William A Dillon
Person ID
8972
About
White Male born in 1877 died in 1966
Census Records
| Year | Name | Relation to Head | Address | Age | Race | POB | Marriage | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | Dillon, William | Son | 45 Pendleton St | 30 | White | New York | Single | Comedian |
Relatives in 1910 US Census
| Name | Relation to Head | Address | Age | Race | POB | Marriage | Occupation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dillon, Mike | Head | 45 Pendleton St | 63 | White | Ireland | 1st Marriage | Grocer |
| Dillon, Mary A | Wife | 45 Pendleton St | 60 | White | Ireland | 1st Marriage | None |
| Dillon, Harry | Son | 45 Pendleton St | 40 | White | New York | 1st Marriage | None |
| Dillon, Nellie | Daughter | 45 Pendleton St | 38 | White | New York | Single | None |
| Dillon, Stephen | Son | 45 Pendleton St | 36 | White | New York | Single | Theater Manager |
Media (Photos, Videos, Audio Recordings)
William "Bill" Dillon in his zipper suit. c.1906
Add Source/NarrativeSources & Narratives
William A. (Bill) Dillon,. Songwriter, Ithacan Dies
William A. Dillon, whose fame as a song-writer and vaudevillian was world-wide, and who was a very successful businessman and financier in Ithaca, died Thursday in a nursing home at the age of 88.
Mr. Dillon, who continued to entertain area groups long after retirement-right up until about three years ago- was long a campaigner for ASCAP, the America Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, of which he was a charter member.
Although he was best known for the lyrics he wrote to "I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad" in 1911, his theatrical talents were broader than that.
The song-and-dance man of early vaudeville began his stage career in an old-time medicine show in the 1890s. He pounded the piano, drove stakes and practiced hypnotism in the interests of Dr. Hick's Snake Oil Cure and the Genuine Katonka Remedy.
He progressed through a minstrel show to form his own repertory company and soon was playing everything from Hamlet to Archibald Carlyle in "East Lynne."
Then he was singing and soon was on Broadway singing such songs of his own composition as "I'd Rather Have a Girlie Than an Automobile."
***
He wrote songs taht were performed for the first time by such show notables as Al Jolson, Blanche Ring, and Harry Lauder. For Lauder, Mr. Dillon wrote "The End of the Road," which the Scottish ballad singer made into "the Scottish national anthem."
Quick changes of costumes, and their accompanying problems prompted Mr. Dillon in 1906 to have a tailor design for him what he believes was the first men's garment in which a zipper was used- a one-piece suit into which he could change in a hurry.
He traveled throughout the United State and to Europe with the Keith, Orpheum and Paramount circuits. He was known on both sides of the Atlantic as the "Man of a Thousand Songs."
At the height of his career he was the victim of two automobile accidents that destroyed his singing voice and forced him into retirement.
He went into the theater business Upstate, and ultimately into the finance business. He founded the Ithaca Personal Loan Co. (now Inter-Lakes Finance Co., run by his son, William Jr.) in 1933.
***
After his retirement he continued writing songs. Among those that sold more than a million copies are "I Want a Girl," "My Little Girl," "All Alone," "I'll Wed the Girl I left Behind," "Do What Your Mother Did," and "That Girl of Mine."
He also entertained for the armed forces, for ASCAP, and made many personal appearances at leading resorts int he county.
He was the author of a book, "Life Doubles in Brass," and in 1941 won a songwriting contest sponsored by the Women's Division of the Committee to Defend America, when his "Me and My Uncle Sam" was judged the best of 1,675 entries.
In The Ithaca Journal of Feb 17, 1915, was a story, "The firm of Burns and Carey announced that William Dillon of Cortland, backed by local capital, has purchased the Bates property on East State St. just east of Aurora St. and will erect a modern theater there." This, of course, turned out to be the Strand theater.
He and his wife, Georgia, who was the "girl" in "I Want a Girl," and who died in 1961, raised eight foster children in addition to their own.
Mr. Dillon, who lived at 217 Berkshire Rd., died at Oak Hill Manor Nursing Home. He had lived in Ithaca since 1915.
In addition to his charter membership in ASCAP, he was a member of Savage Club, Rotary, the Song Writers' Guild, the New York State and National Consumer Finance Assns. and the American Guild of Authors and Composers. He was a leader in the former Snowshoe Club.
He founded Ithaca Movie theaters and was vice president and treasurer of ILF at the time of his death.
