Hannah Williams

Hannah Williams (July 16, 1911 – January 11, 1973) was an American actress, singer, and comedian and former wife of bandleader Roger Wolfe Kahn and Hall of Fame boxer Jack Dempsey. Life and career Hannah Williams was born in Taylor, Pennsylvania and performed as a young child with her older sister Dorothy as "The Williams Sisters", a singing and dancing vaudeville act. Hannah was aged eight and her sister Dorothy aged ten when they commenced their stage careers. The sisters performed with the Scranton Sirens Orchestra (1923), and achieved early fame on Broadway, New York, when they performed in George White's Scandals of 1924. In Chicago, they performed with the Charley Straight Orchestra in (1925), and with the Ben Pollack Orchestra from 1926 to 1927, and in various Chicago and New York nightclubs and theaters. They were known as the hippest sister act in vaudeville and cabaret. During the 1920s the Williams Sisters recorded with various orchestras including Ben Pollack's band. In Chicago on December 17, 1926, the Williams Sisters recorded the vocals on ‘He's The Last Word’ with Ben Pollack and his Californians starring Benny Goodman. The following day, also in Chicago with Ben Pollack and his Californians, the Williams Sisters recorded ‘Nothing Else Matters Anymore’ and ‘Sam, The Old Accordion Man’ with a piano accompaniment by Wayne Allen. The tracks were released by Victor Records (No. 20452). In 1930, Hannah achieved featured billing, along with Fanny Brice and George Jessel in the Broadway musical revue Sweet and Low in which she sang the hit tune "Cheerful Little Earful", which in later years became the song most associated with her. She quit the show in 1931 to marry Roger Wolfe Kahn.