Above is a picture of my great-uncle Fred Dugas, a Vaudevillean, photographed in his tuxedo and roller skates by my great-grandfather Prime Dugas. Fred grew up in Taftville, Connecticut (my other great-uncle Rene, who passed away at 100 last year, wrote a history of the French Canadians in New England) and left to tour with a Vaudeville troupe. His daughter Shirley, who sent me these photos and her reminiscences, surmises that a troupe must have came through town – they often hired local performers – and he caught the bug and left with them.
Fred's Tear-away Suit
His gimmick was not just dancing on roller skates (as if that isn’t enough!), but that he had two costumes. One was a white linen suit that tore away to reveal a purple velvet one underneath.
His description on the poster she sent me (from the Orpheum circuit!) reads: “Also the Classy Novelty, the Whirlwind on Skates FRED DUGAS Doing Buck, Wing and Clog Dancing on Skates Making Two Complete Changes of Wardrobe”
He was also a soft shoe and tap dancer. Shirley writes: ”I remember my father’s dancing shoes. They were black patent leather with WOODEN soles. The soles were shaped with a short upturned toe and they had a one inch heel, just like a regular shoe. I think the wood was oak. Along with the shoes he had a unique dancing mat. It was about 20 to 25 feet longand about 3 feet wide. Maybe a little wider. It was made up of strips of maple wood about 1/2“ thick and 1 inch wide. These strips were glued to canvas. The mat was rolled up for travelling and storage and unrolled and spread on the stage when he used it. The sound of the tap dancing was very different from that on the regular wooden stage. It had a crisp snappish sound.”
It is hard to imagine what these nights of entertainment were like, but on the bill of one of the shows Fred was slated into was this act: ”The World’s Greatest Portrayer of Yankee Female Characters HARRY LaMARR doing his lecture on “Women’s Rights.’” One can only imagine what this comprised of, I wish a transcript survived. LaMarr was popular, though. He billing reads: ”The highest salaried single act ever appearing here.” People have always loved to base worth on money value, c’est la vie.
Eventually Fred moved back to Taftville and continued to play in shows as they came through town. Shirley describes the Minstrel shows that he used to play in as and “end man.” She was going to send a photo of the show itself; the one on the right is another portrait by Prime.
“As you can see there were six men in blackface. They were the ‘end men’ They were the butt of jokes,sang and danced. They use to play the ‘bones.’ The ‘bones’were made from dried spare rib bones. About 6 to 8 inches long and about 1 inch wide. The end man would put one bone between his first and second finger and one between the middle finger and third finger. They would snap them somehow and create a sound that would accompany some singing. It was an art. Not everybody could work “dem bones”. They also did the same thing with spoons.”
Eventually, Fred retired from full-time show business and, since he was also a champion bowler, opened a bunch of bowling alleys in New England.
It was such an incredible feeling to receive these photographs, evidence of this other performer I am related to whom I never got the chance to meet. And what portraits! I am extremely lucky to have had such a talented photographer in the family. I did a search for Prime Dugas on the internet and discovered another trove of photos from the early part of the 20th century. To see these gorgeous young people decked out in their finery from the 20s, 30s and 40s with the old cars – it looks like the pictures you dress up and get taken at a fair – was moving. My recently deceased 100-year-old uncle at 1 years of age in a high chair, beautiful portraits of Berndatte, a great-aunt I met once in the 1970s, and then to see the resemblance with my father, aunts, uncles, sisters and brother. It made me step back and have a whole new appreciation of what interconnectivity can achieve and offer.
Trick Photo with Fred in Wheels