In addition to his son, William Jr. of Ithaca, he is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Beverly Murdock of Pittsburgh, Pa.; two brothers, Augustus I. and Arthur Dillon, both of Daytona Beach, Fla., and eight grandchildren.
Services will be at 8:15a.m. Monday at the Herson Funeral Home, with a Requiem High Mass at 9 a.m. at the Immaculate Conception Church. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Cortland.
Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
William A. Dillon, whose fame as a song-writer and vaudevillian was world-wide, and who was a very successful businessman and financier in Ithaca, died Thursday in a nursing home at the age of 88.
Mr. Dillon, who continued to entertain area groups long after retirement-right up until about three years ago- was long a campaigner for ASCAP, the America Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, of which he was a charter member.
Although he was best known for the lyrics he wrote to "I Want a Girl Just Like the Girl That Married Dear Old Dad" in 1911, his theatrical talents were broader than that.
The song-and-dance man of early vaudeville began his stage career in an old-time medicine show in the 1890s. He pounded the piano, drove stakes and practiced hypnotism in the interests of Dr. Hick's Snake Oil Cure and the Genuine Katonka Remedy.
He progressed through a minstrel show to form his own repertory company and soon was playing everything from Hamlet to Archibald Carlyle in "East Lynne."
Then he was singing and soon was on Broadway singing such songs of his own composition as "I'd Rather Have a Girlie Than an Automobile."
***
He wrote songs taht were performed for the first time by such show notables as Al Jolson, Blanche Ring, and Harry Lauder. For Lauder, Mr. Dillon wrote "The End of the Road," which the Scottish ballad singer made into "the Scottish national anthem."
Quick changes of costumes, and their accompanying problems prompted Mr. Dillon in 1906 to have a tailor design for him what he believes was the first men's garment in which a zipper was used- a one-piece suit into which he could change in a hurry.
He traveled throughout the United State and to Europe with the Keith, Orpheum and Paramount circuits. He was known on both sides of the Atlantic as the "Man of a Thousand Songs."
At the height of his career he was the victim of two automobile accidents that destroyed his singing voice and forced him into retirement.
He went into the theater business Upstate, and ultimately into the finance business. He founded the Ithaca Personal Loan Co. (now Inter-Lakes Finance Co., run by his son, William Jr.) in 1933.
***
After his retirement he continued writing songs. Among those that sold more than a million copies are "I Want a Girl," "My Little Girl," "All Alone," "I'll Wed the Girl I left Behind," "Do What Your Mother Did," and "That Girl of Mine."
He also entertained for the armed forces, for ASCAP, and made many personal appearances at leading resorts int he county.
He was the author of a book, "Life Doubles in Brass," and in 1941 won a songwriting contest sponsored by the Women's Division of the Committee to Defend America, when his "Me and My Uncle Sam" was judged the best of 1,675 entries.
In The Ithaca Journal of Feb 17, 1915, was a story, "The firm of Burns and Carey announced that William Dillon of Cortland, backed by local capital, has purchased the Bates property on East State St. just east of Aurora St. and will erect a modern theater there." This, of course, turned out to be the Strand theater.
He and his wife, Georgia, who was the "girl" in "I Want a Girl," and who died in 1961, raised eight foster children in addition to their own.
Mr. Dillon, who lived at 217 Berkshire Rd., died at Oak Hill Manor Nursing Home. He had lived in Ithaca since 1915.
In addition to his charter membership in ASCAP, he was a member of Savage Club, Rotary, the Song Writers' Guild, the New York State and National Consumer Finance Assns. and the American Guild of Authors and Composers. He was a leader in the former Snowshoe Club.
He founded Ithaca Movie theaters and was vice president and treasurer of ILF at the time of his death.
In addition to his son, William Jr. of Ithaca, he is survived by a daughter, Mrs. Beverly Murdock of Pittsburgh, Pa.; two brothers, Augustus I. and Arthur Dillon, both of Daytona Beach, Fla., and eight grandchildren.
Services will be at 8:15a.m. Monday at the Herson Funeral Home, with a Requiem High Mass at 9 a.m. at the Immaculate Conception Church. Burial will be in St. Mary's Cemetery, Cortland.
Friends may call from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday and 2 to 4 and 7 to 9 p.m. Sunday at the funeral home.
Obituary in the "Dillon" family file at CCHS. Newspaper source unknown.
January 1966
Learn more about William A. Dillon after his move to Ithaca from the Tompkins County HistoryForge.
Burial in St. Mary's Cemetery, Cortland.