Myrtle Vail

Myrtle Vail (1888-1978)  Originated, wrote, and starred in the Myrt and Marge radio show, during the Golden Age of Radio. Myrtle Vail was a veteran vaudeville performer who performed on the show with her real-life daughter Donna Dameral—the two played Chicago chorus girls. In 1932 NYC Mayor Jimmy Walker presented Myrtle the New York Mirror award for the most popular dramatic show on radio. Myrt and Marge made the song “Poor Butterfly” famous as its theme song. Donna, who lived in Tenafly, died during childbirth in 1941, but the show continued, with a new “Marge,” until 1946.