Gross, Dorothy Bercu, 1917-2015
Person
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 38 Collections and/or Records:
Postcards, between 1928-1934
Item
Identifier: B356.01.0003.0011.00001
Overview
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
Overview
The scrapbook has newspaper articles and advertisements on the Chicago Hide, Fur, and Wool House, including advertisements for fur trapper jobs; Liberty Bonds, Safe Invenstment 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
Overview
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
Overview
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
Visit to Austin, 1995
File
Identifier: B356.05.0026.0027
Scope and Contents
Photographs of a girl and awards in Dorothy Gross home in Austin, Texas.
Dates:
1995