "Mordkin Back as Teacher of Young Ballet". Daily News. p. 389. Retrieved 2023-09-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Mishnun, Virginia (1937-04-05). "The Dance". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-09-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Mordkin's Ballet to Dance Here". Quad-City Times. 1937-09-16. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-09-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Martin, John (November 9, 1944). "Ballet is Praised for its 'Swan Lake'; International in a Refreshing, Creditable Performance With Viola Essen as the Queen". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-09-19 – via TimesMachine.
  10. ^ "The Theater: Half-New Musical in Manhattan". Time. 1945-06-11. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  11. ^ Rourke, Mary (2004-11-13). "Zachary Solov, 81; Dancer and Opera Troupe Choreographer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  12. ^ Hirschfeld, Al (May 27, 1945). "Cast of 'Hollywood Pinafore'". The New York Times. pp. Section 2, page 1. Retrieved September 19, 2023 – via TimesMachine.
  13. ^ "Ben Hecht's 'Spectre of the Rose'". Pix. 24 August 1946. p. 28. Retrieved September 18, 2023 – via Trove.
  14. ^ "Specter of the Rose". Variety. 1946-01-01. Retrieved 2023-09-19.
  15. ^ Van Vechten, Carl (1981). The dance photography of Carl Van Vechten. Internet Archive. New York : Schirmer Books ; London : Collier Macmillan. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-02-872680-9.
  16. ^ Grace Robert (1946). The Borzoi Book of Ballets. Internet Archive. pp. 168, 195, 198.
  17. ^ "Ballet Birthday". The New York Times. April 10, 1955. p. 78 – via TimesMachine.
  18. ^ Kilgallen, Dorothy (1956-10-19). "Voice of Broadway". Kennebec Journal. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ "Winchell... on Broadway". The Tribune. 1963-10-18. p. 11. Retrieved 2023-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Walter Winchell on Broadway". Nevada State Journal. 1966-01-05. p. 20. Retrieved 2023-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  21. ^ "Walter Winchell in New York; Man About Town". St. Joseph Gazette. 1944-11-16. p. 10. Retrieved 2023-09-18 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Marriages". Billboard. May 21, 1949. p. 49.
  23. ^ "Louella Parsons In Hollywood". Courier-Post. 1949-05-04. p. 14. Retrieved 2023-09-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Berg, Beatrice (1972-06-25). "This Little Dead End Kid Made Good". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-09-20.
  25. ^ "Legitimate: Viola Essen Bankruptcy Lists 35G Liabilities" (PDF). Variety. February 2, 1949. p. 50.
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