"It might have been thought a fairly simple matter to trace the origins of a dance which was not born until 1914, but the Foxtrot, in common with so many of its predecessors, defies this kind of simple detective work. Possibly the most convincing story of its origin is that a comedian named Harry Fox, who worked in the Ziegfield Follies, introduced in 1913 a number of trotting steps accompanied by rag-time music into his act, and that this strange kind of movement became known as Fox's Trot."
Harry Fox was primarily a comedian, who was a passable singer, who could dance a little. In 1913 he appeared in the hit Broadway musical "Honeymoon Express," which ran from 6 Feb - 15 Jun 1913. At the conclusion of the show's run, he partnered with one of the famous Dolly Sisters for a run in the vaudeville circuit - where he always felt most at home. He and Yancsi Dolly joked, sang and danced across the Orpheum Circuit between LA and New York over the 10 months from June 1913 - April 1914. Back in the Big Apple, both were employed for a month-long run at the prestigeous New York Theatre. Harry was thrown into the Picture House on the ground floor to enliven the movie-goers between flicks. Yansci was employed in the Roof Garden dance hall. In May 1914, Harry obtained a divorce in the NY Supreme Court from his first wife Lydia, and immediately announced his engagement to Yancsi Dolly, whome he wed on August 26th of that year.
Harry Fox never appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1913, nor 1914. Nor did he introduce trotting steps to his act. During his lifetime, Harry never once claimed to have invented the Fox Trot, which is pretty amazing considering the number of people who did claim credit for originating this enduring dance!
Harry never claimed it, because he didn't invent it. He did, however, inspire it. What Harry likely performed what was a dance number stolen by his wife from a fellow dance act she was billed with at the time. This number was in turn modified by a third party into the Fox Trot named after Harry as this person was paid to promote Mr. Fox's performance on the main billing, while entertaining patrons at the after hours theater on the rooftop theater/ dance palace. Took me seven years of research to sort it all out.
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