The Helen Morgan Page

One hundred years ago today, Helen Morgan made her cabaret debut, at Chicago’s Villa Venice.

First caveat: Helen began working the cabarets in 1919, as a toe-dancer, but the Villa Venice was the first time she appeared as the leading vocalist.

Second caveat: Due to a delay in the renovation of the former House That Jack Built into the Villa Venice, owner Albert Bouche placed Helen, and much of his floorshow, into his Loop cabaret, the Moulin Rouge, as a placeholder, on June 4.

Seventeen months after her brief stint as a beauty queen, Helen still appeared as Miss Mount Royal.

Morgan scored a hit at the Villa Venice. She played the club for three months. Her beauty queen days were coming to an end.

As for the Moulin Rouge, it was a good thing for Helen that the Villa opened when it did. On June 16, while replacement acts were rehearsing, Bouche’s rivals rolled a bomb into the foyer of the Moulin Rouge. Two men, standing in the lobby at the time of the blast, were seriously injured.

This site serves as a companion to Helen Morgan: The Original Torch Singer and Ziegfeld’s Last Star. Ask your local independent bookseller to stock it today!