imaginative "history". Their controllers kept all the money the sisters earned. In 1926, Bob Hope formed an act called the Dancemedians with the sisters, who had a tap-dancing routine. When Mary died in Birmingham, Alabama, the girls were bequeathed to Mary's daughter Edith Meyers, and Edith's husband Meyer Meyers, a former balloon salesman. The couple took over management of the twins. Held mostly captive, the girls were beaten if they did not do as the Meyerses wished. They kept the twins from public view for a while and trained them in jazz music. Violet was a skilled saxophonist and Daisy a violinist. They lived in a mansion in San Antonio, Texas. In 1931, the sisters sued their managers and were legally emancipated, gaining freedom from their contract and awarded US$100,000 in damages (equivalent to $ in ). They went into vaudeville as "The Hilton Sisters' Revue". Daisy dyed her hair blonde and they began to wear different outfits so as to be distinguishable from Violet. After vaudeville lost popularity, the sisters performed at burlesque venues. Shortly after gaining independence from the Meyerses, the Hiltons sailed to the UK on the Berengaria in December 1932. They spent most of 1933 in the UK and returned to the US in October 1933. Violet began a relationship with musician Maurice Lambert, and they applied in 21 states for a marriage license, but it was always refused. In 1932, the twins appeared in the film Freaks. Afterwards their popularity faded, and they struggled to make a living in show business. Later life In 1936 Violet married gay actor James Moore as a publicity stunt. The marriage lasted ten years on paper, but it was eventually annulled. At the time of the wedding, Daisy was visibly pregnant. Her child was given up for adoption. In 1941 Daisy married Harold Estep, better known as dancer Buddy Sawyer, who was also gay. The marriage lasted ten days. In 1952 they starred in a second film, Chained for Life, an exploitation film loosely based on their lives. Afterwards, they undertook personal appearances at double bill screenings of their two films. The Hiltons' last public appearance was at a drive-in in 1961 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Their tour manager abandoned them there and, with no means of transportation or income, they were forced to take a job in a nearby grocery store, where they worked for the rest of