Lucita Covera

Lucita Covera
A young woman with light skin and dark hair parted center, standing, wearing a white dress with a translucent shawl; one hand is on her hip, and one hand is touching her hair or neck
Lucita Covera, from a 1924 publication
Born
Lucetta Reynolds

December 8, 1895
California, U.S.
DiedJuly 1979
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Other namesLucita Corvera, Lucita Corbera, Lucita Hall, Lucita Ward
OccupationDancer

Lucita Covera (December 8, 1895 – July 1979), born Lucetta Reynolds, sometimes seen as Lucita Corvera Hall or Lucita Ward, was an American dancer in Broadway shows and other revues. She was described as the "Most Perfect Girl" in publicity.[1]

Early life

Though she was billed as a "Famous Spanish Dancing Star", and said to be from Barcelona,[2] or Madrid,[3] or Mexico,[4] or Argentina,[5] Lucetta Reynolds was the daughter of Mrs. F. A. Goble of Crescent Mills, California.[6] She danced at local events in childhood.[7][8]

Career

Covera started her stage career in San Francisco.[9] In her early years, she had a hula act, a nautch act, and played a Zuni character in 1921.[10][11][12] Her stage credits as a dancer include appearances in Let's Go (1921), Sun-Kist (1921),[13] Vogues of 1924, Artists and Models (1924),[14][15] The Merry World (1926),[16] and A Night in Paris (1926).[17] "She is graceful and agile and has a pleasing personality," commented one reporter in 1922.[18]

Covera's costumes were commented upon in print, her physique described as "the most perfect form",[1][19] and she was said to have "the largest collection of jewels possessed by any actress on the stage today", including a set of "hair pendants" she wore for different dances.[4] She endorsed a footcare product in newspaper advertisements in 1925.[20] In 1929, she worked with Josephine Baker during her tour of South America.[5]

In her later years, as Lucita Ward, she was an artist in New Orleans, selling her paintings to tourists in Jackson Square.[21]

Personal life

Lucetta Reynolds was married in 1914, to Clarence Stewart Hall.[6] The Halls had a son, Howard Woodrow Hall,[22] born in 1915, and they lived in Plumas County.[23] The couple divorced in 1925.[24] Her second husband was an Englishman named Ward.[25] That marriage ended in 1954.[21] Her son died in 1977, and she was listed among his survivors.[26] She died by suicide in New Orleans in 1979, at age 84.[27]

References

  1. ^ a b "Most Perfect Girl in 'Sun Kist' Show at Grand Thursday". Dubuque Telegraph Herald. January 30, 1922. p. 12. Retrieved August 21, 2022 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  2. ^ "Famous Spanish Dancing Star is with 'Artists and Models'". The Dayton Herald. 1926-01-30. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Stage". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. 1925-10-04. p. 53. Retrieved 2022-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Gillette, Don Carlos (November 15, 1924). "Costumers". Billboard. Vol. 36, no. 46. p. 42 – via internet Archive.
  5. ^ a b "Notas de Argentina". Cine-Mundial: 1036. October 1929 – via Internet Archive.
  6. ^ a b "Crescent Mills Couple Married". Feather River Bulletin. 1914-11-26. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "A Gay Social Event was the Fireman's Mask Ball". Feather River Bulletin. 1910-02-24. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "W. S. Campbell, Indian Agent, Banquet Guest; Retiring Superintendent of Government School Is Honored". Sacramento Daily Union. November 9, 1914. p. 5. Retrieved August 20, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  9. ^ "Soubrettes in Summertime Shows". Chicago Tribune. 1925-06-14. p. 69. Retrieved 2022-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Music at Fairmont and Palace". Pacific Coast Music Review: 10 – via Internet Archive.
  11. ^ "Tait's Downtown (advertisement)". The San Francisco Examiner. 1919-11-10. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "French Tax to Affect U. S. Films". Los Angeles Herald. November 4, 1921. pp. B7. Retrieved August 20, 2022 – via California Digital Newspaper Collection.
  13. ^ "Lucita Covera". Wilmington News-Journal. 1921-09-24. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-08-20 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Actresses Featured in the Latest Broadway Productions" Midweek Pictorial" (December 24, 1924): 28. via Internet Archive
  15. ^ "On Second Sight". Billboard. Vol. 37, no. 3. January 17, 1925. p. 33 – via Internet Archive.
  16. ^ "Broadway Openings". Billboard. Vol. 38. June 12, 1926. p. 8.
  17. ^ "A Night in Paris New Edition in Rehearsal". The New Leader. July 17, 1926. p. 9. Retrieved August 20, 2022 – via Internet Archive.
  18. ^ "Fanchon-Marco Appear at Dayton". Piqua Daily Call. March 3, 1922. p. 4. Retrieved August 20, 2022 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  19. ^ "Lucita Corvera". Racine Journal News. February 1, 1922. p. 22. Retrieved August 20, 2022 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  20. ^ "How a Tiny Corn Kept Famous Dancer from Appearing on Broadway". Hammond Lake County Times. August 11, 1925. p. 4. Retrieved August 20, 2022 – via NewspaperArchive.com.
  21. ^ a b "Bullet ends artist's fears of enduring feeble old age". The Orlando Sentinel. 1979-07-16. p. 8. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ "Local Happenings". Plumas Independent. 1926-04-29. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  23. ^ "Arrest on Charge of Attempted Assault". Feather River Bulletin. 1916-06-01. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ "Divorce Paradise". Variety. 79 (8): 5. July 8, 1925 – via Internet Archive.
  25. ^ Martin, Jenny (1954-11-11). "They All Want to Marry an Englishman". Birmingham Gazette. p. 6. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  26. ^ "Howard W. Hall". The Press-Tribune. 1977-01-17. p. 11. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Newspapers.com.
  27. ^ "Artist Keeps Funeral Appointment". The Town Talk. 1979-07-16. p. 5. Retrieved 2022-08-21 – via Newspapers.com.