Dolly Sisters

Early lives and careers

The sisters, Rózsika (later known as Rose or Rosie) and Janka (later known as Yancsi or Jenny) Deutsch, were born on October 24, 1892, in Balassagyarmat, Hungary. Their parents, Julius and Margaret Deutsch, emigrated to the United States in 1905. As children, the sisters trained as dancers and began earning money in beer halls as early as 1907. Barred for being under age by the New York City stage, they toured the Orpheum Circuit until 1909 when they debuted on the Keith Vaudeville Circuit. The following year, they appeared in the stage production of The Echo. In 1911, Florenz Ziegfeld, Jr. signed them to appear in his Ziegfeld Follies for two seasons. Their act was a hit with audiences who enjoyed their glamorous personas.

In 1913, the Dolly Sisters decided to try to forge separate careers. Rosie appeared in The Whirl of the World on stage while Jenny teamed up with dancer Harry Fox (whom she married in 1912) in Honeymoon Express. Jenny and Fox also toured the vaudeville circuit as a dance duo. Both sisters made their film debuts in 1915: Jenny in The Call of the Dance and Rose in Lily and the Rose. The sisters re-teamed in 1916 to appear in Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic and returned to the vaudeville where they commanded $2,000 a week. In 1918, they appeared in their only film together, the semi-autobiographical The Million Dollar Dollies.

After World War I ended, the Dolly Sisters moved to France where they bought a chateau. They toured the theaters and dance halls of Europe and were courted by numerous wealthy men and royalty including Carol II of Romania, Christian X of Denmark and Alfonso XIII of Spain. On several occasions, the sisters would team up with male dance partners and sell tickets to the performances on the same night in order to create rivalry that would boost ticket sales. As their success continued throughout the early 1920s, they were able to command high salaries. During one engagement at the Moulin Rouge in Paris, the sisters were paid $1,200 a night.

While in Europe, the sisters became well known for gambling excursions at casinos and horse tracks which were usually financed by wealthy admirers. They won $850,000 in one season at Deauville. Of the two, Jenny Dolly became legendary for her winnings. She won 4 million francs one evening in Cannes, which she converted to a collection of jewelry; she then went on to win another $11 million. On other occasions, she won $100,000 at the horse track, $500,000 at baccarat and $200,000 at roulette. With her winnings, Jenny Dolly indulged in her passion – buying expensive jewelry. Jenny's collection of jewelry, which she acquired through her winnings and from numerous suitors, also became legendary. While Jenny was gambling in Cannes one evening, Thelma Furness, Viscountess Furness saw her and remarked, "I have never seen so many jewels on any one person in my life. Her bracelets reached almost to her elbows. The necklace she wore must have cost a king's ransom, and the ring on her right hand was the size of an ice cube."

By early 1927, the Dolly Sisters' popularity began to decline. Their highly publicized Paris show A vol d'oiseau, closed after eight weeks. The sisters spent more time gambling than performing and eventually retired by 1929.

Personal lives

The Dolly Sisters' private lives were as melodramatic as their public life was stellar. Rose Dolly was married three times while Jenny Dolly was married twice and had a string of highly publicized affairs with wealthy men. Their reputation for dating wealthy men earned them the nickname "The Million Dollar Dollies".

In 1913, Rosie married songwriter Jean Schwartz. They divorced in 1921. Her second marriage was to Mortimer Davis, Jr., who she married in 1927. Davis was the son of Mortimer Davis, the president of the Imperial Tobacco Company of Canada Limited. The senior Davis disapproved of the marriage and cut Davis, Jr. off. Rosie and Davis divorced in 1931. Rosie's final marriage was to merchant Irving Netcher in 1932. They remained married until Netcher's death in 1943.

Jenny's first marriage was to her dancing partner Harry Fox in 1912. They too divorced in 1921. In 1925, the sisters met retail magnate Harry Gordon Selfridge while they were performing in London. Jenny began an affair with Selfridge (Rosie also reportedly had an affair with him). Selfridge lavished Jenny with expensive gifts and funded both sisters' gambling habit. The Dolly Sisters reportedly gambled approximately $4 million of Selfridge's money away. While she was still involved with Selfridge, Jenny Dolly began seeing French pilot Max Constant. In 1933, Selfridge offered Jenny $10 million to marry him.

Accident

Before she gave Selfridge an answer, she decided to go on one last holiday with Constant. While the two were returning to Paris, Constant crashed the sports car in which they were traveling near Bordeaux. Jenny sustained serious injuries (her stomach had been displaced into her lung chamber) that required dozens of operations and plastic surgeries to reconstruct her face. To pay her medical expenses, Jenny sold off a portion of her jewelry collection. After the majority of Jenny's financial earnings were wiped out, Selfridge paid for Jenny's medical treatments although the two were never married.

Later years and deaths

After the car accident, Jenny Dolly developed depression. Her depression furthered when she was forced to sell the remainder of her jewelry at auction in 1936. After living abroad for nine years, Jenny returned to the United States after her sister invited her to live with her and her husband Irving Netcher in Chicago. It was there that Jenny met Bernard Vinissky, a wealthy lawyer. They were married on June 29, 1935. Vinissky later adopted the two Hungarian war orphans, Klári (1924-2013) and Manczi (1925-1985), that Jenny adopted in 1929. The marriage did little to alleviate Jenny's depression and the couple separated. Jenny took an apartment in Hollywood with her two daughters. On June 1, 1941, she hanged herself from a curtain rod in her apartment.

In the years following their retirement and her sister's death, Rosie Dolly retreated from public life. She spent her remaining years doing charitable work for children in her native Hungary. She attempted suicide in 1962. On February 1, 1970, Rosie Dolly died of a heart attack in New York City at the age of 77. Both sisters are interred in the Great Mausoleum at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.