Nora Bayes

Nora Bayes (October 8, 1880 – March 19, 1928) was a popular American singer, comedienne,composer and actress. With her husband Jack Norworth she wrote many of the classic songs of the early 20th century. including "Shine On, Harvest Moon" and "Take Me Out to the Ball Game".

Early life and career

Born Eleanor "Dora" Goldberg, with Dora being a pet or nickname, to a Jewish family in Joliet, Illinois, Bayes was performing professionally in vaudeville in Chicago by age 18. She toured from San Francisco, California to New York City and became a star both on the vaudeville circuit and the Broadway stage.

In 1908, she married singer-songwriter Jack Norworth. The two toured together and were credited for collaborating on a number of compositions, including the immensely popular "Shine On, Harvest Moon," which the pair debuted in Florenz Ziegfeld's Follies of 1908. Bayes and Norworth divorced in 1913.

She introduced George M. Cohan's song, "Over There." With husband Jack Norworth, starred in stage shows and co-wrote songs. Most famous composition is "Shine On, Harvest Moon".

Musical comedy star popular on both sides of the Atlantic.

Married 5th husband, Benjamin L Friedland, onboard the steamship Leviathan.

Had adopted three children, all were under the age of 10 at the time of her death.

Was told by George M. Cohan that the name Dora Goldberg may be a hindrance to success on Broadway. Dora was then changed to Nora and Bayes was derived from the Hebrew letter beis.

When annoyed with coughing coming from the audience, she would sometimes feign a coughing fit and then sarcastically say: "Please excuse my very rude behavior".

Was known for her charity work, her last public performances were at two charitable events just a couple of days before her abdominal operation.

Was one of just a handful of actresses to have a Broadway theater named after her. In July of 1914 her doctor erroneously told her she had six months to live.

Once wired vaudeville producer E. F. Albee: 'Beginning next week my salary must be $10,000 per week". He wired back: "Your salary will remain $1,000 per week". At her next performance she sang eight bars of the opening song, stopped and said: "That's $1000 worth of my act" and walked off.

In 1925 four men surrounded her car, shot her chauffeur and stole the jewelry she was wearing. The thieves later learned that it was costume jewelry.

In 1929 the proceeds from her estate auction amounted to less than $1000.

After America entered World War I Bayes became involved with morale boosting activities. George M. Cohan asked that she be the first to record a performance of his patriotic song Over There. Her recording was released in 1917 and became an international hit. She also performed shows for the soldiers.

Bayes made many phonograph records (some with Norworth) for the Victor and Columbia labels. From 1924 through 1928, her accompanist was pianist Louis Alter, who later composed the popular songs "Manhattan Serenade," "Nina Never Knew" and "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans?".

Bayes established her own theater, "The Nora Bayes Theater" on West 44th Street in New York. She was portrayed by Ann Sheridan in the 1944 musical biopic Shine On, Harvest Moon, which focused on her relationship with Norworth, played by Dennis Morgan, and ignored her other husbands.

Comedienne, Singer, Songwriter. She is best remembered for introducing George M. Cohan's song, "Over There" during World War I, and for co-writing "Shine On, Harvest Moon" (1903). She was born Dora or Leonora Goldberg (her name was possibly a fabrication that she used with reporters) in Joliet, Illinois, changing her name to Nora Bates when she decided upon a stage career. She would never reveal where or when she was born or raised, or who her parents were, and speculation was that she had an unhappy childhood. In 1918, she did indicate that her parents considered the theater and all its works the lowest form of damnation and sin, and that it was only when she married at the age of 17 to Otto Gressing, that she was free to pursue her interest in the theater. She had her debut in 1901, in the Broadway play "The Rogers Brothers in Washington," and worked with other vaudevillians on the music of "Meet Me in St. Louis." She performed in the "Follies of 1907" and it was the next year that she met Jack Norworth, in the "Follies of 1908." They were married in 1908, and the marriage lasted five years. With her second husband, she starred in stage shows and co-wrote many songs, including her most famous lyrics composition "Shine On, Harvest Moon." From 1910 to 1917, she recorded some 33 performances for the Victor Talking Machine Company (forerunner of RCA Victor Records). Her popularity dimmed in the 1920s, but she continued to give performances almost until her death in 1928. Known as the "Wurzburger Girl" for her many recorded songs, she was married and divorced five times. She died of cancer in Brooklyn, New York. The 1944 movie, "Shine On Harvest Moon" is based upon her life.

