Doris Eaton Travis
| Doris Eaton Travis | |
|---|---|
in about 1920, during the Ziegfeld Follies years
|
|
| Born |
Doris Eaton March 14, 1904 Norfolk, Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | May 11, 2010 (aged 106) Commerce, Michigan, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Aneurysm |
| Resting place | Guardian Angel Cemetery Rochester, Michigan |
| Nationality | American |
| Other names | Doris Levant Lucille Levant |
| Alma mater | University of Oklahoma |
| Occupation | Actress, dancer, dancer instructor, writer, rancher |
| Years active | 1910–2010 |
| Spouse(s) |
Joe Gorham (m. 1923–23) Paul Travis (m. 1930–2000) |
| Relatives |
Mary Eaton (sister) Pearl Eaton (sister) Charles Eaton (brother) |
Doris Eaton Travis (March 14, 1904 – May 11, 2010) was an American dancer, stage and film actress, dance instructor, writer, and rancher, who was the last of the acclaimed Ziegfeld girls.
She began performing onstage as a young child, and made her Broadway debut at the age of 13. A year later, in 1918, she joined the famed Ziegfeld Follies as the youngest Ziegfeld girl ever cast in the show. She continued to perform in stage productions and silent films throughout the 1920s and early 1930s. When her career in stage and screen declined, Travis started a second career as an Arthur Murray dance instructor and local television personality in Detroit. Her association with Arthur Murray lasted for three decades, during which time she rose through the ranks to own and manage a chain of nearly twenty schools. After retiring from her career with Arthur Murray, she went on to manage a horse ranch with her husband and returned to school, eventually earning several degrees.
As the last surviving Ziegfeld girl, Travis was featured in several books and documentaries about the Ziegfeld Follies years and her other stage endeavors. Travis had also returned to the stage as a featured performer in benefit performances.
She was one of seven children born to Mary and Charles Eaton in Norfolk, Virginia. She was raised as a Christian Scientist. At the age of four, Travis began attending dance lessons in Washington, D.C., along with her sisters Mary and Pearl Eaton. In 1911, all three sisters were hired for a production of Maurice Maeterlinck's fantasy play The Blue Bird at the Shubert Belasco Theatre in Washington. While Travis had a minor role in the show, as a sleeping child in the Palace of Night scene, it marked the beginning of her career in professional theatre.
After The Blue Bird, in 1912, the three Eaton sisters and their younger brother Joe began appearing in various plays and melodramas for the Poli Stock Company. They quickly gained reputations as professional, reliable, and versatile actors, and were rarely out of work.
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