She Could Have Been Another Shirley Temple

Photos: Bonnie Simon is seen acting on stage and in newspapers. (Courtesy of Joe Scianna)

Bonnie Simon could have wound up being America’s sweetheart. When she was five years old she was well known in Joliet as a young star of the stage and was ready to board a train to Hollywood. But she never made that trip and what could have been will never be known.

Growing up, 52-year-old Island Lake resident Joe Scianna heard stories from his mother about her appearances on the stage. But that’s all they were: stories and a few photos here and there.

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Simon passed away Dec. 16, 1996 and while she had shared stories of her childhood, it’s a period of her life about which Scianna wants to know more.

Knowing the power of Facebook and social media, Scianna is hoping there’s someone out there who may have more photos, or perhaps even film, of his mother as a child entertainer.

“I thought why not give it a try,” Scianna said.

Simon was featured on the cover of a 1928 Joliet publication called The Spectator. On it, Simon is dressed as a newsie and a headline claims Simon may become a movie star. The article refers to her as a “popular five-year-old dancer and radio entertainer” who grabbed the attention of Clara Kimball Young, a Chicago-born actress who made her name in silent films and at one time was considered to be the most popular film star in America, according to an article from Stanford University.

“She is already well known in Joliet and has appeared in numerous entertainments here featuring clog, toe and Russian dances,” the article said about Simon.

According to Scianna, Simon had performed once at a jail and brought an inmate to tears. Scianna believes she could have been been another Shirley Temple.

But the trip to Hollywood never came to fruition and any dreams Simon may have had about becoming a star of the screen were put aside.

Simon grew up in Joliet, but when her family moved to North Dakota in the 1930s, they lost many items.

“A lot of the home furnishings and some of the memories were lost along the way,” Scianna said.

Scianna is one of six children and he’s gotten as much information as he can from his family. He has memories of his mom and he said they were close, but her history as an entertainer remains elusive.

“I have the greatest hope that there might be something of that nature available,” Scianna said.

Since Scianna has just started his search, he hasn’t exhausted every avenue of research just yet, but he’s hoping that somebody might have some sort of material that sheds further light on his mom’s days as an entertainer.

“I hope that some long-time resident who may have some historical interest in the area may know something about it,” Scianna said.

1928 and the surrounding years is certainly a long time ago, but if something were to pop up showing his mother on stage, it wouldn’t be the first time someone dusted off an oldie. A 102-year-old woman was recently shown footage of her dancing on stage from back in the ’30s and more silent films are being discovered because of people looking through their attic or closet.

Joliet Area Historical Museum Collections and Exhibits Manager Heather Bigeck said the museum doesn’t have any footage dating back to 1928, but they do have a large collection of photographs and publications.

“We have people call all the time with research requests,” Bigeck said. “Sometimes we do have the information, sometimes we don’t.”

While the museum will have information on important historical people, finding information on family members will depend on what’s been donated.

“When it comes to people’s personal stories, this is what I tell every donor that comes through, it’s great that they brought us this material,” Bigeck said. “I’m going to try to put together some sort of Bonnie Simon folder because we should know about her. That’s a great piece of history that should be made public because who knows if her great-great-grandchildren will come through here looking for her.”

If you have any information you’d like to share with Scianna, email him at jpscianna@gmail.com.