Sylvia Froos, 89; Child Star in Radio and Vaudeville

Sylvia Froos, 89, a child star of radio and vaudeville who appeared with Shirley Temple in the film “Stand Up and Cheer,” died March 28 in her native New York City of a stroke.

First billed as Baby Sylvia and later as the Little Princess of Song, Froos began her career at 7 when her mother signed her up for Kid’s Cabaret, a children’s vaudeville troupe. Too young to appear in their first booking in Baltimore, however, she began singing solo at New York’s Palace Theater. Soon she found herself in vaudeville shows at theaters around the country, including the Orpheum on Los Angeles’ Broadway.

The little girl, who sometimes ran afoul of child labor laws, appeared on the same bill as entertainers who would later gain great fame: the Marx Brothers, Jack Benny, Buddy Rogers, Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. She was tapped for her own radio show by NBC’s New York affiliate and, as vaudeville waned performed into the 1930s in London and Dublin.

Froos, who considered making movies “boring” compared to vaudeville, was already a veteran when she appeared in the 1934 movie with Temple. In 1927, some months before Al Jolson brought sound to feature length motion pictures with “The Jazz Singer,” Froos starred in a “talkie” short intended to be played in theaters between features, replacing live vaudeville performers.