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Dorothy "Dotty" (Locker) Panansky - Vaudeville acrobat and renowned dance educator ends her remarkable 86 year run.Dorothy "Dotty" Locker, longtime resident of Passaic Park, NJ and owner of Dotty Locker's School of Dance for over 40 years, died peacefully in Los Angeles on Friday, December 19, 2008. She was surrounded by loving family and lived to a vibrant 86 years.Dotty was born in St. Paul Minnesota on October 26, 1922 and was one of seven children of Russian immigrants Harry and Goldie Locker. At age three her family relocated to Passaic, NJ where her father worked as a shoemaker. By four years old, Dotty was already showing promise as a dancer and acrobat. At 14, she started her professional career as a member of the vaudeville acrobatic team "The Abdella Girls". Her career blossomed and over the years she shared the stage with such luminaries as Frank Sinatra, Jimmy Durante, Tommy Dorsey and the Andrews Sisters. She can most recently be seen as an elderly tap dancer in a Sean Lennon music video.While working in vaudeville, she met another acrobatic dancer named Barney Panansky who not only became her partner on stage, but the only love of her life. They married during World War II, only to be separated by Barney being called to service in Germany. Dotty awaited his return and spent her wartime touring military bases and hospitals with the USO.When Barney returned home they formed the comedy/acrobatic team "Morgan and May"- a name suggested by a booking agent that stuck. They're "knockabout" acrobatic dance act was described as "Youth on a Spree."In 1950 they added their first son Gary to the act when he was just five months old. In 1954 Dotty came off the road and opened Dotty Locker's School of Dance - a fixture of the Passaic area for over 40 years. Dotty personally taught thousands of young dancers, many of whom made it to the Broadway stage. In 1994, Dotty retired to California to be with her two sons, Gary and Roger, and her youngest daughter, Robbi. Her daughter Susan continues to run Locker School of Dance in Garfield, NJ today.Dotty is survived by a large and warm extended family including her two brothers, Irving and George Locker of Passaic, and sister Ione "Nonie" Schatzman also of Passaic. Dotty took pride in passing down her show business legacy. Her son Gary Morgan is an actor and stuntman, daughter Robbi Morgan has performed on Broadway and film, son Roger Morgan is a producer of training seminars, granddaughters Bonnie and Molly Morgan are both actresses and Bonnie is an accomplished contortionist as well. Son-in-law Mark L. Walberg is host of PBS' Antiques Roadshow as well as Fox's "Moment of Truth". Daughter-in-law Suzy Morgan is also an accomplished impressionist artist. Granddaughter Goldie Walberg continues in her grandmother's ballet shoes and was accepted to ABT's summer intensive. 17 year old grandson Morgan Walberg is a private pilot and granddaughter Lara Coyle is expecting Dotty's first great grandchild in February. Anyone who knew Dotty knew her greatest joy was her family. Dotty's "family tree" of dance students numbers in the thousands. Students of all ages remember Dotty's favorite phrase - "Keep Dancing" and know she's doing just that somewhere right now.Funeral services will be held at the Jewish Memorial Chapel 841 Allwood Road, Clifton NJ on Tuesday, December 23, 2008 at 1 PM. All who loved Dotty are invited to attend. For information please contact Jewish Memorial Chapel at 973-779-3048. ABOUT THE SCHOOL MISSION STATEMENT "To prepare students to be the future leaders and innovators in performance, dance teaching, choreography and all facets of dance... To strive for excellence, offer diverse learning opportunities and encourage creativity at all levels... To Provide A Vibrant, Exhilarating and Welcoming Atmosphere..." For 53 years Locker School of Dance has been welcoming performers, audiences and amateur participants alike from all walks of life. The young & the old all united by a common passion for dance. The Locker School of Dance cultivates compassionate social action through dance education and performance. Our core values are excellence, access and community building. THE LOCKER STUDIO TRADITION The Locker School of Dance has a long tradition in show business and dance education. Dotty Locker, the founding Directress, began her professional show business career at the young age of fifteen. At that time, she toured in premier theatres across the country with famous stars such as Jimmy Durante, Frank Sinatra, and Sammy Kaye. Dotty met