Harry Fox

Who was Harry Fox?

Harry Fox, born Arthur Carringford, was a vaudeville dancer and comedian, most famous for giving his name to the Fox Trot dance in New York. His steps were recorded by dance instructor F. L. Clendenen in his 1914 book Dance Mad as "The Fox Trot, as danced by Mr. Fox". Harry Fox made a few recordings of popular songs and appeared in a few silent films, most notably the serial Beatrice Fairfax with Olive Thomas.

In the early sound era he made some talking short films such as "Harry Fox and his American Beauties" and "The Fox and the Bee" but by the 1930s his fame was over and he lived a life of obscurity getting work in films playing bit parts while holding a job as a tester in an aircraft plant. In the 1920s he was briefly married to one of the famous Ziegfeld performers The Dolly Sisters. He was still living in 1945 when the biopic The Dolly Sisters was made. The movie shows the marriage happening during World War I, a subsequent divorce, and a reunion after Jenny Dolly's accident. He was actor Evelyn Brent's third husband.