Tot Qualters

Tot Qualters (March 28, 1894 – March 27, 1974) was an American actress, dancer, and singer in musical theatre.

Tot Qualters modeling a fur-trimmed swimsuit, from a 1921 publication.

Early life

Marguerite (or Margaret) Qualters was born in 1894, in Detroit, the daughter of Jack Qualters and Anna Qualters.^[1] She and her four sisters went into stage careers after their father died.^[2] Tot's sister Cassie Qualters joined the Ziegfeld Follies with her. Their brother Joe Qualters was a cabaret singer in Detroit.^[3]

Career

Tot Qualters was on stage in Detroit from her early teens.^[4] Qualters' New York debut came in 1912, in Ziegfeld's A Winsome Widow at the Moulin Rouge Theater. Other stage appearances included Chin Chin (1914), Stop! Look! Listen! (1915-1916), Ziegfeld Follies of 1916, Miss 1917, Midnight Rounders (1920), The Passing Show of 1921, Make It Snappy (1922, with Eddie Cantor) and Whoopee! (1928, also with Eddie Cantor).^[5] "Tot Qualters sports a figure as cute as her name," observed The Dial's theatre reviewer in 1921.^[6] The Boston Daily Globe described her specialty as "loose-jointed eccentric dancing" in 1922.^[2]

She also appeared in the film Reaching for the Moon (1930), with Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Bebe Daniels.^[5]

Personal life

Walter Winchell mentioned seeing Tot Qualters in 1968, as a fixture at Max's Stage Deli.^[7] Tot Qualters died in 1974, the day before her 80th birthday, in New York City.^[5]