Gross, Dorothy Bercu, 1917-2015
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 6 Collections and/or Records:
Accrual: Bercu Gross Family Collection, B356
Bercu Gross Family Collection
The material in the collection includes items, photographs, and papers related to Dorothy Bercu Gross and her husband Norman Gross, her extended family, and her Vaudeville career in the 1920s and 1930s. Her father owned the Chicago Hide, Fur and Wool Company in Douglas, Wyoming and Denver, Colorado. The collection spans from the late 1800s to 2015 and illustrates an extended Jewish family and vaudeville performers.
Box 24, 1940-1997
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.
Box 47, 1942 - 2002
Box contains material relevant to Valerie Gross Horwitz such as news clippings, photos, letters, holiday cards, birthday cards, report cards, programs, awards, her baby scrapbook, her wedding scrapbook, ID cards, and her wedding invitation suspended in resin.
Box 49, 1900 - 2005
Box predominantly contains materials relevant to Valerie Gross Horwitz as well as a photo of Florence Mistachkin, photos of Valerie Horwitz, Julian Horwitz, and photos of their children. Other materials include scrapbook pages, certifications, diplomas, and caricature drawings of Valerie, Norman, and Dorothy Gross.
Horwitz Brothers Letters, between 1965-1996
Contains letters and cards to Dorothy Bercu Gross from her Horwitz grandsons.