When asked how he came up with his stage name, Nikolaos Ares Drakos, told the interviewer, "I was at a tavern contemplating what name I should choose for my budding show business career in vaudeville and someone close by ordered a Tom Collins cocktail. It was short and sweet, easy to say and remember. It was perfect. So Tom Collins it was!"
The interviewer asked, "When did people start referring to you as Tom Thumb?"
Tom rolled his dark brown eyes. "What else do you call a very short man named Tom in show business?"
It was the bane of his existence, being compared to General Tom Thumb who performed for P.T. Barnum and died long before Tom Collins was born or, for longer memories, the Tom Thumb of English folklore. When he chose the name Tom, he never imagined he'd get saddled with Thumb. But it happened and he tolerated it, rolling with it much like he rolled about the stage in his act.
His parents Cosmos and Desdemona Drakos were famous circus performers of average height who incorporated their four children into their act. The Drakos family had a tumbling act and worked with dogs and horses. Nikolaos was their third and only child of such short stature. He became a part of the family's act, learning tumbling and juggling, quickly becoming addicted to the audience's applause.
His parents died in a tragic hotel fire when he was seventeen. Rather than continue with his two brothers and one sister in the family act, Tom decided to branch out on his own and joined the Majestic Vaudeville Circuit, changing his name so he wouldn't be associated with the family circus act.
He enjoyed vaudeville because he could incorporate more than tumbling into his act. He did comedy, juggling, singing, and dancing as well as tumbling. Sometimes he worked with his two Russell Terriers - Sparky and Pip - especially when it was a family show with children. He was one of the Majestic Circuit's most popular acts. The Majestic Circuit was owned by Kenneth Backus and Bartholomew Feinstein, who owned a string of theaters throughout the United States featuring their vaudeville acts.
Tom was also a notorious ladies man. He was rumored to have performed sex acts on the majority of his female colleagues despite the Majestic's strict moral clause in their contracts. Unfortunately because of his short stature, he found it impossible to find an attractive woman who would seriously consider matrimony.
Aliz Benko joined the circuit in Chicago. A former circus performer, she left her Hungarian family's circus act when her father disowned her for having an affair with a married man. The affair ended badly but the beautiful petite brunette with big brown eyes continued to dazzle audiences with her trapeze act suspended a dozen feet above the stage.
Tom fell immediately in lust with the lovely acrobat after watching her perform her trapeze act to Rimsky Korsakov's Shéhérazade. Her movements were like a ballet in the air. Her act started with a strip tease where she removed her cumbersome gown, corset, slip, and stockings. Performing in a flesh colored body suit beneath a lacy, embroidered, and ruffled brassiere and bloomers, her act was both scandalous and alluring, her costume leaving little to the imagination.
Tom couldn't remember clapping so fervently for any other performer and the audience shared his enthusiasm after her first show. Aliz was lowered to the stage and daintily curtseyed to the audience's applause. She picked up her discarded clothes and gracefully trotted off the stage with a final wave. She smiled at Tom as she hurried past him, nimbly climbing the spiral staircase to the dressing rooms above. Tom was left staring after her, breathing in her perfume that smelled like orange blossoms.
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The troupe moved to Indianapolis, Indiana next. The Majestic Circuit contracted with The English Hotel and Opera House for a week's worth of performances. The English Hotel and Opera House was the jewel of the city, located on the northwest quadrant of Monument Circle in the heart of downtown. The interior of the opera house was patterned after New York City's Grand Opera House, the stage's arched proscenium elaborately made up of a series of ivory and gilt receding arches. The large stage was separated from the audience by a sizable orchestra pit.
The stagehands hurried about preparing the stage for the following day's matinee show. Costumer's directed laborers hauling large trunks of clothes on dollies. The orchestra rehearsed, the building filled with music ranging from modern ragtime to classical ballet. Performers waited for those people working in the background to complete their work, sitting in the seats of the theater. Some sat in the balconies to get a feel for what the audience observed and heard.
Aliz Benko followed her costume trunk to the dressing room she would share with five other women. She was a petite but muscular woman with broad shoulders and a tiny waist and hips. She wore a stylish gold wool dress and jacket with matching covered button trim and a black pointed collar. A black fox fur stole was worn over her shoulders with a black Tom O' Shanter turban hat with tassels of black fox fur puffs.
Inside the dressing room she opened the trunk to check her costumes and when they appeared to be in order; she left to oversee the hanging of her trapeze.
