{{Short description|American actress and dancer (1894–1974)}} thumb|Tot Qualters modeling a fur-trimmed swimsuit, from a 1921 publication. '''Tot Qualters''' (March 28, 1894 – March 27, 1974) was an American actress, dancer, and singer in musical theatre.
==Early life== Marguerite (or Margaret) Qualters was born in 1894, in Detroit, the daughter of Jack Qualters and Anna Qualters.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1908-11-29 |title=Qualters-Curro Scandal (1908) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/detroit-free-press-qualters-curro-scanda/12663350/ |access-date=2026-05-02 |work=Detroit Free Press |pages=24}}</ref> She and her four sisters went into stage careers after their father died.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=1922-11-05 |title=Tot Qualters and Her Own Style Of Dancing |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-tot-qualters-and-her-ow/196712739/ |access-date=2026-05-02 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=54}}</ref> Tot's sister Cassie Qualters joined the Ziegfeld Follies with her. Their brother Joe Qualters was a cabaret singer in Detroit.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1916-12-11 |title=Cassie and Tot Qualters (1916) |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/detroit-free-press-cassie-and-tot-qualte/12658679/ |access-date=2026-05-02 |work=Detroit Free Press |pages=11}}</ref>
==Career== Tot Qualters was on stage in Detroit from her early teens.<ref>[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/12662805/tot_qualters_new_lafayette_theater_in/ "The Lafayette"] ''Detroit Free Press'' (June 7, 1908): 46. via Newspapers.com{{open access}}</ref> 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) as Nora Marks<ref>{{Cite book |last=Norton |first=Richard C. |url=http://archive.org/details/chronologyofamer0000nort |title=A chronology of American musical theater |date=2002 |publisher=Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-19-508888-5}}</ref>, ''Ziegfeld Follies of 1916'', ''Miss 1917'', ''Midnight Rounders'' (1920), ''The Passing Show of 1921'', ''Make It Snappy'' (1922, leading with Eddie Cantor)<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bloom |first=Ken |url=http://archive.org/details/broadwayitshisto0000bloo |title=Broadway : its history, people, and places : an encyclopedia |date=2004 |publisher=Routledge |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-415-93704-7 |location=New York}}</ref> and ''Whoopee!'' (1928, also with Eddie Cantor).<ref name="Obit">{{Cite news |date=1974-03-28 |title=TOT QUALTERS DIES; STAGE ACTRESS, 79 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/03/28/archives/tot-qualters-dies-stage-actress-79.html |access-date=2026-05-02 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> For her performance in ''The Passing Show of 1921'', she was noted as a "decorative jazz demonstrator."<ref>{{Cite book |last=Slide |first=Anthony |url=http://archive.org/details/selectedtheatrec02anth |title=Selected theatre criticism |date=1985 |publisher=Metuchen, N.J. : Scarecrow Press |others=Internet Archive |isbn=978-0-8108-1811-8}}</ref> While performing in ''Make It Snappy'', she gave Eddie Cantor the nickname "Banjo Eyes." This nickname stuck, and later became the title of a 1941 Broadway musical in which Cantor starred.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1974-03-28 |title=Obituary for TOT QUALTERS |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-evening-sun-obituary-for-tot-qualter/196713006/ |access-date=2026-05-02 |work=The Evening Sun |pages=6}}</ref> She also appeared in the film ''Reaching for the Moon'' (1930), with Douglas Fairbanks Sr. and Bebe Daniels.<ref name="Obit" />
"Tot Qualters sports a figure as cute as her name," observed ''The Dial'''s theatre reviewer in 1921.<ref>S. T. [https://books.google.com/books?id=1YNHAQAAMAAJ&dq=Tot+Qualters&pg=PA604 "The Theatre"] ''The Dial'' (May 1921): 604.</ref> The ''Boston Daily Globe'' described her specialty as "loose-jointed eccentric dancing" in 1922.<ref name=":0" />
==Personal life== In 1929, Qualters was in a legal dispute with real estate dealer Arthur Ettlinger over ownership of a dog.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=June 12, 1929 |title=Ettlinger's Dog Case Finally Costs Him $25 |url=https://archive.org/details/variety95-1929-06/mode/2up?q=%22tot+qualters%22 |journal=Variety |issue=June 1929 |pages=50 |via=Internet Archive}}</ref> Walter Winchell mentioned seeing Tot Qualters in 1968, as a fixture at Max's Stage Deli.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1968-06-25 |title=Walter Winchell mentions Tot Qualters in 1968 |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-terre-haute-tribune-walter-winchell/12663848/ |access-date=2026-05-02 |work=The Terre Haute Tribune |pages=4}}</ref> Tot Qualters died in 1974, the day before her 80th birthday, in New York City.<ref name="Obit" /> Her niece, Michael Pollock, also went into the performing arts.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1958-06-22 |title=She Has Smiled |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-star-ledger-she-has-smiled/196714078/ |access-date=2026-05-02 |work=The Star-Ledger |pages=62}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/tot-qualters-56720 Tot Qualters' listing at IBDB.]
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Qualters, Tot}} Category:American actresses Category:American female dancers Category:1894 births Category:1974 deaths Category:20th-century American dancers Category:20th-century American women