The Brox Sisters: Trio of Toe-Tapping Tennesseans

The Brox Sisters were an early singing trio, whose Tennessee origins brought a certain Southern charm to the act. Lorayne was born on this day in 1901; her sisters Bobbe (a.k.a. Dagmar) and Patricia were born in 1902 and 1904 respectively. They went into vaudeville in the nineteen-teens; by the 20s they were marquee names in Broadway revues (notably Irving Berlin’sMusic Box series). A connection for modern audiences: they sang Berlin’s song The Monkey-Doodle-Doo in the Marx Brothers’ 1927 show The Cocoanuts. The number was cut from the film as a song, but remains as an instrumental dance number and is interwoven throughout the entire movie. They also performed in the original version of “Singin’ in the Rain” with Cliff Edwards in The Hollywood Revue of 1929. They all retired in the early 1930s to get married. They must have lived comfortable lives: Patricia lived to be 84; Lorayne, 92; and Bobbe, 97!

To learn more about vaudeville, including singing sister acts like the Brox Sisters,consult No Applause, Just Throw Money: The Book That Made Vaudeville Famous, available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and wherever nutty books are sold.