Marriages and family

Bayes married five times. Her first husband was Otto Gressing, a Chicago businessman, and Norworth was her second. Husband number three was a dancer named Harry Clarke who also performed with her in vaudeville. Husband number four was New York business man Arthur Gordoni. Her fifth and last husband was Benjamin Friedland, a New York City businessman and garage owner.

Bayes bore no biological children in any of her marriages. However, she adopted three children. The oldest was Norman Bayes, adopted by Nora Bayes and Arthur Gordoni on March 1918. Bayes' second adopted child was a daughter named Lea Nora, adoption date July 25, 1919. Her third adopted child was Peter Oxley Bayes, born March 9, 1921 in London and adopted on March 16, 1922.

Death

In 1928, Nora Bayes was diagnosed with cancer and died following surgery. She was buried 18 years later with her fifth husband, Ben Friedland, in the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York, although inexplicably, her grave is not marked.

On April 11, 2006, under the terms of the National Recording Preservation Act of 2000, Nora Bayes was added to the National Recording Registry. The citation stated that she was

Inextricably associated in popular imagination with World War I... a former member of the Ziegfeld Follies, an extremely popular vaudevillian and a Broadway star, she recorded a number of other songs to boost morale during the war and performed extensively for the soldiers.

Bayes was portrayed by Ann Sheridan in the largely fictionalized 1944 musical biopic Shine On, Harvest Moon,[10] which focused on her relationship with Norworth. She was also portrayed by Frances Langford[11] in the 1942 movie Yankee Doodle Dandy, where she performs George M. Cohan's song "Over There[12]".[citation needed] The 1980 Garson Kanin novel Smash is about an attempt to make a Broadway musical out of Nora Bayes' life.[13] The novel serves as the inspiration for the 2012 television series Smash, although the subject of the show's fictional musical is not Bayes but Marilyn Monroe.[14] She is mentioned in the 1939 film The Roaring Twenties.

Selected songs[edit]

"How Ya Gonna Keep 'em Down on the Farm (After They've Seen Paree)?" (1919)

"Over There" (1917)

"Shine On, Harvest Moon" (1908)

"Man Who Put the Germ in Germany" (1918)[15]

"When Jack Comes Sailing Home Again" (1918)[16]

"I Wonder if They're True to Me"[15]

GEDCOM Source

@R-2146778335@ Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,4394::0 Gale Research Company; Detroit, Michigan; Accession Number: 87334 1,4394::10141269

GEDCOM Source

@R-2146778335@ Biography & Genealogy Master Index (BGMI) Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,4394::0 Gale Research Company; Detroit, Michigan; Accession Number: 87334 1,4394::10141269

GEDCOM Source

@R700565666@ Newspapers.com - The Inter Ocean - 29 Sep 1904 - Page Page 12 The Inter Ocean Chicago, Sept. 29, 1904, Nora Bayes at Cleveland’s Greater Vaudeville Theatre 29 Sep 1904 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27835568/chicago_sept_29_1904_nora_... http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=420af9d8-3f0a-485f-ac22-8... jpg Chicago, Sept. 29, 1904, Nora Bayes at Cleveland’s Greater Vaudeville Theatre

GEDCOM Source

@R-2146778335@ U.S. Passport Applications, 1795-1925 Ancestry.com Online publication - Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007.Original data - Passport Applications, 1795-1905; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M1372, 694 rolls); General Records of the Department of State, Record Group 59; National Arc 1,1174::0 http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=sse&db=uspassports&h=300294&ti=0&ind... Birth date: 3 Oct 1880 Birth place: Chicago, Illinois Residence date: Residence place: United States 1,1174::300294

GEDCOM Source

@R-2146778335@ U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,60525::0 1,60525::1416055

GEDCOM Source

@R700565666@ Newspapers.com - The Los Angeles Times - 4 Dec 1900 - Page 8 The Los Angeles Times “Nora Bayes, descriptive vocalist, was good. It’s a pleasure to know once and a while what a singer is talking about.” 4 Dec 1900 https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27961792/nora_bayes_descriptive_voc... http://trees.ancestry.com/rd?f=image&guid=443ababc-abf5-4948-a30d-7... jpg Newspapers.com - The Los Angeles Times - 4 Dec 1900 - Page 8 “Nora Bayes, descriptive vocalist, was good. It’s a pleasure to kno