Editing Mervyn LeRoy (section)

=== LeRoy and Cooper: "Two Kids and a Piano": 1916–1919 ===

Now a show-business professional, LeRoy left his newsboy job. Pairing with the 16-year-old actor-pianist Clyde Cooper, they formed a vaudeville routine "LeRoy and Cooper: Two Kids and a Piano." The duo struggled to find engagements, and LeRoy recalled "we would have played toilets if they had offered us some money." Soon they were discovered by the premier vaudeville circuits – [[Pantages]], Gus Sun and [[Orpheum Circuit|Orpheum]] – and provided with regular bookings on national tours.<ref>Canham, 1976 p. 134: The act with Cooper billed as "LeRoy and Cooper, Two Kids and a Piano."<br />LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 p. The duo performed "for more than three years [1916 to 1919]</ref> LeRoy relished the lifestyle of a vaudevillian, occasionally appearing in shows that featured iconic performers of the era, among them [[Sarah Bernhardt]], [[Harry Houdini]] and [[Jack Benny]]. After three years, and now "a fairly well-established act" in theater listings, the duo amicably disbanded after an unexpected death in Cooper's family.<ref>LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 p. 28: "At the time my ambition was a modest one. I wasn't looking beyond vaudeville." And pp.31-32 And p. 33: "...exciting existence for a teenager. Every day was an adventure, every night an experience." And pp. 34-35 and p. 37: "Crisscrossing the country, we got to play with most of the vaudeville acts of that era." And p. 39 on the end of the LeRoy/Cooper collaboration. And p. 40 "...well-established act..."</ref>

LeRoy joined George Choos's mostly female troupe in musical comedies, and [[Gus Edwards (vaudeville)|Gus Edwards]] act billed "The Nine Country Kids" in 1922. LeRoy's enthusiasm for the stage gradually waned and he left the troupe in 1923.<ref>LeRoy and Kleiner, 1974 pp. 40-42: "...&nbsp;I quit [vaudeville] in 1922 or 1923...[after lingering] around the vaudeville scene...[with Choos and Edwards]...[after I quit their troupes] I was broke...scrounging to keep body and soul together...I'd hang around with the other out-of-work performers."</ref>