Alice Atherton (c. 1854 – February 4, 1899), was a dancer, comedian, actress, and theatrical performer during the late 19th century. Early years Born Alice Atherton Hogan to humble origins in Cincinnati; the daughter of William Hogan (1827–1907) and Sarah Bennett. Her family resided in Cincinnati (1860 census) with her Kentucky born father's profession being listed as a brush maker. Atherton had a gift for impersonation from a young age. Her career began as a child actress, carried on as a baby in "The Sea of Ice", at the Robinson’s Opera House in her home city, Cincinnati. Some obituaries refer to her as having been born in St. Louis; her place of marriage. Career Atherton was discovered by Lydia Thompson, an English dancer, comedian, actress, and theatrical producer, who is recognized for introducing Victorian burlesque to the United States in August 1868, to great acclaim and notoriety. Atherton was enrolled as one of her girls in "Ixion". This was Thompson's first U.S. show and it was a huge success. It included wit, parody, song, dance, spectacle, music, and it has since been said it even empowered women. This launched her career and that of several actresses, including Lisa Weber, and Rose Coghlan. It also drew fierce criticism from those who felt it transgressed the boundaries of propriety at the time. Burlesques, colloquially referred to as leg-shows, started off very tame, clever, and sophisticated, drawing in all types of people, especially women. Unfortunately, “the female audiences for burlesque did not last for long. In the summer of 1869 a wave of ‘anti-burlesque hysteria’ in the New York press frightened away the middle-class audiences that had initially been drawn to Ixion and sent the Thompson troupe prematurely packing on a tour around the United States and Canada. Other shows followed, such as "Sinbad" and Atherton went on to become recognized as one of the best-natured, adventurous performers of the stage during the 1870s–1890s. Atherton’s versatility as a performer became legendary, as a comic singer, a virtuoso whistler, and her "laughing song" became her signature piece. Though a parodist, she also excelled in comic roles that did not require playing a type. Atherton meets Willie Edouin William Frederick Bryer (1846-1908), who went by the stage name of Willie Edouin began a notable association with Lydia Thompson, playing with her burlesque troupe at Wood's Museum, New York, in October and November 1870. In the