SkateHistory.Ca

The Ice Follies

Once they had spent some time with the tour they became more comfortable with the show and started to relax and enjoy the events and some of the pranks that went along with it.

In San Francisco during their synchronized pair number, Sheldon remembers hearing a bottle making a bung, bung, bung noise as at it fell down the steps from the balcony making its way to the ice surface. A member of the audience had put his foot on the ice to warn them that the bottle had shattered all over the ice. Sheldon told Murray to continue with their number while he cleared the broken Ice Follies glass from the ice. Having cleared it away he rejoined Murray to finish the number and he got a tremendous hand. In show business you learn to adjust to anything.

Life on the road was not all glamorous and pranks were a part of back stage life. Sheldon recalls:"There was one particular member of the boys' chorus who loved to put short wooden matches in the side of the other skaters shoes and when the guy was wearing his shoes he would divert their attention and light the matches giving them 'hotfoot'. One night in Philly we got some long screws and drilled through the soles of his shoes permanently attaching them to the floor. Everyone went home in their shoes except the prankster who had to go home in his skates. That put a stop to that."

Also the choreographers had designed a very elaborate number for Nora McCarthy as an Indian Princess. The chorus boys would place about 8 totem poles around the ice surface before the performance to set the tone for her entrance. The boys would beat tom toms and on her entrance she would signify the exit of the chorus by drawing her bow and aiming at the chorus. During one performance the boys would grabbed their rear ends and left yelling in mock pain.

At the opening of the 1943 season, at the Pan Pacific Auditorium, there was a cast party held by the two brothers that owned the auditorium, with lots of celebrities in attendance. In fact, a guest at the party, Ronald Reagan a young actor, along with Jeanne Schulte a Follies cast member and her former roommate Nora McCarthy, a Canadian Ladies Champion spent some time comparing notes on new contact lenses that had just come out. Reagan was a diver at the time, specializing in the 3-metre board, and explained that it was the first time he had been able to see the water and didn't The Galbraith's wedding picture have to rely solely on timing and instinct after purchasing his first contact lenses. After that discussion Jeanne was persuaded to purchase contacts of her own.

In the mean time Jeanne Schulte had caught Sheldon's eye. Jeanne had been a national Junior pairs champion with partner Ollie Haupt. On turning professional, she taught for a season in Michigan, did a stint in a Chicago hotel show, performed in the World's Fair held in New York, prior to joining the Ice Follies.

Sheldon's touring years with the Ice Follies lasted until March 1943. Jeanne retired at the end of August of that year and they were married on the 24th September 1943.