EARL CARROLL’S “VANITIES” SHOW:
PROBLEM WITH THE D. A. AND NEW YORK VICE SQUAD!
New York City District Attorney did not like Carroll’s decision. The New York Vice Squad was alerted. The next morning the D.A. demanded that Carroll should clothe the performers. Carroll refused. On September 11th, a police officer stood in the wings of the theatre ready to stop any nudity act, and brought with him several blankets. The show opened with Kathryn Ray "in the buff" swinging upside down over an enormous clock. The officer rushed to the stage attempting to capture Ray and cover her with his blanket. But agile Ray broke free and vanished behind the stage. The audience thought it was part of the show! They loved this scene and applauded like maniacs. Meanwhile, the police officer was still chasing Kathryn Ray behind the stage. Two stagehands finally rescued Ray by getting her out of the theater from the stage back door. The curtain fell, and the stupid audience was still applauding! Short after, Earl Carroll stepped forward to tell the delighted audience, that the D.A. and the Board of Censors are trying to shut down his show.
Photos
from L to R: 1-The famous and controversial poster of Kathryn Ray. 2-
One of Berkley's most famous daughters was Peggy Hopkins Joyce.
Born Marguerite Upton in 1893 to Berkley barber Sam Upton and
his wife Dora Wood. Joyce ran away from home in 1910 and gained fortune
and fame as Carroll’s “stage nude super duper performer” and later as
Ziegfeld’s showgirl and socialite and especially for her many marriages
to millionaires. She died in 1957.
The audience became furious and many of the “busy and tired businessmen” who were watching the show were indeed powerful and had connections in high places. They assured Carroll that the show will go on. In fact, The Board of Censors lost its battle in a landslide, and the show went on. Kathryn Ray became a celebrity overnight. The very next morning, waves of teenaged boys rushed to the lobby of the theatre to buy the poster of Kathryn Ray that was displayed in a prominent place in the lobby of the theater and strategically positioned to attract more people. And out of nowhere, the officer who tried once to catch Ray resurfaced again in the lobby, screaming and yelling at Carroll. He ordered him to remove Ray’s huge poster. And as usual, Carroll refused. The furious policeman arrested Carroll on a charge of public obscenity. Carroll found himself on trial on November 10, 1924 for displaying obscene posters in the lobby of the theatre. He won and the show went on for another 438 performances. Meanwhile, and in many states in America, Vice Squads were cracking down on beauties bathing in revealing swimsuits…Women’s beach suits were “censored!” In that time in history, the great majority of young American women did not participate in a bathing beauty contest. But thousands of them did go to beaches where their outfits and swimsuits raised the moral issues, Carroll faced.
An “official beach censor” arresting two women in Chicago in 1922 for violating the laws concerning proper beach attire.