Skip to main content

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 41 Collections and/or Records:

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

Bercu Sisters Records, between 1925-1936

 File
Identifier: B356.01.0003.0016
Abstract

The file contains a "Bercu Sisters" business card, a 1934 program, a telegram and two letters, and a contract. Dorothy and Harryette Bercu were vaudeville performers in the 1920s and 1930s. The 1934 program, the telegram and a letter are from Hotel Ben Lomond in Ogden, Utah.

Dates: between 1925-1936

Booking Agency, 1936-1940

 File
Identifier: B356.01.0003.0018
Abstract

While in college and until she married, Dorothy Bercu ran a booking agency and a dance studio in Ogden and Salt Lake City, Utah. The file contains correspondence, programs and progam lineup lists, notes and contracts.

Dates: 1936-1940

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 25, between 1960-2007

 File — Box B356.04.0025: Series B356.04; Series B356.05 [Barcode: U186023251662]
Identifier: B356.05.0025
Abstract

The six photograph album and article about Steve Bercu show images and information about multiple generations of a Jewish American family from the western United States. Includes a wedding album from the marriage of Valerie Gross and Julian V. Horwitz.

Dates: between 1960-2007

Box 25, between 1960-2007

 File — Box B356.04.0025: Series B356.04; Series B356.05 [Barcode: U186023251662]
Identifier: B356.04.0025
Abstract

The six photograph albums of the Gross family and an article about Steve Bercu show images and gives information about multiple generations of a Jewish American family from the western United States. Includes a wedding album from the marriage of Valerie Gross and Julian V. Horwitz and a 90th birthday album for Dorothy Bercu Gross.

Dates: between 1960-2007

Box 26, between 1928-1935

 File — Box B356.05.0026: Series B356.01; Series B356.03; Series B356.04; Series B356.05 [Barcode: U186023251670]
Identifier: B356.01.0026
Scope and Contents

Contains two negatives and prints of Dorothy and Harryette Bercu.

Dates: between 1928-1935

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