THE people

Violet Sidney

BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION

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AT THE TIME OF the fire

AGE:

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Theatre Contractor

ORGANIZATIONAL AFFILIATION:

Bluebeard Company

ORGANIZATIONAL ROLE:

Performer

other information

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"Lolla Quinlan, one of Bluebeard's eight dancers, saved the life of one of her companions, Violet Sidney, at the peril of her own. The two girls, with five others, were in a dressing room on the fifth floor when the alarm was raised. In their haste Miss Sidney caught her foot and sank to the floor with a cry of pain. She had sprained her ankle. The others, with the exception of Miss Quinlan, fled down the stairs.

"Grasping her companion around the waist Miss Quinlan dragged her down the stairs to the stage and crossed the boards during a rain of fiery brands. These two were the last to leave the stage. Miss Quinlan's right arm and hand were painfully burned and her face was scorched. Miss Sidney's face was slightly burned. Both were taken to the Continental hotel." (McCurdy, page 81)

CITATION:

McCurdy, D. B. (1904). Lest We Forget: Chicago's Awful Theater Horror. Chicago: Memorial Publishing Company

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