Vaudeville team Evan E. Evans (1889-1962) and Helen Hartz (1894-1974) of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania were married in 1910. They continued touring the vaudeville circuits through the birth of their first child Maryetta Evans (1912-? ), but with the arrival of their second child, Lester Evans (1919-1989) the family returned to Pittsburgh. While Maryetta and Lester pursued an education at the Pittsburgh Art Institute and the University of Pittsburgh respectively, Evan and Helen conducted a dance studio. After a year of college, the Evans family returned to the stage as the "Four Evans: Two Generations of Dance." They were scouted by the USO in 1942 and became the only complete family in the war zone. From 1942-1953 the Four Evans completed USO tours of Europe, Africa, Japan, Korea, Greenland, and the United States. The Four Evans were at Bastogne when the Battle of the Bulge took place (1942) and survived a plane crash in the sea of Japan (1953). Honored by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the American Legion, and the Special Service of the U.S. Army, the Evans were also invited to provide command performances for the Lord Mayor of London, England (1944) and the Premier of Canada (1947). Their success as USO entertainers was paralleled on the professional stage. From 1946-1960 the Four Evans appeared in every major city in the United States including extended engagements at New York's Paramount Theatre. The Four Evans also appeared on pioneering television programs, including an appearance in 1949 on WDTV, Pittsburgh's first television show, and a guest appearance on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in 1974. By 1960, the Four Evans had returned home to Pittsburgh and opened a second dance studio in Homestead. Lester and Maryetta were invited to join the faculty at Point Park College and C.A.P.A. High School. In the 1980s Lester and Maryetta toured again under the auspices of the "Four Evans" taking the place of their parents while a younger generation of Evans took their own. Maryetta's hand-written family history supplied much of the detail for this biographical note.
From the description of Papers of the Four Evans, 1908-1989. (University of Pittsburgh). WorldCat record id: 65288325
