Since asking about Pauline's birth and death dates, a number of people
have contacted me, in particular an MMD contributor who is a member of
Ancestry.com. He sent a copy of a printout about one Samuel A. Alpert
whose daughter Pauline E. Alpert is cited as being born in 1906. As
Mike Walter wrote, this date is also given by the IMdb website, who
describe Pauline as an actress.
This date fits in with the description of Pauline by Aeolian, in
which she is described as "The Young Lady Who Sounds Like Two Pianos."
The 'young lady' would have been around 21 when she recorded for the
Duo-Art, where a 1900 birth date (per AMICA) would make her 27, not so
young in those days.
The Eastman School website has her birth year as 1912, making her 15
when she recorded for the Duo-Art. Seems unlikely. Incidentally, the
MMD contributor also pointed out that the June Rogers mentioned on the
Eastman School website is Frank Milne's daughter. Apparently Pauline
and the Milne family were great friends. It was Frank who hired her
in the first place, it seems.
Why I am so fussed over a date? Because, to a researcher like myself,
they are important in the time lines of the events associated with
piano roll companies. Certainly there are many instances of birth
dates being variable, such as with Leo Ornstein. Misinformation about
birth dates is predictable, particularly when one Internet site copies
the text from another. So, one has to go beyond the Internet, and my
sincere thanks to those who emailed me, and those who posted their
views on the wonderful MMD.
Peter Phillips
Sydney, Australia
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