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Trix Sisters

The Trix Sisters - The Darlings of London

About Me


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Biography

Trix Sisters

Helen and Josephine Trix (nee Yeiser) were born and 1898, respectively, in Newmanstown, PA. They had another sister Alma (b 1890), also born in Newmanstown. All three sisters were performers during and through the Vaudeville era and were considered Vaudeville performers.

Helen Trix (Helen Yeiser):

Helen was in her teens when she first started performing and entertaining, she had formal piano training (in Europe, returning with a British accent) and was a contralto comedienne. Helen was also a proficient songwriter. In her late teens Helen traveled to New York City to visit family and while there performed at a Masonic stage event attended by Edison and Victor talent scouts. She started recording professionally soon after and her recordings lead to a burgeoning Vaudeville career, then by 1907 was a headliner in the Vaudevillian scene and had her debut hit The Bird on Nellie's Hat.

Helen toured with Will Rogers in 1913, the Orpheum Circuit, through Canada (especially Calgary and Edmonton) and the Northwest US (Seattle, Spokane, Portland, Claremore, etc.). It was during this time on the Orpheum Circuit that one of the members of the tour, a teen named George Jessel who performed with Kid Kabaret. , later recalled in a book on his life, "she (Helen Trix) was the first gentlewoman I had ever known, and I have to admit it was she who started me on my lifetime habit of reading and educating myself because of my lack of formal education." Jessel was smitten with Helen but at the time she was dating former lightweight (fighter/boxer) champion of the world, Jimmy Britt. Helen had been married to lyricist Frank Fogerty for a time but the marriage ended in divorce.

and in 1915 with Rogers and Harry Houdini in Louisville, KY, at Keith's Theater. Rogers called Trix a "pianosongwhistleress". Helen also performed with Eddie Cantor and Joan Sawyer at the Temple Theatre.

By 1921 she was the composer, producer and a featured performer (with her younger sister Josephine) for/in the London musical "A to Z". She and her sister performed and recorded as the Trix Sisters until 1926/27 when Josephine married actor/performer Eddie Fields. Josephine and Eddie had a flat in the Charing Cross Road.

Helen died in Manhattan, New York in 1951 shortly after writing The Bridal Waltz with Joseph A. Cirina.

Josephine Trix (Josephine Yeiser):

Josephine was born and educated in Newmanstown, PA, graduated 1916 as class valedictorian from Newmanstown High School and went on to became a Vaudeville performer as her sister, Helen, did. In the early 1920's Josephine teamed with Helen to form The Trix Sisters.

In 1926 Josephine married actor Eddie Fields (Edward Greenfield) and not too long after the Trix Sisters broke up the act, in 1927 she starred in a musical production in London called Blue Skies.

The Trix Sisters (Helen and Josephine Yeiser) were a Vaudevillian performing team. They danced, sang, whistled, played piano, banjo and Ukulele and were considered the darlings of London. They had many hit singles throughout the twenties and thirties and were very popular in England, France (they owned a nightclub/casino in Paris) and Germany. When Josephine married actor Eddie Fields the Trix Sisters broke up but they remained in London until 1944.

Helen moved to New York City (Manhattan) where she remained until her death in 1951 and Josephine moved to New York City where she lived with her husband until his death in 1962, she stayed in New York until 1973 then down to New Orleans to be near her son, Edward A. Greenfield, until her death in 1992.

Helen, Alma, Josephine and Edward Greenfield (husband) are all buried at Elias Cemetery in Newmanstown, PA.

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 1/21/2007
Band Members:

Helen, Josephine, Alma Trix (Yeiser) and a one time replacement of Josephine was Bino (Polly Ward).


Sounds Like:

Discography

All songs The Trix Sisters (as a team) unless otherwise noted

1906 (Helen Trix):

Whistling Mike (whistling only)

Fol-de-iddley-I-do (with Dan Quinn)

Is You Mother In, Molly Malone?

The Next Horse I Ride On

Chip O' the Block

The Bird on Nellie's Hat

Is Marriage a Failure?

You Can Never tell From the Label

Scotch and Polly

It Ain't All Honey and It Ain't All Jam

1907 (Helen Trix):

Whistle It (with Ed Meeker - Billy Murray)

I've Told His Missus All About Him

Lulu and Her La-la-la

Story of a Clothes Line

Stop Your Tickling, Jock

1908 (Helen Trix):

Rum Tiddley-Un-Tum-Tay

1915 (Helen Trix):

Because It's You

1916/1917 (Helen Trix):

Follow Me* - words and music by Helen Trix (sung by Claire LaTour and Boys)

* Follow Me (original musical comedy). The title song is performed in Act I (by Anna Held) and took place at a charity bazaar for wounded soldiers from WWI. The show was produced by the Schubert brothers and most of the music was written by Sigmund Romberg. Ran from November 29, 1916 to February 3, 1917, 73 performances at the Casino Theatre on Broadway. Volga Hayworth and Eduardo Cansino were in this production, Volga and Eduardo were the parents of actress Rita Hayworth (Margarita Carmen Cansino).

Opportunity* - words and music by Helen Trix

* The Century Girl (original musical revue). Ziegfeld produced show. Ran from November 6, 1916 to April 28, 1917, 200 performances at the Century Theatre on Broadway.

