Toy(1917-2019)
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Dorothy Takahashi was born in San Francisco to Japanese immigrants, and
moved to Los Angeles as a child where her parents owned and operated a
"Chinese" restaurant. She received her first formal dancing lessons in
return for free meals at her parents' restaurant. She and her sister
Helen met dancer Paul Wing in 1934 and they formed a group called "The
Three Mahjongs--Kicking the Gong Around". Soon after, Helen decided to
concentrate on her singing, and Paul and Dorothy went to Chicago where
they formed the dance duo "Toy and Wing" and went on the vaudeville
circuit, where they were a success, playing all over the United States
and at the Palladium in London. During World War II, the group split,
with Wing going into the Army and Toy, whose family had been interned
in a reclamation camp in Utah, performing on the East Coast with her
sister Helen as the "Toy Sisters". After the war's end, Toy and Wing
got back together and performed in various venues in both the United
States and Europe. In later years, Dorothy Toy continued dancing and
opened her own dance school in Oakland, California. She also was the
founder of the first Asian-American female dance troupe.
