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:

Extended Family, between 1960-2010

 File
Identifier: B356.05.0026.0028

Horwitz Brothers Letters, between 1965-1996

 File
Identifier: B356.05.0026.0017
Scope and Contents

Contains letters and cards to Dorothy Bercu Gross from her Horwitz grandsons.

Dates: between 1965-1996

New Year's Eve Frolic Menu and Program, 1934 December 31

 Item
Identifier: B356.01.0003.0016.00002
Abstract

New Year's Eve Frolic Menue and Program for the Hotel Ben Lomond in Ogden Utah. Dorothy and Harryette Bercu were dancers who performed on the Vaudeville circuit in the 1920s and 1930s. The cover is green and on the front is printed: "Happy New Year Hotel Ben Lomond New Year's Eve Frolic Menu and Program December 31 1934." There is a Dinner Dance Menu and the program which includes "Harryette and Dorthea Bercu, Acrobatic and Interpretive Soloists."

Dates: 1934 December 31

Postcards, between 1928-1934

 Item
Identifier: B356.01.0003.0011.00001
Abstract

Dorothy Bercu is shown on postcards 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

Russell Horwitz, 1967-2011

 File
Identifier: b356.05.0026.0024
Scope and Contents

Contains birth announcement for Russell Howard Horwitz on December 25, 1967; Letters from Russell Horwitz to his grandparents, Norman and Dorothy Gross; and 2011 "Academic Psychiatry" article written by Russell Horwitz, M.D., Ph.D. The article is titled "Rising from the Rubble: Perspectives of an American Expatriate in Haiti."

Dates: 1967-2011

Scrapbook, 1917-1937

 File
Identifier: B356.02.0005.0005
Abstract

The scrapbook has newspaper articles and advertisements on the Chicago Hide, Fur, and Wool House, including advertisements for fur trapper jobs; Liberty Bonds, Safe Investment and Reliance Oil Companies; and articles about George D. Bercu. George Bercu founded the Chicago Hide, Fur, and Wool House in Douglas, Wyoming.

Dates: 1917-1937

Spanish Jota Dance, 1935

 Item
Identifier: B356.01.0003.0006.00001
Abstract

Studio photograph of Dorothy Bercu in a Spanish dance costume posing with head bent backward. Dorothy Bercu Gross was a vaudeville performer in the 1920s and 1930s.

Dates: 1935

Vacation Souvenirs, 1969-1995

 File
Identifier: B356.04.0024.0003
Scope and Contents

Menus, souvenir maps, Moscow hotel reservation, and Northwest Orient Texas Medical Association.

Dates: 1969-1995

Valerie Gross Wedding, 1961 December 31

 File
Identifier: B356.05.0026.0012
Scope and Contents

Wedding invitation for the marriage of Valerie Lynn Gross to Julian Victor Horwitz December 31, 1961 and a photograph of Valerie Horwitz in her wedding gown.

Dates: 1961 December 31

Vaudeville Program of the Day, 1928

 Item
Identifier: B356.01.0003.0015.00001
Abstract

Newspaper "Program of the Day" for Vaudeville show that included "Bercu Sisters, World Famous Dancers and Contortionists." On the back of the page is an 1928 add for the Marmon car.

Dates: 1928