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pleasantest entertainer one could wish for," noted a
Detroit critic in 1909. In a 1917 interview, she explained her choice of material, saying "We very often move in a veritable mental mist in this sad old grumbling world, a thick mist of prejudice and irritability and hyper sensitiveness--and so we become more and more hypercritical ourselves. Yet, after all, it is a mist that can be easily dispelled by thrilling beams of mental sunshine." Holt was promoted as a rival to the equally popular but more risqué entertainer
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Wakefield taught school as a young woman. She was a pianologue on the vaudeville stage in the 1910s and 1920s. Her act featured sentimental, patriotic, humorous and nostalgic stories, recitations, and songs, presented with "elegance, refinement, self-control, and dignity". "She is quite the
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Wakefield married Vienna-born sculptor Arnold
Frederick Foerster in 1915; they divorced in 1936. She died in 1946, in Los Angeles, at the age of 75.
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Wakefield had a reputation for making shrewd investments, and owned a farm on Long Island as well as a home on New York's
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performer. Wakefield told stories and recited in the "pianologue" style, and was billed as "the Lady of
Optimism".
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260:"Putting Name of Willa Holt Wakefield in Our Very Own American Hall of Fame"
209:"How Forrest Adair Made a Star of a Plucky Young Schoolma'am"
376:"Now Let Wall Street Beware for Willa is in 'the Game'"
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81:(November 9, 1870 – June 3, 1946) was an American
72:Storyteller, singer, pianist, vaudeville performer
158:"Willa Holt Wakefield is 'The Lady of Optimism'"
295:. Cornell University Press. pp. 121–124.
292:Queen of Vaudeville: The Story of Eva Tanguay
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183:"A Rose in Her Hair and a Song at Twilight"
35:Willa Holt Wakefield, from a 1912 newspaper
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129:. She also performed on radio programs.
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482:20th-century American women pianists
467:19th-century American women pianists
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122:. She performed in England in 1913.
487:20th-century American women singers
472:19th-century American women singers
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537:Singers from Georgia (U.S. state)
401:"Vaudeville Bill Has Varied Acts"
258:Hickman, Walter D. (1925-03-20).
522:People from the Upper West Side
492:American expatriates in England
354:"About the Halls: With a Piano"
502:American vaudeville performers
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512:People from Cuthbert, Georgia
289:Erdman, Andrew (2012-08-22).
63:Los Angeles, California, U.S.
207:Glass, Dudley (1912-05-31).
439:– via Newspapers.com.
414:– via Newspapers.com.
389:– via Newspapers.com.
317:"The Art of Miss Wakefield"
273:– via Newspapers.com.
222:– via Newspapers.com.
196:– via Newspapers.com.
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532:Singers from New York City
477:19th-century storytellers
343:2(February 27, 1909): 23.
338:"Miss Wakefield Out West"
105:. She studied piano with
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527:Singers from Los Angeles
507:Musicians from Manhattan
432:. 1946-06-04. p. 12
407:. 1929-04-07. p. 52
382:. 1909-10-17. p. 20
364:: 128. January 29, 1913.
327:: 25. November 14, 1908.
237:"Miss Wakefield on Deck"
189:. 1914-05-17. p. 62
164:. 1917-02-04. p. 47
89:Early life and education
517:People from Long Island
99:Confederate States Army
93:Willa Holt was born in
51:Cuthbert, Georgia, U.S.
264:The Indianapolis Times
60:June 3, 1946 (aged 75)
497:American storytellers
247:: 12. March 13, 1909.
405:The Montana Standard
162:The Pittsburgh Press
79:Willa Holt Wakefield
23:Willa Holt Wakefield
16:American entertainer
426:"Deaths Last Night"
107:Theodor Leschetizky
542:Women storytellers
103:American Civil War
302:978-0-8014-6572-7
95:Cuthbert, Georgia
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462:1946 deaths
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266:. p. 4
215:. p. 7
120:Eva Tanguay
451:Categories
436:2024-05-03
411:2024-05-03
386:2024-05-03
358:The Sketch
270:2024-05-03
219:2024-05-03
193:2024-05-03
168:2024-05-02
141:References
83:vaudeville
45:Willa Holt
430:The Bee
299:
113:Career
297:ISBN
57:Died
41:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
