Rex Faulkner & Lillian Jewell
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Rex Ernest Faulkner Born: May 3, 1882 Indiana Died: December 24, 1947 Los Angeles, CA |
Lillian (Jewell) Faulkner Born: June 2, 1886 England Died: August 9,1964 Los Angeles, CA |
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Son: Rex Lee Faulkner
Brother: Harry H. Faulkner |
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 | With his brother Harry, Rex Faulkner was a founding member of the American Newsboys Quartette. The singers and conversationalists were a top draw on the vaudeville circuit. Among their hits was a rendition of "Think it Over Mary" by Thomas J. Gray (the "Bard of Broadway") and "Somebody's Waiting for You". The act performed at Muskegon's Lake Michigan Park Theater in July of 1908. |
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Rex Faulkner and his bride Lillian
Jewel moved to Muskegon around 1909 and resided in the Actors'
Colony at 1796 Edgewater. The Indianapolis Star in 1913 stated that Lillian was a fourth-generation marionette operator from England. According to the report: "Her great-grandfather won fame and fortune by his enterprise in popularizing this form of entertainment, while her father, the late Jesse Jewell, perfected the improved Manikins of today by using paper mache and wax instead of wood, the material of which the old marionettes were made." |
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| Advertisement from the June 1916 Variety magazine. Note the Muskegon address. | |
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Around 1925, the Faulkners moved to the west
coast, allowing them to remained active in show business. Touring
under the name, Faulkner's Manikins, a 1926 review by the Lima (OH)
News of their act, "Play Ball" noted: "With strings attached to little wooden figures, Miss Faulkner keeps her audience in an uproar with the manikins. They do everything from the Charleston to playing baseball. A very clever act." Rex later worked as an insurance agent. |
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