Marie Meeker (born Maybelle Meeker; November 6, 1886 – April 2, 1960), who performed under the name Dainty Marie, was an American vaudeville and circus performer.

Marie Meeker
Newspaper image, 1917
Born
Maybelle Meeker

(1886-11-06)November 6, 1886
DiedApril 2, 1960(1960-04-02) (aged 73)
Other namesDainty Marie
OccupationVaudeville performer

Life and career

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She was born in Leavenworth, Kansas, the daughter of a prison guard, and niece of pioneer Ezra Meeker. She was apprenticed to a small circus as a child, and learned such skills as bareback riding, rope spinning, and aerial acrobatics.[1][2]

She rose to fame quickly in the early 1900s, and appeared in Broadway shows with Blanche Ring, Lew Fields, and Julian Eltinge.[2] She became a headline performer in vaudeville, with an act in which she first sang in an evening gown, or period costume, and then disrobed to perform acrobatic feats on a trapeze while clad in a leotard and tights.[3] She also performed living recreations of statues by Rodin.[4] In her youth she was noted for her attractive figure,[5] and also became known for her physical strength after an altercation with some "mashers" while she was walking on Broadway.[1] A follower of Christian Science, she promoted the values of exercise and moral reform.[6]

She became a featured performer with Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, where she was billed as "the world's greatest aerialist".[7] She later returned to vaudeville. In 1923, her act was described as "in a class by itself as a vaudeville novelty that Is different".[8]

She retired in 1931 in order to start a physical culture school for women in Milwaukee.[5] In about 1948 she moved to Saugus, California, where she died in 1960 at the age of 73.[7]

She was married four times. She had brief marriages, ending in divorce, to Ewald "Wally" Hupel in 1903; to actor Earle Foxe in 1914; and to Clarence Williams in 1928. Her final marriage was to Walter Hickey, who predeceased her.[7]

References

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