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Gross, Dorothy Bercu, 1917-2015

 Person

Biography

Naomi Dorothea (Dorothy) Bercu was born June 14, 1917 in Douglas, Wyoming. Her father George Bercu owned the Chicago Hide, Fur and Wool Company in Douglas and in Denver. He married Olive Mistachkin and the couple became parents of Dorothy (1917-2015), Harryette (1918), Robert (1919), Bernard (1921), and Berverly (1935). From 1925-1928, Dorothy and Harryette danced on the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit around the west. They were later joined by Bob and Bernard and the whole troupe performed from New York City to Juarez, Mexico. The sisters also danced from 1936 to 1939. Dorothy attended the University of Utah in Ogden, Utah beginning in 1930 at the age of sixteen. She started a theatrical booking agency in Salt Lake City and taught dancing. Dorothy married Norman Gross in 1941 after he had signed up for her dance class. They raised three children, Valerie (Schreiber), Gary, and Dennis in Dallas, Texas. She also taught fitness classes. She died in Dallas in 2015.

Found in 13 Collections and/or Records:

Bercu Sisters at The Gold Palace, 1925

 Item
Identifier: B356.01.0003.00001
Abstract

Photograph of the Bercu Sisters performing at the Gold Palace in Juarez, Mexico in 1925. Harryette Bercu is on the left wearing a tutu and Dorothy Bercu is wearing a costume with pants and a tall decorative helmet. Both girls are standing on their toes in ballet shoes. The sisters were part of the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit in the 1920s and 1930s.

Dates: 1925

Bercu Sisters in "Native" Costumes, between 1933-1935

 Item
Identifier: B3356.01.0003.0005.00001
Abstract

The Bercu sisters are on a stage with a backdrop. Dorothy is standing with her arms raised and Harryette is kneeling with her back arched so that he head is toward the audience. The Bercu sisters were vaudeville performers in the 1920s and 1930s.

Dates: between 1933-1935

Bercu Sisters in Shawls, between 1933-1935

 Item
Identifier: B356.01.0003.0004
Abstract

Photograph (two copies) of the Bercu sisters standing with decorative shawls wrapped around them and wearing ballet flats. The Bercu sisters performed on the Orpheum Vaudville circuit in the 1920s and 1930s.

Dates: between 1933-1935

Box 24, 1940-1997

 File — Box B356.0024: Series B356.04 [Barcode: U186023251492]
Identifier: B356.04.0024
Abstract

The newspaper articles, photographs, objects and LP records illustrate the life of a Jewish family in the western United States. Some of the material is about Dorothy Bercu Gross who had been a Vaudville dancer and then was a fitness instructor. Her husband was a physician.

Dates: 1940-1997

Box 26, between 1950-2000

 File — Box B356.05.0026: Series B356.01; Series B356.03; Series B356.04; Series B356.05 [Barcode: U186023251670]
Identifier: B356.04.0026
Scope and Contents

Folder contains photographs of Valerie Gross Schreiber, Dennis Gross, and Gary Gross.

Dates: between 1950-2000

Box 27, between 1940-2010

 File — Box B356.0027: Series B356.05 [Barcode: U186023251688]
Identifier: B356.05.0027
Scope and Contents

Contains three scrapbooks with photographs and travel souvenirs of the Mistachkin, Bercu, Gross and Horwitz families.

Dates: between 1940-2010

Box 28, between 1940-2010

 File — Box B356.05.0028: Series B356.05 [Barcode: U186023251696]
Identifier: B356.05.0028
Scope and Contents

Contains five photograph albums and one photograph in silver frame.

Dates: between 1940-2010

Box 48, 1929-2002

 File — Box B356.02.0048: Series B356.02 [Barcode: U186023246560]
Identifier: B356.02.0048
Scope and Contents

Contains scrapbook (1930s and 1940s); Harold (Bob) Bercu photograph and correspondence (circa 1945); Norman Mistachkin (1935); George Bercu photograph (circa 1925); pencil drawing of Dorothy Bercu (2002) and George Bercu Masonic documents (1929).

Dates: 1929-2002

Dorothy Bercu in Modern Dance Costume, between 1928-1934

 Item
Identifier: B356.01.0003.0011.00002
Abstract

Dorothy Bercu is shown in a classical modern dance costume, barefoot, and is doing splits. Dorothy and her sister Harryette were vaudeville performers in the 1920s and 1930s.

Dates: between 1928-1934

Extended Family, between 1960-2010

 File
Identifier: B356.05.0026.0028