Harriet Hoctor

Harriet Hoctor (September 25, 1905 – June 9, 1977) was a ballerina and actress. She was one of four children, the others being Martin Francis ("Frank"), John, and Eloise. Harriet Hoctor never married.

Early training Hoctor's maternal aunt, Annie Kearney, was a social secretary to a wealthy woman in Hoosick Falls who took an interest in young Harriet. At the age of twelve she was sent to New York City and placed under the tutelage of Russian ballet master Louis Harvy Chalif of the Normal School of Dancing.

Stage By the time she was sixteen, Hoctor was touring in vaudeville on the same bill as the Duncan Sisters. She was asked to join their act and became a key player in their Topsy and Eva show presented on Broadway. Hoctor appeared in a doll ballet and was informed that Florenz Ziegfeld was offering her a trial part in his production of The Three Musketeers (1928). By 1929, she was given the first opportunity to dance during a ballet staging of George Gershwin's An American in Paris.

Teaching In the early 1940s, Hoctor taught ballet three days a week in a school that she opened in Boston.

Legacy The summer she died, playwright Frank Wirmusky cast This Is Your Life, Hoosick Falls. The play transformed one hundred and fifty years of the town's history into an hour-long theatrical performance. Actors depicted twelve Hoosick Falls men and women from the past who made important contributions in various endeavors. One of those portrayed was Hoctor. Actress Kelly Thompson donned beads prior to appearing on stage as Hoctor, looking like a 1920s era flapper.

Filmography Year Title Role Notes1936 The Great Ziegfeld Herself - Dancer Year Title Role Notes1937 Shall We Dance Herself - Dancer