1921:

From C.B. Cochran's League of Notions:

I Never Worry About the Morning

I Just Want to Give Myself Away

That's How I Knew (That You Were the One for Me)

There'll Come a Time

Back to London Town (Back to Sydney Town)

From A to Z:

I've Joined the Squirrel Family

Noah's Ark

Sweet Daddy, I Love You

I'm Going Home

Keep Moving - Helen Trix with chorus

Dapper Dan (with Jack Buchanan)

Other :

Keep Moving (with orchestral accompaniment, conducted by George W. Byng)

There'll Come a Time - words and music by Helen Trix

I Left My Sugar Standing In the Rain (and She Melted Away) - The Trix Sisters Helen and Bino (Polly Ward)

1922:

Dixie Highway

1924:

Desperate Blues

Accompanied by Josephine on Banjo:

Trix's Beedle-Um-Boo

The Georgia Weddin' (Tricks)

1925:

Accompanied by Helen on Piano:

In Honeysuckle Time

Desperate Blues - Helen Trix

From Tricks:

When You Go away

We Don't Give a Darn About Nothin'

Sweetie Do

No-One Dances Like My Man - Helen Trix

Yes, Sir! That's My baby

Bam, Bam Bamy Shore

I Wonder Where My Baby Is Tonight

My Sweetie Turned Me Down

1926:

My International Wedding Day

Vanity Fayre

I Care For Him and He Cares for Her

I'm Sitting On Top of the World

Ukulele Baby - Josephine Trix on Uke

I'm Knee Deep in Daisies

Timbuctoo

Boo-La-Boo

1927:

Magnolia - Josephine Trix (Irwin Dash on piano)

Ain't That Too Bad? - Josephine Trix (Irwin Dash on piano)

Blue Skies (from the London production Blue Skies )

1928:

That's My Weakness Now

The Grass Grows Greener

Henry's Made a Lady Out of Lizzie

Stay Out of the South

Where is Meyer? (Where's Himalaya?)

Ready for the River

A Hundred Years From Now

Sweet Ukulele Maid

Out of the Dawn

I Hope I Don't Meet Molly (On the Day I Marry Flo)

My Rock-A-Bye Baby - Helen Trix

1929:

I Must Have That Man - Josephine Trix

Negro Complaints

Shout Hallelujah! I'm Home

I'm Crazy Over You

T'Ain't So, Honey, T'Ain't So

Nagasaki

I'm on the Crest of a Wave

Pickin' Cotton

Glad Rag Doll

Carolina Moon

That's the Good Old Sunny South

Diga Diga Doo - Helen Trix

Building a Nest for Mary - Josephine Trix

The Hollow of a Hill

I'm Just in the Mood Tonight - Helen Trix

You Want Lovin' (But I Want Love) - Josephine Trix

Golden Paradise

Come on, Baby

S'posin'

You're My Silver Lining of Love

What've I Done

Alma Trix

1931:

Mills Music Masters with vocal by Alma Trix directed by Mr. Haring - Majestic Jazz Orchestra

Something to Remember You By

My Ideal

Doing It All the Way (with Chris Smith)

Reaching for the Moon

1951:

The Bridal Waltz - Helen Trix and Joseph A. Cirina (words and music)

Theatre

The Trix Sisters~1922 (Ritz Theatre) A memorable event. This date marked the first stage appearance of beige stockings...introduced pre-war by Poiret but nobody had taken much notice until this performance..."...a number of rattled elderly ladies felt that the country had taken another turn towards the pit"

Blue Skies~1927 (Josephine)

Tricks~1924/5 (Apollo Theatre, London, UK) December 22, 1925

A to Z ~1921 (Prince of Wales Theatre, London, UK) October 11, 1921 - A Revue. 428 performances. Music by Ivor Novello and Helen Trix; Book and Lyrics: Dion Titheradge; Ronald Jeans and Helen Trix; Additional songs by Philip Braham, Lew Brown, Douglas Furber, Albert von Tilzer, Les Copeland and Kenneth Duffield.

Cast: Jack Buchanan, George Hestor, Gertrude Lawrence, Herbert Mundin, Elizabeth Pollack, Helen and Josephine Trix.

Program: When I'm Dressed In Blue; I've Never Been Kept Waiting; The Oldest Game in the World; Too Much Mother; Smile; There Are Times; My Kind of Boy; I Hate That Tune; Night May Have Its Sadness; Sweet Daddy, I Love You; I'm Going Home; Keep Movin'; I've Joined the Squirrel Family; Dapper Dan; Noah's Ark; Come On and Kiss Your Angel Child, Sweetie Dear; And Her Mother Came Too; My Alco Holiday; Limehouse Blues

League of Notions~1920/21 (New Theatre Oxford, Oxford, UK. Newly rebuilt, this was their first show)

Follow Me~1916/17 (Helen - wrote the lyrics and music for the title song)

The Century Girl ~1916/17 (Helen - wrote the lyrics and music for the song Opportunity)


Record Label: Victor, Edison, Columbia, Banner
Type of Label: None

My Blog

Trix Sisters Trivia

The Trix Sisters' hit song I'm Crazy Over You: anyone can see with half an eye (a fox-trot) was written by A.I. Sherman (The Sherman Tank designer) and Al Lewis (Lewis gun designer), music and lyrics....
Posted by Trix Sisters on Sat, 05 May 2007 12:27:00 PST

Banks Music Cafe

In Lendal, York (UK) there is a small eating establishment called Banks Music CafĂ©.  Upon the walls you will find several copies of Trix Sisters sheet music to accompany your small meal or snack ...
Posted by Trix Sisters on Sat, 05 May 2007 11:41:00 PST

League of Notions review

Printed in The New Age: A Socialist Review of Religion, Science, and ArtJanuary 27, 1921DramaBy John Francis Hope.IT has often been suggested to me that I should go toa revue. I have been! I chose one...
Posted by Trix Sisters on Sat, 05 May 2007 12:33:00 PST