Vernon and Irene Castle

Vernon and Irene Castle

Vernon and Irene Castle

Vernon and Irene Castle, c. 1912
Credit:	Benjamin Johnston

Overview

Vernon and Irene Castle were a husband-and-wife Ballroom dancing team, rising to fame in the early 1910s. The Castles are credited with spreading the popularity of American Ballroom dances to Europe, including the Foxtrot, One-Step, Tango, Turkey Trot, and others.

Background

Vernon Castle

Born: May 2, 1887, Norwich, England
Died: February 15, 1918, Fort Benbrook, Texas

Vernon Castle was born Vernon William Blythe in 1887. He moved to New York with his sister and her husband, both actors, and soon joined show business himself, despite his training as an civil engineer, and adopted the last name of Castle. Between 1906 and 1911, Vernon appeared in vaudeville, specializing as a "gentleman drunk," elegantly falling and stumbling about the stage.

Irene Castle

Born: April 17, 1893, New Rochelle, New York
Died: January 29, 1969, Eureka Springs, Arkansas

Irene Castle was born Irene Foote in 1893, the granddaughter of the press agent for the Barnum and Bailey Circus. She studied dance as a child, and appeared in amateur theatricals as a teenager.

The Castles

Vernon and Irene met in the summer of 1910, and were married one year later. Together they appeared in several shows together, into which they would occasionally insert choreographed dance numbers. It was these dances that gained the Castles public attention, and they were soon invited to dance at private parties across Europe. These performances in turn attracted the Castles a manager in 1913, Elizabeth Marbury, who got them starring roles in a number of broadway performances. The Castles also starred in several motion pictures, including a 1914 feature film titled "The Whirl of Life," which was loosely based on their own rise to fame. As their popularity grew, Irene became a fashion icon, initiating the vogue of short skirts and bobbed hair. She became a highly-demanded model, with her image being leased to products ranging from cars to cigarettes.

Through their performances, the Castles helped to introduce ragtime and jazz to Europe and to make accompanying styles of dancing acceptable in both America and Europe. The Castles were also known for their progressive beliefs. Their manager was openly lesbian, they traveled with a black orchestra, and were considered to be the first white entertainers to hire African-American musicians. They also served as animal-rights advocates.

With the start of World War I, Vernon felt compelled to fight for his country. After two farewell performances at the Hippodrome in New York with Irene, he left for England and enlisted in the Royal Air Force. Vernon was awarded for bravery in his role as an aerial photographer before returning to America as a flight instructor. Then, on February 15, 1918, Vernon's plane crashed during a training exercise near Fort Worth, Texas, killing him. Another pilot and a cadet, also onboard the craft, survived the crash.