Harry Trevor (1903) New York NY
Harry Trevor was born in Manhattan, New York at 10:20 AM on December 24, 1893 to John and Mary Trevor. He was a normal, healthy baby boy weighing in at 8 lbs 12 ounces.
A word about John and Mary Trevor. They were vaudevillians who became acquainted on the circuit. They started out separately, met and, one romantic night, fell into each other’s’ arms. John did the honorable thing when Mary told him she was pregnant and they were married on June 2, 1893, a Tuesday because they were performing on the weekends.
They rented an apartment in midtown Manhattan and John continued his performing in the city, whenever possible, and on the circuit the rest of the time. Mary took the baby with her to wherever he was until it was time for Harry to go to school.
Harry attended public school in Manhattan until he finished 8th Grade. That was the extent of his formal education. He and his mother joined his father on the road and Harry became part of the act with his father. The act varied from melodrama, to comedy sketches, to song and dance; whatever the house required. His mother was more of a supporter than performer. The three of them had a good life together.
As the years passed and Harry matured out of the act and as vaudeville came to an end he went into the legitimate theater. There, he found a ready market for his ability to portray a variety of characters; for whatever the script called. He never aspired to top billing, or even second, third, or fourth line billing. He was satisfied to support the stars and collect his pay.
Thus he gained a good reputation among producers and directors in the theater district and played every house of note in the city. He often traveled with the troupe to the minor markets to hone a show and get it ready for the “big white way.” His credits were significant and he enjoyed the respect of the more noted “stars” on Broadway.
As for his personal life; Harry was as lackluster as the roles he played. At 55 he was still unmarried and, although he enjoyed the company of women, had no intention of marrying and/or starting a family. His own experiences, though not bad, were not enough to engender such a desire in him. He managed to keep an ever changing list of girlfriends, the changing being made when one became too clutching.
Among the guys, Harry was always up for a good time but eschewed overindulging in liquor and gambling. He’d seen too many shipwrecks in his lifetime to get sucked into that. Not a teetotaler, he enjoyed a drink as much as the next guy, but never overindulged. The same with gambling, he loved the track and boxing but the $2 bet was his favorite.
As for finances; here again he didn’t aspire to stardom. He knew that there was no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow so he religiously put aside 10% of his earnings, in cash, in a valise that he kept in his room or apartment wherever he was. This seemed foolish to him during the 20’s but then after 1929 he congratulated himself over and over again.
He kept up with the news and could see that reforms were going in place to make banks safer so he opened an account at The Manhattan Company Bank and continued to add to his “nest egg.” Then during WWII he regularly bought war bonds and was now looking ahead to a comfortable retirement.
One could almost sum up Harry Trevor as an ordinary fellow; one who never knew his full potential. On the other hand, he was a good fellow to have around.
When his agent called with an audition for Kiss Me, Kate, he said, “Sure.” Went in and got the role of Baptista Minola, Katharine’s father.
He knew the company as one that was a little threadbare; some thought it to be taking its last breath. The director was a bit of an egomaniac in that he was also the star of the show. The leading lady was almost a has-been. She and the director were divorced but there was still a lot of emotion in their relationship, both positive and negative.
Knowing this, Harry went in with his eyes and ears open, and his mouth shut. He fit in very nicely as the man who wasn’t there. He did his job, played his part, said his lines with Shakespearean flair and bowed appropriately when the curtain came down.
Meanwhile, there is a fetching, not-so-young female member of the ensemble that is catching his attention.
