Errol on parade

Leon Errol (Leonce Errol Sims, 1881-1951) filming Elsie Janis’s production of PARAMOUNT ON PARADE (1930). Photo by Don English 

Ah, Leon Errol! A native of Sydney, he dropped out of medical school — early enough that he was only 17 when he reached San Francisco in 1898 — and spent the next decade rising through the vaudeville ranks. In 1911, he reached the ZIEGFELD FOLLIES (with his wife Stella Chatelaine). His next show was Ziegfeld’s A WINSOME WIDOW (1912). He was in the 1912 FOLLIES, and again in 1913 (with his wife); he performed with Stella in the 1914 edition, which he also directed (with Flo Ziegfeld). 

Errol co-directed “The Blue Follies” in 1915, and for the next few years he directed or staged a run of hits: the 1915 ZIEGFELD MIDNIGHT FROLIC, THE CENTURY GIRL (1916-17), DANCE AND GROW THIN (1917), HITCHY-KOO (1917), and WORDS AND MUSIC (1917-18 and again in 1918). He took a break to appear as Connie, a waiter, and the Duke of Czechogovinia in SALLY (1920-22), which established Marilyn Miller as a star.