Tom watched the lovely Aliz as she ordered the stagehands about with quiet authority. She was the second highest paid performer in the troupe and it showed. The stagehands jumped, pulled, and climbed to her orders.
He loved to watch her move. She was strong yet feminine, graceful and elegant despite her tiny size. Tom stood four feet tall and Aliz was just under five feet. He was imagining different sexual positions with her when she asked, "Why are you staring at me?"
She didn't ask it with disdain or accusation, it was said with simple honest curiosity.
"You are so lovely it is impossible to pull my eyes away from your beauty."
She smiled at him and said, "Oh, I've heard about you." She put the emphasis on "you".
He smiled back. "And all of it indubitably true." He gave her an exaggerated bow.
She laughed her laughter earnest and strong like the ringing of church bells.
"I just bet it is. I've been warned to stay away from you."
A stagehand was carrying a ladder and Tom was forced to step closer to Aliz. He could have tilted his head slightly and buried his face between her round perfumed breasts.
"And why is that, my dear?"
She blushed and her former composure disappeared. She seemed flustered as she said, "Because you are a notorious ladies' man."
Her breath was warm on his cheeks, her face pink and glowing, her dark brown eyes wide with surprise or maybe wonder at his small stature.
Smiling slyly, he said, "And that is a bad thing?"
The air between their bodies was hot, damp, as if a pot of water was boiling at their feet. He leaned a little closer and inhaled her sweet scent. She smelled of lavender that day.
"Uh...um...yes and no."
He simply gave her a questioning look with a smile on his face.
"Good for you but not necessarily good for the lady."
His voice a quiet growl, he said, "Oh but I make sure it is very, very good for the lady. Trust me on that."
With that he turned and walked away, certain she was following him with her eyes and giving his words some serious thought.
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Aliz encountered the intriguing short man again. It was during the matinee show and she watched his act from backstage. He was a bundle of energy, charming, and attractive despite his short stature. He sang "I'm Always Chasing Rainbows" while comically running and tumbling around the stage chasing a rainbow hanging from the rafters above the stage along with clouds that were moved about by stagehands. He had a wonderful voice and he was funny and incredibly athletic. When he sang "I always look and find the rain", silvery confetti was dropped from above to resemble rain drops.
When he was done the audience went crazy, the applause thunderous. He did a bow and then a quick flip, landing on his feet at the edge of the stage. He swayed forward and back as if he was losing his balance and coming close to falling into the orchestra pit. The audience gasped, the musicians quickly moved out of the way. He swayed some more, his arms windmilling about to catch his balance. Just when it looked like he was going to topple face first into the orchestra pit, he did a quick back flip and landed on his feet. The audience roared and he gave them a little wave as he trotted off stage.
He was slightly out of breath as he straightened his suit. He nearly bumped into her, looking up just in time to come to a screeching halt.
"Whoa, that was close!"
She laughed. "You were incredible! I loved your act."
"Thank you, my dear. Stick around for my next performance." He gave her a suggestive wink and a smile before hurrying off to his dressing room.
She stood there, her face red, and her lady parts warm and tingling for no reason she could fathom.
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After the night performance Tom got up the nerve to ask Aliz if she was interested in a late supper. When she said yes, he reserved a table at the hotel's restaurant.
He checked his reflection in the full length mirror in his room. He thought he looked dapper in a black suit, white shirt, and black bow tie. It wasn't quite a tuxedo but close.
Paul Martin, his roommate and fellow performer, said, "So who is the lucky lady tonight?"
Tom straightened his tie. "The very lovely Aliz Benko."
"Aaah...the daring young lady on the flying trapeze, huh?
"I think I am wearing her down."
Paul chuckled. "Wearing her down for what?"
Tom rolled his eyes at the romantic crooner who was also a ladies' man. "You know exactly what I mean."
Paul made a gesture by forming a circle with his left hand and poking the index finger of his other hand in and out of the hole.
"Exactly."
"Aren't you afraid when things don't work out that she'll be impossible to live with?"
Tom laughed as he said, "I'll cross that bridge when I come to it."
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Aliz was nervous. Her roommate, Blanche Le Fleur, was helping her style her hair. Blanche spoke in her "normal" voice around the hairpins held between her lips. Part of Blanche's act was pretending she was French. Born Esther Goldstein, she was born in Philadelphia not Paris. She was a lovely brunette with blue eyes and a creamy complexion and a great knack for imitating French speech with a passable singing voice but great at comedic banter.
Aliz said, "I'm not sure if this is such a good idea."
