General Hershy Bar

General Hershy Bar (aka Calypso Joe), was the name William "Bill" Matons used as a satirical character of the Vietnam War-era Anti-War protest movement, in parody of U.S. General Lewis B. Hershey, then Director of the Selective Service. General Hershey Bar, General HersheyBar, and General Hershy Bar spelling variants can be found in the General's own publications and those of the general public when referring to him. Maton's also used The Calypso Kid and Calypso Joe during his work in Calypso music.

Born William Arthur Matons in September 1906 and died October 13, 1993 (dates not verified). Bill Matons danced under his birth name in the 1930s in the Modern Dance worlds of New York. Matons then began to use Calypso Kid, on stage and on the radio during the Calypso Craze of the 40s. He also used Calypso Joe, a stage name created when he was a calypso dancer, promoter, night club owner in the 40s and 50s. Finally, in the 1960s he adopted the name General Hershy Bar. He kept the name the rest of his life, and most of the time in public he stayed 'in character' as part of his anti-war street-theater.

He was adopted and raised by Lithuanian parents who encouraged his ab-lib performing talents. He was a modern dancer and choreographer in New York in the 1930s. He was born in Cleveland Ohio, the son of gypsy immigrants. His father settled down to a life making violins in Cleveland, and then moved shortly to Racine, Wisconsin where Matons went to grade school. The family then moved to Milwaukee where he attended a semester of high school before going to work in the steel mills. After this job he was a steeple-jack, coast guardsman, cook on a yacht, and also sold jewelry. He read books on dancing and found notice of Charles Weidman dance scholarships in New York City. After only three months with Weiman's group he appeared in Americana. In his twenties he was dance director of Railroads on Parade at the NY World's Fair and danced in As Thousands Cheer.

During the Great Depression, the NY modern dance world was influenced by the politics of the left as covered in Ellen Graf's book, Stepping Left Dance and Politics in New York City 1928-1942. Bill Matons appears on the cover of this book in the center.

William, or Bill Matons danced with the Humphrey-Weidman company in New York, from 1933 to 1936 and again in 1940. He appeared in the Charles Weidman works, Ringside, Studies in Conflict, Candide (1933), Traditions (1935), and American Saga (1936) as well as Americana, As Thousands Cheer(1933), and Everywhere I Roam. He was director of the experimental unit of the New Dance League, which evolved from the Workers Dance League between 1931-1935.

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