Tuesday, November 4, 2014

Sully & Thomas

     I noticed that one of the acts that often appears on the same bill as "Nattova and Co"—at least during the first half of 1930—is "Sully & Thomas."
     I do believe that Sully and Thomas are none other than John Sully and Muriel Thomas, who seem to have enjoyed a long career in vaudeville (I found a newspaper account of their act in 1951).
     An early review:
New York Clipper, 28 June 1922
Vaudeville News:
[81st Street show]
Johnny Sully and Muriel Thomas, who occupied the second spot, did as well as they could under the circumstances. They got a lot of laughs, showed some very clever stepping, and proved rather entertaining. Sully is an exceptionally clever dancer, besides which he gives promise of developing into a good light comedian. He handles a number very nicely too. Miss Thomas is of the soubrette type, very snappy, and a good foil for Sully. Their material is rather clever, although it might stand a slight revision. They fared well, closing to good applause….
Here's a brief review from July 14, 1951 (The Billboard):


     An article about these two appeared in the May 24, 1929 issue of the New York Daily Star:



Sully and Thomas in 1943
     Sully was a member of a famous vaudeville family. I found this obituary for Johnny Sully's father (and younger brother) that appeared in Variety, in 1919. It makes reference to that family and how it was regarded among the vaudeville community:

I'm guessing that, when Johnny joined the act in 1903,
he was about six years old. If so, he was born c. 1897.
I found this 1900 U.S. census  record:

Name:John F Sully
[John F Sally] 
Age:3
Birth Date:Dec 1896
Birthplace:New York
Home in 1900:Manhattan, New York, New York
Race:White
Gender:Male
Relation to Head of House:Son
Marital Status:Single
Father's Name:John A Sully
Father's Birthplace:Washington DC
Mother's name:Grace Sully
Mother's Birthplace:New York
Occupation:View on Image
Neighbors:View others on page
Household Members:
NameAge
John A Sully34
Grace Sully28
William Sully5
John F Sully
--And this from the 1905 census:

Name:John F Sully
Birth Year:abt 1897
Birth Place:United States
Age:8
Gender:Male
Race:White
Residence Year:1905
Residence:Manhattan, New York, New YorkUSA
Relationship to Head:Son
Assembly District:22
Election District:11
Household Members:
NameAge
John F Sully39
Grace Sully34
Estelle Sully16
William T Sully10
John F Sully8
Vincent Sully

John Sr. and Estelle indicate that they are actors.

Vaudeville News, Oct. 15, 1920

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