// Workers AI · dad joke modeWhat did Tot Qualters say? "I'm a quoter of tots.
Tot Qualters (March 28, 1894 – March 27, 1974) was an American actress, dancer, and singer in musical theatre.
Early life
[edit]Marguerite (or Margaret) Qualters was born in 1894, in Detroit, the daughter of Jack Qualters and Anna Qualters.[1] She and her four sisters went into stage careers after their father died.[2] Tot's sister Cassie Qualters joined the Ziegfeld Follies with her. Their brother Joe Qualters was a cabaret singer in Detroit.[3]
Career
[edit]Tot Qualters was on stage in Detroit from her early teens.[4] Qualters' New York debut came in 1912, in Ziegfeld's A Winsome Widow at the Moulin Rouge Theater. Other stage appearances included Chin Chin (1914), Stop! Look! Listen! (1915-1916) as Nora Marks,[5] Ziegfeld Follies of 1916, Miss 1917, Midnight Rounders (1920), The Passing Show of 1921, Make It Snappy (1922, leading with Eddie Cantor)[6] and Whoopee! (1928, also with Eddie Cantor).[7] For her performance in The Passing Show of 1921, she was noted as a "decorative jazz demonstrator."[8] While performing in Make It Snappy, she gave Eddie Cantor the nickname "Banjo Eyes." This nickname stuck, and later became the title of a 1941 Broadway musical in which Cantor starred.[9] She also appeared in the film Reaching for the Moon (1930), with Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Bebe Daniels.[7]
"Tot Qualters sports a figure as cute as her name," observed The Dial's theatre reviewer in 1921.[10] The Boston Daily Globe described her specialty as "loose-jointed eccentric dancing" in 1922.[2]
Personal life
[edit]In 1929, Qualters was in a legal dispute with real estate dealer Arthur Ettlinger over ownership of a dog.[11] Walter Winchell mentioned seeing Tot Qualters in 1968, as a fixture at Max's Stage Deli.[12] Tot Qualters died in 1974, the day before her 80th birthday, in New York City.[7] Her niece, Michael Pollock, also went into the performing arts.[13]
References
[edit]- ↑ "Qualters-Curro Scandal (1908)". Detroit Free Press. 1908-11-29. p. 24. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- 1 2 "Tot Qualters and Her Own Style Of Dancing". The Boston Globe. 1922-11-05. p. 54. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ↑ "Cassie and Tot Qualters (1916)". Detroit Free Press. 1916-12-11. p. 11. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ↑ "The Lafayette" Detroit Free Press (June 7, 1908): 46. via Newspapers.com
- ↑ Norton, Richard C. (2002). A chronology of American musical theater. Internet Archive. Oxford; New York : Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-508888-5.
- ↑ Bloom, Ken (2004). Broadway : its history, people, and places : an encyclopedia. Internet Archive. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-93704-7.
- 1 2 3 "TOT QUALTERS DIES; STAGE ACTRESS, 79". The New York Times. 1974-03-28. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ↑ Slide, Anthony (1985). Selected theatre criticism. Internet Archive. Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-1811-8.
- ↑ "Obituary for TOT QUALTERS". The Evening Sun. 1974-03-28. p. 6. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ↑ S. T. "The Theatre" The Dial (May 1921): 604.
- ↑ "Ettlinger's Dog Case Finally Costs Him $25". Variety (June 1929): 50. June 12, 1929 – via Internet Archive.
- ↑ "Walter Winchell mentions Tot Qualters in 1968". The Terre Haute Tribune. 1968-06-25. p. 4. Retrieved 2026-05-02.
- ↑ "She Has Smiled". The Star-Ledger. 1958-06-22. p. 62. Retrieved 2026-05-02.