Mabel Berra

Mabel Berra (October 1, 1886 – December 28, 1928) was an American vaudeville performer and comic singer who worked on tour and on Broadway in the early twentieth century. Born in Crestline, Ohio, she was raised in Toledo, the daughter of John Berra and Sarah "Sadie" Stiner. She became widely known by the nickname "Venus of Vaudeville."

Berra began her performing career in Toledo in 1902 at the age of sixteen, and her vaudeville act gained popularity while she was still a teenager. She went on to appear and tour throughout North America. At the peak of her career, she earned $850 a week performing on the Keith vaudeville circuit. She also toured Europe twice, and a third European engagement — which would have had her performing operatic roles in Vienna — was cancelled due to the outbreak of World War I, after which she continued touring the vaudeville circuits.

Her Broadway work included an appearance in The Enchantress in 1911. She also took on the role of Lulu Von Linden, the leading lady in the Viennese operetta Eternal Waltz, which opened on October 31, 1912, in Milwaukee before going on tour. It was during this production that she met Charles Allen, whom she later married.

Berra died on December 28, 1928, at the age of 42. On that afternoon, she was walking her dog on Park Avenue in New York City when the dog ran into the street; while attempting to retrieve the animal, she was struck by a car. She is buried at Vermillion Cemetery in Hayesville, Ohio, alongside her mother and sister, Dolly, their graves marked with a marble colonnade.