"What can it hurt to have dinner with him? It's not like he'll have his way with you on the table in the middle of the dining room."
Aliz smiled. "No, but he might expect something afterwards."
Blanche snorted. "Ma petite chére, simply don't let him get into your knickers."
"But what if I can't resist?"
Blanche sighed. "Then make sure you don't get caught and you don't get pregnant. Are you still a virgin?"
Aliz blushed. "No. I lost it to a married lion tamer."
Blanche patted her shoulder. "You poor dear. Sometimes we learn the hard way. At least you weren't saddled with un petit bébé."
"Yes, that's true. I must confess I feel a strong attraction towards Tom. There is just something about him. I am afraid I won't be strong enough to resist."
Blanche stuck the last hair pin into Aliz's elaborate hairdo and said, "Have fun, my dear. Just be sure to use common sense if you do the horizontal tango."
What Blanche didn't tell her diminutive roommate was she had a short fling with the charming dwarf. He was an accomplished lover and there was nothing small about his manhood.
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Tom smiled brightly when he saw Aliz enter the restaurant. She looked stunning in a blood red sleeveless dress with a square neckline and empire waist. It was embellished with dark red beads that sparkled beneath the restaurant's chandeliers. The skirt was semi-sheer over a solid skirt that came to her knees but the sheer skirt extended to mid-calf giving a tiny peek at her shapely knees. Silk tassels shimmied on each side of the dress's hem.
He stood up and waited for her to approach the table. He reached for her hand, kissing the palm, and said, "You look gorgeous."
She blushed as she thanked him. Her palm burned as if branded by his lips.
He pushed her chair in for her and returned to his chair, jumping on the seat.
They partook of an extravagant seven course meal which included such delicacies as caviar, escargot in melted garlic butter, tournedos of fillet of beef, and Charlotte russe made with peaches for dessert. Various forms of alcoholic beverages, complimentary to each dish, were also served.
Tom was his most charming, complimenting her, delighting her with stories from his past. He asked her questions, drew her out, learning all about her childhood and her failed affair with the married lion tamer. They talked about short people, tall people, skinny and fat, and muscular strong men. They talked about the different circuses they worked as children and what life was like growing up beneath the big top.
She had a healthy appetite, never feigning fullness after only a few bites. She ate her meal heartily and with passion, enjoying every bite. He admired that about her, hoping she'd approach sex with a similar passion.
They were eating their dessert of Charlotte russe made with peaches, lady fingers, and containing jolt of bourbon when Aliz asked him, "Why have you never married? Do you have an aversion towards marriage?"
He smiled at her, his grin tinged with a bit of sadness as he said, "I find it nearly impossible to find an attractive lady of a refined manner to consider marriage with me. It is undoubtedly due to my height. Women are afraid our babies will turn out like me or smaller. Both my parents were of average height along with my two brothers and sister. Chances are very good my children will be of average size as well."
She suddenly looked horribly sad as she said, "That is awful! Now for me, I seem to attract very tall and big men. Nothing against them but I hate to crane my neck up to look at them. Oddly shorter men seem to prefer taller women. I can't seem to win."
He gazed longingly at her and said, "I can't imagine any man having a will strong enough to resist you."
She turned pink and said, "Oh you!" She playfully slapped her hand at him.
"Enough of marriage...unless you agree to be my bride, then we can talk about it all night." He gave her a flirtatious wink.
She laughed, drawing the attention of other diners who watched the unusual couple.
Noticing their audience, she leaned forward and whispered, "You are such a scamp!"
He nodded towards her empty dessert plate and said, "What did you think of the meal?"
She dabbed at the corners of her mouth with her napkin and said, "Oh my, it was beyond my expectations! Who would have thought such a fine meal could be procured in Indianapolis? The restaurant is lovely too."
"It is, isn't it?"
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The two performers walked around Monument Circle while Tom smoked a cigarette. They talked about Indianapolis and other cities they visited while performing along with the theaters where they performed.
They lamented over failed circus acts where animals ran wild or the performers were killed during a performance. They shared audience stories of hecklers and, in Aliz's case, an amorous stalker.
They returned to the hotel and Tom walked Aliz to her door. She leaned down to give him a sweet peck on the cheek but he grabbed her head and kissed her hard on the mouth. She stepped back, breathless, her hand on her heart. She whispered, "Oh my."
He gave her a quick peck on the lips and said, "If you are ever interested in more, you know where to find me." With that he took the key to her door, unlocked it and opened the door for her. When he saw her safely inside, he blew her a kiss and left for his own room.
