Hollywood Studio Magazine (July 1972)

at Henderson’s Coney Island, which was enormously popular. Lucky for us, he signed us on the spot. However, after the opening, pictures were being taken of the show. There were 12 chorus girls (none over 21) who formed a pyramid. One girl was ill, so Gus said, ‘Rosetta, you get in there and put Alice’s costume on, and get in that picture.’ Rosetta said, I will not; I’m going to be a big star someday, and nobody can ever say that I was a chorus girl.’ ‘You’re fired,’ said Gus Edwards. ‘That suits me,’ Rosetta said and went running to Evelyn, who started to cry, saying, ‘How are we going to pay the 3 weeks rent we owe here at Henderson’s?’ Rosetta answered, ‘Make an appointment with Shubert.’” Vivian and her sister Rosetta wrote their own music and dialogue, and in October 1917 opened at Shubert’s Wintergarten (on Broadway). “Next came Ziegfeld”; she reminisced, “He was a truly great showman. It was a thrilling experience working in some of his shows.” Leaning back, she recalled, “I remember Flo Ziegfeld said to us, ‘Never go out in public without your makeup on, as you never know when your picture is going to be taken.’” That Miss Duncan had lived up to this admonition was easy to see. Her soft, yellow suit and gold medallion contrasted smoothly with her blonde hair, fair skin and radiant blue eyes, creating the glamour-aura that surrounds her. Following their Ziegfeld stint (three shows on Broadway), Vivian enthused, “We had an idea for a show of our own. We wrote the words and music for a show called “TOPSY & EVA” and opened at the Alcazar Theatre in San Francisco July 9, 1923. It was a big boxoffice success. We came down to Los Angeles and scored again; then we took it to Broadway. We bought the show and grossed $3,600,000 in 3 years.” The rest is show-biz legend. The “DUNCAN SISTERS” became the “toast-of-the-town” during their long-run New York engagement in “TOPSY & EVA.” From New York they toured England, France, Germany and finally South America. In 1926 they were the highest salaried artists in the entire world. “We learned the different languages of the countries in which we appeared,” Miss Duncan explained, “and would speak and sing in English and in the language of each country. Vivian Duncan as “Little Eva” - 1926. That brought the house down!” Friendships that the sisters made at this time lasted throughout the years. Vivian says, “I have known four kings - I went to parties with King Edward VIII, (when he was Prince of Wales) ... I watched polo matches with King George II of Greece, (uncle to the present King Constantine) ... I attended the races at Ascot with King Alphonso ... I taught King George VI how to do the Chicago toddle, when he was the Duke of York.” Hollywood beckoned, and in 1927 the Duncan Sisters appeared before the movie cameras in the silent film version of “TOPSY & EVA.” The film was a sensation, and this led to their talking picture, “IT’S A GREAT LIFE!” Riding the crest of their popularity at this point, Vivian married the Swedish silent screen idol, Nils Asther. “We had a daughter, Evelyne Rosetta, who married Robert Hoopes of Burlingame, and now I am a proud ‘Nana’ of two grandchildren, Cindy Hoopes (16 years old) and Steven Hoopes (18 years old).” The stock market crash of 1929 hit the Duncan Sisters hard, but Vivian put their response this way, “We can always start over again,” and they did, entertaining in vaudeville and radio. “There was only one thing for us to do - go on! The public needed some happy moments now, more than ever before.” Vivian and Nils Asther divorced in 1932, and she and her sister continued entertaining. “We introduced hundreds of songs, and we wrote over 300 songs ourselves, but one song “REMEMB’RING” stands out like no other. We wrote it for “TOPSY & EVA” when it opened in San Francisco in July 1923.” Vivian has belonged to the Film Welfare League, Inc. since 1932, and she is serving her third term as president. The League helps many show people in need, “They never have to ask for help twice.” Retirement for the Duncan Sisters was short-lived. They came back to entertain via nightclubs and TV. In 1959 a car accident in Chicago claimed the life of Rosetta. Though heartbroken, Vivian went on as a single, saying, “I can always start over.” “I went to Australia for a three-week engagement in 1967,” Vivian recalled, “but I stayed a year. They wouldn’t let me go, and I loved entertaining down-under.” Presently, Miss Duncan lives in Burlingame, California, and is married to retired businessman Frank Herman. She still appears in shows in San Francisco, Newport, etc. and when she “came on” at the Hollywood Friars Club, she received a standing ovation. Considering Miss Duncan’s long and colorful career, the ups, the downs, the heartbreaks, the laughter, the radiance that emanates from her is remarkable. “What’s your beauty secret?” “Keeping busy,” she replied quickly, “thinking'of others. (Vivian is very active in the Welfare League in Los Angeles.) When I need a lift, I go to the piano and start playing and composing. I get an idea, and send it to my collaborator, Paloma Carrillo, and together we’ve written over 50 songs. Our proudest moment was when Mayor Yorty proclaimed our song entitled “LOS ANGELES” (the City of Angels) the birthday song of that great city. It was thus chosen from over 1000 numbers sent to the Music Department of Los Angeles.” No doubt, as Vivian plays the piano, she remembers those 8000 people who packed the New York Hippodrome to see her and her sister, also, the triumph with “TOPSY & EVA,” the “Ziegfeld Follies,” the international tours, the applause, the love people the world over have shown her. *** 10