Kim Loo Sisters

The book tells the story of the four sisters’ lives and careers from early childhood in Minnesota during the Roaring Twenties, to appearing in vaudeville theaters across the country during the Great Depression, to performing on the Broadway stage, the Hollywood silver screen and overseas during the Second World War.

During the Second World War (1939–1945), they appeared on the Broadway stage and the Hollywood screen with actors including Frank Sinatra, Ann Miller, The Three Stooges, Jackie Gleason, and Louis Jordan.

Combining singing, dancing and acrobatics, Louie’s Chinese Revue traveled with the vaudeville circuits west of their new base, Chicago: Orpheum, Pantages, Fox and Paramount.

[6] The sisters started out as a jazz vocal quartet in all-Chinese revues with other Chinese and Chinese-American entertainers, including Toy and Wing and Joe Wong.

The hit of the show was the “Mexiconga.” The four sisters each played a bongo drum and pounded out a different rhythm for Ann Miller’s call-and-response tap dance number.

Alice, Maggie and Bubbles returned to Broadway where they shared top billing with crooner Frank Sinatra in the all-star revue, Cavalcade of America.

They appeared with Jackie Gleason in “Hellzapoppin” at the Shubert Theatre, and with Peter Lind Hayes and Mary Healy in “Hollywood Sweater Girl Revue” at the Edison Hotel.

[11] With the outbreak of the Second World War, the sisters entertained American servicemen in United Service Organization (USO) camp shows across the country.

[12] The Kim Loo Sisters made the transition from stage to screen with the Hollywood feature film “Meet Miss Bobby Socks” (1944).

[14] In 1944, the Kimmies signed on with the USO and shipped out with the fleet to entertain American and Allied troops stationed in the Mediterranean theatre of operations headquartered in Naples, Italy.