Then to Berlin again, Prague, Brunn and Vienna. It was while we were in Vienna that Pop again had back problems, this time he had difficulty walking. So he and Mom took a train to Paris to see the chiropractor again.
Mom wrote us all every day and sent Al a telegram, they stayed at the Royal Haussmann. She wrote, “We pay one hundred franks a day for a gorgeous double room and bath, tax included. For breakfast we had fresh rolls, grand coffee, jam and boiled “eufs”! We saw Eddie Cantor in “Palmy Days” – it’s a scream. Going to see Mistanguette tonight. Jack Hilton is at the Empire – Hoorah!!” Mom seemed always to be enjoying the life we led.
Meanwhile we were on our way to Milano, Italy, where Mom and Pop joined us. Our eight months tour of Italy included Livorno, Viaraggio, Spezia and Torino. Rome, of course and while there, at the Adriano Teatro, the sons of Il Duce, Mussolini, came to see the show and seemed to enjoy it very much.
It was when we were in Milano that Pop realized how serious Lee and Liss were so he promptly fired Liss and sent her back to Denmark. Lee was twenty-two but since he had no money, there was no way he could arrange to go with her or even stay in Italy. But he must have made up his mind then that nothing was going to keep them apart.
Everyone was having trouble with Dante in those days. He became a very demanding boss. He objected to anyone going on a sightseeing tour. He would call for a rehearsal or work to be done, painting, etc., in the mornings if he suspected that anyone had plans to view the sights.
And that is just what he did one morning, in Naples when everyone, except Mom and I, were planning to visit Pompeii.
When he arrived at the theatre, for the 10 o’clock call, no one showed up. So he went to Pompeii, taking Mom and I with him. When we got there, the rest of our family and company were still enjoying the ruins. Dante singled out one young man, a Dane named Paul Frandsen and let loose his wrath, ending by firing Paul. Paul later said he had something to brag about because he was the first person in over a thousand years to be fired in Pompeii!
We found the Italians to be extremely courteous and willing to make our tour a most pleasant one. However the theatres were supervised by the Police and we were told that if a performance did not start on time, they would impose a fine.
The Il Piccolo review wrote, “The public was dazzled by the rapidity with which Dante carried out his experiments. The show was also enjoyed for the delightful animation and humour that enlivened it. A greater success than any other illusionist can boast.”
While in Rome, one night after the show, about midnight we all went to the Colosseum. It was a night with a full moon and one I will never forget. Standing there, looking into the arena and around at the tiers, where people once sat was awesome. And very scary. It was much more impressive than seeing it in daylight.
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Christmas 1931 was spent in Torino. It was here that my first costumes were made and I began working in front of the audience. I was thirteen.
It was also in Torino that Pop bought Mom (the only time I remember him going to a jewelry store) a diamond solitaire, eight carats. It was a deep cut and didn’t look that big but still a magnificent stone. He also gave me a small solitaire and bought himself a ring with seven fairly large diamonds in it. He planned to have that made into a stick-pin for himself but he never did and eventually gave it to me!
Since I was a doll collector, we toured the doll factory where the Lenci dolls were made. Mom bought eight of them, two pairs of Russian and Chinese.
In spite of these purchases, finances must have been a little tight that year because Al, who was handling all the money, had to cable the bank in Pittsburgh where my ten dollar a week salary was deposited and withdrew all of my money, which was about fifteen hundred dollars. I never did get paid back!
Dolly had her twenty-first birthday in Venice. At the end of the show, she was presented with a gondola holding twenty red and one white rose from Mom and then a big party. The best surprise was a visit from a young man she had met in Vienna. At the last Olympic games, he had been a swimming champion, winning nine gold medals for Austria, Hans Hershfeld.
[Editor’s note: The young man’s claims ring false, or the author’s recollection is mistaken. Johnny Weissmuller, whose parents immigrated from Austria-Hungary, won five U.S. gold medals total and one bronze medal at the 1924 and 1928 Summer Olympics.]
I have always thought that Venice was the most picturesque city we ever visited. The gondola rides – we used to take a motorboat over to Lido Island and spend our days on the beach.
Pop bought a movie camera. He always moved it too fast but once Mom learned how to use it, she took most of the pictures. Saint Marks Square is supposed to be one of the most photographed places in the world and we have the pictures to prove it! The shops of the glass makers, the lovely Venician lace shops and of course the pigeons.
On to Nice and Marseilles. Sailed from there to Buenos Aires on the S.S. Campana.