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Blanche turned on a lamp when she heard Aliz come in and said, "So how did it go?"
Aliz took off her gloves. "Very well, I think. We had talked about our past circus lives, performances, family, and the like. He is very charming, intelligent, and witty. Plus he is a wonderful kisser." She pressed her hands to her breast and closed her eyes.
Blanche rolled her eyes and said, "Just watch out for him. He is plucking your strings. I have seen him do it before. He wines and dines the ladies and then charms their knickers off. To his credit, I have heard he is a very skilled lover."
Aliz started to undress. She stopped and said, "Oh really?"
"Yes, that is what I heard from women he conquered."
Aliz carefully hung up her dress. "Why hasn't he settled down with any of these women?"
"Ma chère! Isn't it obvious? It is his size and I mean his height not the size of his manhood. Women worry a baby would suffer the same affliction."
"He told me his parents were of average height along with his siblings. Chances he would have a small sized off-spring are almost null."
Blanche rolled her eyes. "Of course he will say that! He doesn't want a woman he is seeing to know the truth."
"And how do you know the truth? From what I remembered the Drakos family was of average size."
"I thought it was common knowledge that his infliction is inherited. Maybe not from his parents but someone in his family's past was little like him. Do you want to subject your children to such a sad fate?"
Aliz pulled a nightgown over her head as she said, "His life seems to be very fulfilling. He's a very talented man, kind, and intelligent. I don't see his life as a failure by any means."
Blanche brushed her off with a hand gesture. "To each his own. If it doesn't bother you maybe you are the ideal woman for him."
Aliz braided her long hair, her fingers nimbly twisting and turning the lengths of hair into a thick plait. She said, "Maybe I am."
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Tom continued to woo and charm Aliz. His desire for her went beyond just the physical. She was exceptionally lovely, charismatic, and kind. They had gotten to the point where she willingly kissed him and he was able to touch her breasts and her buttocks through her clothes. He normally liked buxom women but he made an exception for the trapeze artist with the girlish figure.
Their next stop after Indianapolis was the Temple Theatre in Detroit. It was one of Tom's favorite venues because the stage was one of the largest in the country. During the matinee performances he used his two Russell Terriers, Pip and Sparky, in his act to the delight of the children and adults alike. Even Adam and Lizzie Best's animal act couldn't overshadow his performance with his dogs.
Aliz continued to enthrall the audiences with her acrobatic feats above the stage floor. During their run in Detroit, she performed to the music of Robert Schumann's Carnaval ballet. Quick in tempo and playful, it was perfect for her graceful yet whimsical acrobatics. For her act she had a gown altered so it was much easier to remove so her disrobement at the start of her act was less of a sexual strip tease and something more playful like a child discarding their clothes to play.
The two of them became the talk of the town when they appeared together at restaurants and walking about. They were gossiped about in the Detroit Free Press, the society writer all aflutter over their "budding romance".
Paul Martin, his roommate, was visiting with his wife at another hotel. She took the train to Detroit to spend a few days with him. Tom suspected her visit was prompted by rumors that Paul was seeing one of the other female performers. Apparently Mrs. Martin wanted to nip that romance in the bud. That meant Tom had his hotel room to himself.
He invited Aliz to his room on the auspice of a late supper and champagne. He arranged for room service to bring roast duck, sweet potatoes, green string beans, and a chocolate torte.
Aliz arrived dressed in an emerald green sleeveless dress with a jacket with sheer sleeves and satin trim. The skirt of her dress was two tiers, the first ending at her knees and the hem of the second tier ending just above her ankles. With it she wore a pearl and crystal necklace that fell to her waist. Her long dark hair was arranged in a roll style that resembled the shorter hairstyles of the day. She looked stunning in the emerald green silk.
Room service brought their supper and they sat at the room's little table to eat. The server uncorked the champagne, filled their two flutes, and promptly left.
The meal was divine, the champagne potent. After a few flutes, Aliz was giggling, her face flushed. Tom knew he had her.
It didn't take much persuasion to talk her out of her clothes. She kept insisting she was hot, stifling, constantly fanning herself with the room service menu.
Her body was exquisite, petite yet muscular, with broad shoulders that tapered down to a narrow waist and hips. Her bum was a work of art! Muscular and taut, you could bounce a quarter off of it and he did indeed try and succeeded! Her legs were proportionate to the rest of her slight body but shapely and strong. He undid her hair and her dark hair fell in waves over her shoulders and down her back.
