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Lily Tolpo Early Years Part II

December 13th, 2013

Lily Tolpo Early Years Part II

This1939 photo shows Babs Bardo and Olivia Hoskins in the foreground... Dot Hackley walking towards you... with Don the chauffer and the group's limousine in the background. Lily took the photo when they arrived at one of their gigs.

When Lily joined Dot Hackley and her Hollywood Cowgirls, the novelty act was a stage show that traveled the movie theater circuits throughout Illinois, Tennessee, and North Carolina.

The Show consisted of Dot Hackley, the star, who performed rope tricks... Babs Bardo (Dot’s sister) tap-danced while spinning a rope, as well as, doing other stunts... Lily played the fiddle and tap danced... Olivia Hoskins played the bass fiddle... The Rodik Twins played guitars and sang... Lillie Mae played the accordion and her husband, Don, was the act’s Clown... as well as, chauffer of the group’s mode of transportation.

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Here is information that was found about The Hollywood Cowgirls:

A theater advertisement stated:
Stage Attraction... In Person... Dot Hackley and her Hollywood Cowgirls...
Hollywood’s popular cowgirl, Lily Mark and her Fiddle, Olivia Hoskins slapping that bass fiddle, Babs Bardo, roping tapster, Lenore Larson and her accordion, and the Rodik Twins’ singing guitars...
A Hollywood Novelty Show.

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In the Cumberland Evening Times of Maryland June 28th 1939, a review of the Hollywood Cowgirls stated:

THEATRES FAMOUS STARS OF HOLLYWOOD WILL BE HERE IN PERSON
Something entirely new for you, is the slogan of the Famous Dot Hackley and her Hollywood Cowgirls, a group of talented musically inclined girls, who did not make a success of climbing the stairs of stardom in the movies, so instead of giving up and going home they formed the Hollywood Cowgirls and became a success almost over night not only with their stage show... but their radio success was almost sensational, as they became popular favorites before they could realize that they were one of the most popular acts on the west coast and was being applauded and looked up to by about all the successful movie stars of Hollywood. Their act is something very different, the girls being very good performers and present lots of new novelties... Among the Hollywood Cowgirls are included, Dot Hackley, well-known champion girl roper, as well as, all around entertainer...then the Rodik Twins and their singing guitars. Lily Mark, the fiddler, has a carload of tricks up her sleeve and does much to make Hollywood Cowgirls one of the outstanding radio and stage acts of today... Talk about stunts, Babs Bardo hasn't room up her sleeve for all of hers.

While on tour, Lily was documenting her experience through sketches she did of backstage scenes...
These drawings can be seen at: artbytolpo-collection.artistwebsites.com ...in the Gallery named Show Business- Entertainment.

Next we will cover what Carl Tolpo did in his Early Years... Watch This Space...

Lily Tolpo Early Years Part I

November 22nd, 2013

Lily Tolpo Early Years Part I

Lily Tolpo was a scholarship student at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts from 1935-1939.
Here is how she got her scholarship...

Lily’s father, who was Chinese, had a friend, Lin Chin, who was a student at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art.
They referred to him as the “ perpetual student”. He was well acquainted with Ruth Van Sickle Ford, who was a teacher at the Academy, and in 1937 became the President and Director of the Chicago Academy of Fine Art, and later, she became it’s proprietor... (Ruth Van Sickle Ford will show up in Carl Tolpo’s life as well.)

Lin Chin’s daughter, Helen, was a close friend of Lily’s... They spent many an hour practicing drawing and sketching together. When Helen applied for a scholarship at the Chicago Academy of Fine Art, Lily did as well.
They were both accepted with a full Scholarship...Lily became a student of Ruth Van Sickle Ford.

In 1935-36, Lily worked for Nystrom painting figurines...

In the year 1938, Lily also was a fiddle player in an all girls western music group called the Sunshine Valley Girls.

Upon finishing her art education in 1939, Lily read, in the paper, an audition call for a fiddle player to join Dot Hackley and her Hollywood Cowgirls... Lily went to the audition and got the job... Thus started her travels and sketches with the Hollywood Cowgirls...

Part II will cover 1939

Upcoming Research for the Art by Tolpo Collection

September 30th, 2013

Upcoming Research for the Art by Tolpo Collection

The Tolpo family will spend October researching the archives for background information on the paintings of the Art collection.

We also will be visiting with matriarch Lily Tolpo, and, reminiscing about the paintings in the Collection.

More to come in November...

 

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