Harry Fox: Purported Inventor of the Fox Trot

Harry Fox (1882-1959), vaudeville song and dance man, and purported inventor in 1914 of the dance known as the Fox Trot was born on May 25.

His real name was Arthur Carringford; he is said to have named himself his ancestor, the famous clown George L. Fox.

For a short time, he was married to serial monogamist  Jenny Dolly of the Dolly Sisters and the two were briefly united as a vaudeville team. After a tentative career in silent films and talkies, Fox lapsed into obscurity.

For a real head-scratcher, watch his 1929 Vitaphone short Harry Fox and His Six American Beauties, which not only showcases his singing and dancing abilities, but an oddly mean spirited sense of humor (the “American Beauties” are all older, out-of-shape women, and he pokes fun of them on camera).

Fox was in lots of movies in the 30s and 40s, but mostly as an uncredited extra — quite a come down for someone whose name essentially remains a household word.

To find out more about Harry Fox and the history of vaudeville, consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.