Naked, he had her lie back on the bed and close her eyes. He poured drops of champagne on her breasts and licked the bubbly elixir off causing her bright pink nipples to rise to attention. Her breasts were small, like the tops of small dinner rolls, but her nipples were a thing of glory, long and pointy like the tip of a pencil. She loved to have them sucked, squirming and moaning as he fervently pulled and nipped at them.
He poured a few drops of champagne into her concave belly button and licked it dry. He learned from practice that for some women their belly button stimulated their sex and drove them wild. Aliz was one of those women and she groaned and moved her hips to bring her belly closer to his mouth. He filled her belly button a few more times, lapping at the sweet beverage and teasing her belly button with his tongue.
As he worked his way down her belly and hips, he moaned in appreciation of her dark bush. It was thick with tight dark curls, forming a perfect triangle at the top of her thighs. He parted her lower lips and went to work lapping at and sucking her sweet pink bud.
Like the belly button, he learned how that tiny bean could turn a woman into a nymphomaniac within seconds. Located at the top of the cleft of a woman's privates, a little stimulation by a tongue, lips, or fingers would bring women to heavenly heights of ecstasy.
At first she was self-conscious about him stimulating her orally. She squirmed and pleaded for him to stop but he continued on until she whimpered and gasped, her fingers clawing at his hair. She was beyond objecting. He listened to her hiss and moan and along with the sound of him lapping at her bud, caused his cock to grow and harden.
She groaned and her hips rose to push against his mouth. He grabbed her gloriously hard buttocks and shook his head back and forth against that magic button, blowing with his lips so he was making the sound of a car's motor. The vibration sent her over the edge and she cried out as she climaxed, her pussy gushing all over his face. He continued to nuzzle her folds making her squeal and whimper as she experienced another orgasm.
Her pussy adequately wet, he asked her to turn onto her belly. He propped her hips up with some pillows and then stood behind her. He was able to ram his cock into her hot, wet folds wild standing up on the bed.
Aliz's kitty cat was smooth and silky, wet and slippery. He had to hang onto her hips for dear life to keep his eight inches inside her. Standing he was able to get better leverage and control as he banged into her, his pelvis bouncing off that tight ass of hers.
She continued to moan and groan, the pitch rising to new heights as he felt her pussy tighten around his shaft. It was popping noisily as he steadily thrust his cock inside her. She finally climaxed again, her pussy tightening around his cock with surprising strength.
Her orgasm almost made him climax. The walls of her sex throbbed around his cock. He clung to her hips as he kept up a steady rhythm of thrusts, his pelvis clapping loudly against her ass each time.
He was tempted to come inside her but then remembered a previous paramour who got pregnant and had an abortion that went terribly wrong resulting in her death. He pulled out of her and thrust his cock between her tight ass cheeks, pressing them together until he blew his hot gooey cum all over her lower back.
He plopped onto his ass to admire his handiwork. She was groaning and threw a hand towel he had hanging over the headboard back at him. He used it to clean up his cum and rub her sweet ass.
When he was done she turned over onto her back, pushing the pillows that were under her hips onto the floor. She was smiling, her legs spread open, her pink glistening slit visible. He used a clean end of the towel to wipe her slit, concentrating on her pink bean until she started squirming and moaning all over again.
He tossed the towel aside and straddled her body, positioning his partially hard cock over her sweet pink mouth. She gasped in surprise and he told her if she sucked on it, he would lick her coochie again.
He dipped his cock head to her lips and she opened them like a baby bird accepting a big fat worm. He lowered himself into her mouth and she clasped her moist lips around him and he started to hump her mouth.
As he promised, he lowered his face to her pretty dark snatch and licked her juices until her scream was muffled by his cock filling her mouth.
His tongue and lips made her climax again and his face was wet with her sweet smelling juices. He turned around and positioned himself between her thighs and guided his rock hard cock into her molten center. Her wetness and groaning took him to the brink and he pulled his cock out of her and moved up her body. He stood with his legs on each side of her arms, his feet trapping her in place as he jerked off his cock until his cum squirted out all over pretty pale breasts with her pointy pink nipples.
Aliz wasn't too happy about that but then he licked and kissed it off, telling her how magnificent and beautiful she was. She was soon putty in his arms once again.
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Tom and Aliz continued their affair throughout the winter months. Oscar Perkins, the stage manager, knew of their feelings for one another but was unaware of their nightly coupling. Paul Martin and Blanche Le Fleur helped to keep that from him by vacating one or the other room while the two lovebirds pleasured one another.
