Eddie Foy and the Seven Little Foys

Eddie Foy and the Seven Little Foys. , Born Edwin Fitzgerald to Irish immigrant parents in New York City, Eddie Foy was an actor, comedian, dancer and vaudevillian. At age six, Eddie began performing in the streets and local saloons to support his family. At 15, he changed his name to Foy and began dancing in bars and traveling throughout the West where he gained his first professional recognition in mining camps and cow towns., Foy played the variety circuits for years in a series of song and dance acts, eventually rising to musical comedy stardom on Broadway. He specialized in eccentric routines and costumes, often appearing in drag. Eddie talked out of the side of his mouth, which added attitude to his casually tossed-off one-liners. He also noticed that he got laughs when he spit as he talked, so he also cultivated that Foy-ble., In 1910 he formed Eddie Foy and the Seven Little Foys, a family vaudeville act that quickly turned into a national sensation act that quickly turned into a national sensation. After the act ended, the children pursued separate show business careers: Eddie Foy, Jr. became an actor who played his father in several films including, Yankee Doodle Dandy. Bryan became a film director, composed show music and wrote for Buster Keaton. Richard and Irving worked in the movie theatre business and Charley and Mary operated a comedy supper club. The family's story was filmed in 1955 as The Seven Little Foys with Bob Hope as Eddie Foy. The family performed many benefits for New Rochelle causes at Lowe's and RKO theaters on Main Street., In 1903, Eddie Foy bought a house in New Rochelle near the corner of Weyman Avenue and Pelham Road that he named "The Foyer." Next to the land where the house once stood is Eddie Foy Park that was donated to the City of New Rochelle by the Foy family. All of Eddie Foy's children except Bryan are buried with their father at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in New Rochelle.