Ann Pennington

Ann Pennington was born Anna Pennington on December 23, 1893 in Wilmington, Delaware. Her family appears to have come to Camden around the turn of the century.

Ann Pennington is listed in the 1910 Census as lodging, with her sister Nellie, at 113 Penn Street. Both sisters listed their occupation as Actress. The landlord, Perry Kinikin, listed his occupation as a Stage Carpenter. Nicknamed “Tiny” as she stood only 4’ 11½″, Ann Pennington wore only a size 1½ shoe.

Ann Pennington was very popular and known as the most petite of what was then called the “Shake and Quiver dancers.” Became famous for her rendition of the Black Bottom dance. She stopped the show when she danced for Ziegfeld in his 1913 Follies. While performing in Ziegfeld’s Follies she met Fanny Brice, they would be life-long best friends.

Ann Pennington danced many dances as well as the Black Bottom, such as the Charleston and could tap dance as well as any male performer. Also danced in some of George White’s Shows (Scandals) and was a “Gold Digger Girl.”

Ann Pennington returned to the stage after appearing in six films in 1929. She starred in Cole Porter’s hit musical The New Yorkers, which ran on Broadway for 168 performances ending in May of 1931. She appeared with Jimmy Durante, among others, in this show.

She played a few minor supporting roles on film in the early 1940’s and continued dancing and appearing on stage and vaudeville well into the late 1940s.

Ann Pennington died in New York City NY on November 4, 1971.

by Gordon Mackay

Next we get a further advance back to normalcy when we bumped into Pat Iarossi. Pat is a barber but that doesn’t deter him from basking in the sunshine at Miami and thanking his lucky stars that his family moved from San Marco in Italy to Camden years ago.

Pat is another excellent example of the melting-pot. His barber-shop is now located at 600 North Third Street, site having been Pat’s for the past 14 years. Before that he had a shop on Front Street, where he barbered the native sons and daughters for 20 years.

Make no mistake, Pat has carried the tradition of the America that benefited him so much into his own activities. The years of service of his four employees amount to 52.

The oldest employee has been stropping the razors there for 18 years while the baby of the outfit, who is not so old either, has been employed by Pat for 10 years. Two others enjoy terms of 14 and 12 years.

Pat’s greatest memories cluster about Ann Pennington, Camden’s gift to the Follies and the stage, and the Dooleys, a theatrical family which also is a proud Camden possession.

“I used to cut Ann Pennington’s hair when she was a child,” Pat recalled. “And the Dooleys always made my shop their headquarters. Billy Dooley worked for me. The kids, six of them, trained in a patch we called the ‘cow lot’. Rae and May were the two girls, while Johnny was the big shot of the boys.”

“They used to turn cartwheels right out in the lot there and come into my shop to do a little vocal rehearsing. Ann Pennington was always dancing, you couldn’t keep her feet still. I remember one day Ann, Johnny Dooley and a girl named Moore went over to Lubin’s in Philadelphia, trying to break into the movies.

“Lubin wouldn’t handle them and they all came crying into my shop.” Whereupon Pat produced a post card dated in 1911 showing Johnny Dooley starring in the old Bijou Theatre in Philadelphia.

So Pat has no envy of the thespians or of anybody else. Why should he – Miami is some place to spend the Winter.