They were in New York City in February when it all came crashing down. That was when Lorenz Ziegfeld Jr. discovered the pretty petite trapeze artist and hired her to become one of his infamous Ziegfeld Girls. She accepted his proposition without consideration for Tom's feelings, leaving him hurt and abandoned.
A few weeks later the Majestic troupe was playing in Trenton, New Jersey. He asked the stage manager if he could take a day off. Oscar knowing how depressed the little man was over the loss of Aliz, gave him permission to take two days if he needed it.
Tom took the train to New York City and used his influence to get a seat for the Ziegfeld Follies. He was a few rows behind the orchestra pit, front and center, a perfect view of the performers on the stage.
Watching the luxuriously accommodated show, the hundreds of performers, glittering outfits, he couldn't help but understand Aliz's excitement over the prospect of joining the show.
Her performance was amazing. She had male dancers dressed as flowers performing with her at the beginning, all of them lifting her overhead to reach the trapeze. Once on the trapeze, she discarded her gown with a little sexual flourish to reveal a sparkling rhinestone and sequined outfit, the back forming the wings of a butterfly. It was dazzling in purple and blue. But it was her act, the ballet in the air that caught the audience's attention. She flipped, she twirled, her limbs tangled in the ropes dangling precariously over the stage. Her moves were graceful, fluid, perfect to the sound of Jacques Offenbach's Le Papillon (The Butterfly) ballet.
At the end of her act, the same six male dancers returned to the stage to catch her as she dropped from the trapeze belly first, her body bouncing off their arms to perform a flip, her feet landing on the stage where she took a bow. While the audience was busy watching her on the trapeze, someone had removed her clothing from the stage floor. She flitted off the stage, the male dancers following behind her to thunderous applause.
Tom was allowed backstage. He arranged to have a dozen white roses sent to her dressing room earlier. After an appropriate amount of time, he was shown to her dressing room where he knocked on the door, waiting for her response. She called out for him to enter and he opened the door.
She was dressed in a satin robe, her face flushed, her eyes glowing with excitement. She sat in front of the lighted mirror cleaning the makeup off her face. His roses were on the dressing table, their heady perfume filling the room.
"Tom! Thank you for the roses." She touched the bouquet, leaning forward to sniff at one blossom. "They are beautiful."
He smiled at her reflection and said, "No more beautiful than you."
She still blushed at compliments as if she didn't believe them.
She asked, "Did you see the show?"
"Yes and you were outstanding as always. I can understand why you jumped at the opportunity to perform in the Follies. Much more extravagant and elegant than what you experienced with us."
"Yes, it is. I love it! I don't have to travel and I have my own apartment. It has been a dream come true!"
He stood behind her and put his hands on her wide shoulders. "I am very happy for you, Aliz, you deserve this success."
She quickly turned in her seat, almost knocking him over. She chuckled as she grabbed his hands to help him keep his balance. Holding his hands, she said, "I wish you could join the show, Tom. We would have so much fun together!"
He gave her hands a squeeze as he said, "I would like nothing better but I don't think Mr. Ziegfeld needs a little man act. He seems to have cornered the market on feminine beauty, which definitely doesn't describe yours truly."
She laughed.
He looked at her. She was radiant, so happy. With all the love he could muster, he leaned over and gave her a tender kiss good bye.
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If you liked this story, watch for my next serial story Everything's Coming Up Rosie. This is the prelude to it. Tom Collins, Paul Martin, Blanche Le Fleur, and Oscar Perkins will all make appearances in my next series.
The character of Aliz Benko was based upon a genuine vaudeville trapeze star - Charmion. I imagined her performing more like modern day trapeze artist Shana Carroll. Charmion actually did a little strip tease before her act. You can see her perform in a silent film shot in 1901. Look up Thomas Edison's "Trapeze Disrobing Act".
Of course the Ziegfeld Follies were a real thing up until the 1930s. You might have seen the 1945 movie Ziegfeld Follies or Barbra Streisand's Funny Girl movie based upon the life of Fanny Brice who was a Ziegfeld Follies star.
The Majestic Circuit was not a real thing but there were others like it - The Orpheum Circuit and Pantages Theatre Circuit. Black Americans even had their own "Negro Circuit" where black performers could safely play in small venues throughout the country to black audiences. Some notable black performers were the amazing Nicholas Brothers, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Duke Ellington, and Josephine Baker to name a few. Jewish Americans also had their own "Yiddish" circuit. Then there were the minstrel shows with white performers performing in black face that Al Jolson made famous.
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