another young performer named Barney Panansky while on tour in Boston. After becoming husband and wife they combined their talents to form the team of Morgan and May. With a growing family, Dotty and Barney decided to settle down in Dotty's home town of Passaic and continued their love of entertainment. Hand in hand they opened the Dotty Locker School of Dance. The Locker School of Dance was established in 1954 and is now celebrating its fiftieth-third anniversary. Fourteen years ago Dotty retired, although active as ever, she moved to California to live closer to her other three children, their spouses, and her grandchildren. She keeps in regular contact with Susan and occasionally comes "east" to visit and continues to participate in our grand recital. Dotty passed the reins of the studio to her daughter Susan at the end of the 1988 season. During that summer, Susan and her husband, Albert, built the studio in Garfield. To continue the tradition, the name of the Studio was changed from "Dotty Locker School of Dance" to "Locker School of Dance." Susan now continues the Locker tradition, more than five decades of enriching the lives of students--preschoolers through grandmas--by teaching them to enjoy and learn the art of dance. Susan, the oldest of Dotty's children, started her dance training at age five with Dotty. As a child and adolescent, Susan appeared in television commercials and worked as a professional model while still advancing her dance training. Susan continued her lessons with Dotty and also training with some of the finest New York coaches--Luigi, Charles Kelly, Don Fonsworth, Madam Gilmore, and others. After graduating from high school, Susan became one of the world famous New York City Rockettes, toured with U.S.O. shows, and appeared with many popular singing groups. She appeared on television in such shows as Kraft Music Hall, the Bob Hope Show, and the Smothers Brothers Show. After meeting Albert, Susan decided to unpack her suitcase and join her mother at the studio to take up her first love, teaching dance. Susan now enjoys being the Directress of her own studio and thrives on the challenges and rewards of running it. She gains great personal satisfaction in teaching her students, tots through seniors, and as producer of this year's grand production. Her real reward comes as she watches her students shine as they perform on the stage each year. Susan's husband, Albert Schielke, is an Associate Dean at Fairleigh Dickinson University. Albert has been the stage manager for our annual productions for the past thirty-three years. In addition to making the props and sets, taping the music, Susan has managed to get Albert on stage. Although he has resisted, Albert is now becoming a ham appearing with Susan and Lara in various character roles during the annual recitals. What you do for love!! Susan and Albert's daughter, Lara, began her show business career at the young age of two. As a child and teen, Lara had numerous television commercials to her credit and has appeared in movies, live industrial and modeling shows, magazine advertisements, and was featured on the soap opera Another World as "Katie McCormick." Lara graduated from Fairleigh Dickinson University where she earned her BS in Business Administration, with a concentration in Hotel-Restaurant - Tourism Management, and her M.B.A. in global business management. Lara is Manager of Retention Services at the Wyndham Hotel Group, and her Mom and Dad are especially proud of her. We welcome Greg, Lara’s husband, to our family, and he is working backstage. We are very happy to have Miss Lara continue as part of our teaching staff this year; she brings a freshness and special enthusiasm to her classes. Susan's brothers and sister are also continuing the show business tradition. Gary, Dotty's oldest son, and his wife Suzy live in Hollywood. Suzy is an accomplished artist showing in some of LA's prestigious galleries. Gary is active as a film stunt coordinator in Hollywood with a long list of credits. Their two daughters, Molly and Bonnie have appeared in several TV shows and a number of commercials. Roger, Susan's youngest brother, also living in California, has appeared in movies, television, and on Broadway. Robyn, Susan's younger sister and her husband, Mark L. Walberg, are both actively involved in show business. They have two children, Morgan and Goldie. Robyn has a long list of professional credits to her name, and Mark is host of many game shows. The Locker Tradition goes on!! story about George Locker Harry |
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