The Blackburn Twins

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The Blackburn Twins were an American duo of entertainers (dancer-singer-actor) who appeared on stage, film and television in the mid-20th century. [1]

The twin brothers, Ramon Perez and Royce Perez, later professionally known as the Blackburn Twins, were born January 8, 1925 [2] in Blue Point, New York. [3]

At the age of seven they performed on stage in the Jerome Kern musical Music in the Air which ran in 1932-33. Also in 1932, they made their film debut in Her First Affaire , with Ida Lupino. [4]

As child actors, the boys appeared in the Broadway plays 200 Were Chosen (1936) and As You Like It (1937). Separately, Royce appeared in Everywhere I Roam (1938-39) and Ramon in Stop-Over (1938). As a duo the pair danced in Olsen and Johnson's Sons o' Fun (1941-43).

Drafted into the army during World War II, they appeared in both the stage and screen versions of the patriotic show Winged Victory (1943-44). In 1946 they appeared in a gimmicky musical short called Film Vodvil: Three Sets of Twins with the McFarland Twins (musicians) and the Burke Twins (singers).

The Blackburn Twins were best remembered for three films: Words and Music (1948), Take Me Out to the Ball Game (1949), and She's Working Her Way Through College (1952). [2] [5]

The bulk of their professional work was in nightclubs, but from 1948 through 1954 they also made television appearances on shows like Cavalcade of Stars , The Ed Sullivan Show , Texaco Star Theater with Milton Berle, The Colgate Comedy Hour , [6] The Tonight Show and The Arthur Murray Party . [2]

In 1952, while performing at the Copa Cabana, Ramon met and fell for Copa Girl Joyce Sieger. They were married within weeks. [2] [3]

Royce died of cancer on April 14, 1994 (age 69) in New Ipswich, New Hampshire. [4] [7] Ramon died August 17, 2018 (age 93) in Boynton Beach, Florida. [3]

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References

  1. ↑ Jeanine Basinger, Jeanine Basinger (2019), The Movie Musical!, Knopf Doubleday, ISBN   9781101874073, ... the Blackburn Twins were popular dancers who appeared in several first-rate musicals. They were good-looking, able to do tap, a little ballet, and modern dance with great exuberance and real skill.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Lentz III, Harris M. (2018), Lentz's Performing Arts Obituaries (2018), 25, McFarland, ISBN   9781476636559
  3. 1 2 3 Batesville, Inc. "Obituary for Ramon Blackburn Perez at Rubin Memorial Chapel". www.rubinmemorial.com. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  4. 1 2 "Royce Perez Blackburn; of Blackburn Twins Song and Dance Act". Los Angeles Times. 1994-04-25. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
  5. ↑ Gehman, Betsy Holland (1965), Twins: Twice the Trouble, Twice the Fun, Lippincott, p. 92, Known as The Blackburn Twins , these young fellows appeared in a number of M.G.M. ...
  6. ↑ Hyatt, Wesley (2017). "Bob Hope on TV: Thanks for the Video Memories". BearManor Media.
  7. ↑ "Royce Perez Blackburn; Musical Performer, 69". The New York Times. April 21, 1994. Retrieved 2021-07-30.
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