Alice Eis

Gertrude Alice Eis, born November 9, 1889, in Dayton, Ohio, was an American dancer whose career spanned Broadway, vaudeville, international stages, and silent film. The daughter of George Eis and Alice Eis, she grew up after her father left the family when she was three years old. She died on December 21, 1956, in Queens, New York, at the age of 67.

Eis made her Broadway debut in 1905 and appeared in three musicals during a period that extended through 1908. Her Broadway credits were Wonderland (1905), Fascinating Flora (1907), and Nearly a Hero (1908).

Beyond Broadway, Eis built a substantial career in vaudeville alongside her partner Bert French. The duo became known for performances that drew both audiences and controversy, with their act described by the New York Dramatic Mirror as a libel against the name of art for its suggestive content. Eis performed in costumes that critics and publications repeatedly characterized as revealing, with a Los Angeles outlet noting in 1914 that she wore as few clothes as the police would permit. A 1913 Variety review of her number "The Dance of Fortune" noted a startling display of bare legs and a costume that was largely transparent. French and Eis took their act to London in 1910 and performed at the Folies Bergère in Paris in 1911 and 1912.

In response to criticism of their costuming, the pair developed "The Lure of the North" in 1915, a dance set in the Arctic. That same year they also performed "Dance of the Temptress," a sea-themed piece described as spectacular and partly pantomimic. In 1916, French and Eis headlined a Halloween-themed program of dance and pantomime at the Columbia Theatre.

In 1913, Eis and French appeared together in the silent film The Vampire, performing their stage number known as "The Vampire Dance." Her portrayal of a female vampire in that film preceded Theda Bara's in A Fool There Was, released in 1915.

French eventually left performing to work as a manager and producer. Eis continued dancing, partnering with Joe Niemeyer in 1918. By 1919 she was working with James Templeton, billed as formerly of French and Eis, performing a five-part dance act. A San Francisco reviewer that year noted that Templeton's unison of motion with Eis was accomplished with such skill that the shadow illusion was startling.

In her personal life, Eis married Bert French in 1917, the same year she hosted a dog show and garden party at her home in Annadale. The couple had three children: Richard, Elaine, and Barbara. French died in 1924. Eis subsequently married Jean de Sevelinges, a French-born businessman, in 1925.