17. Despite the relative brevity of their career, this dance team revolutionized ballroom dancing in the early 20th century. Who were they?
From Quiz Come Dance with Me
Answer:
Vernon and Irene Castle
Vernon and Irene Castle were celebrity darlings in the first two decades of the twentieth century. Vernon, who was born Vernon Blyth in Norwich, England, in 1887, emigrated to the US in 1906 and joined his sister and brother-in-law in the theatre. He was a dancing comedian in Lew Field's review.
Irene (1893-1969) and Vernon met at the New Rochelle Rowing Club in 1910. Irene, who had theatrical ambitions of her own, was the daughter of a prominent physician and her parents did not approve of either her ambitions or of Vernon. Despite her parents' opposition, the couple married in 1911 and set sail for Paris to appear in a short-lived show there as dancers. The show might have flopped, but Vernon and Irene were a hit and were offered a contract by the celebrated Café de Paris. They became instant stars and the rage of Paris.
On their return to the US in 1912 Vernon and Irene went about cementing their celebrity status. They starred on Broadway in hit show after hit show, they opened a chain of ballroom dancing schools and a nightclub, endorsed any number of products, including the Victrola gramophone, and became fashion icons. In the latter category, Irene led the way to shorter skirts for women (her clothes were copied everywhere) and bobbed hair (the Irene Castle Bob encouraged women all over the world to cut off their long tresses for the freedom of shorter hair).
The couple introduced the Tango to worldwide audiences, and also introduced their own signature dance the "Castle Walk", the" Turkey Trot" and the oddly-named "Grizzly Bear". Moreover, they made 'close dancing' respectable, and dancing cheek-to-cheek was no longer considered scandalous!
When the Great War broke out in 1914, Vernon and Irene took part in benefits for the European war effort, and Vernon eventually returned to England to join the Royal Flying Corps. After flying several missions over France and scoring two 'downs' of enemy planes, he was awarded the French Croix de Guerre. A wound put paid to his stint as a combat pilot and he was transferred to Canada as a flying instructor. When the US entered the war in 1917, he was sent to Texas to train American pilots. He was killed in a crash during a training flight on February 15, 1918.
In 1939 RKO Pictures made 'The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle', starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Irene acted as consultant for the project and it is one of the few film biographies that is relatively faithful to the events it depicts. However, when Walter Brennan was cast as the Foote family servant, Walter, who became general factotum in the Castle household when Irene and Vernon married, Irene was most upset. She pointed out most emphatically that Walter was black! Hollywood at that time was not nearly as advanced in its understanding of equality as Vernon and Irene had been. The Castles were the first to appoint a black musical director for their shows, with an orchestra made up of musicians from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, and their agent/manager was openly lesbian in an era when gays were ostracized by society.
With regard to the other choices: Fred and Adele didn't make their Broadway debut until 1917, Fred and Ginger didn't dance together until 1933, and Marge and Gower Champion weren't even born when Vernon Castle was killed.