Ben Bergor was born Benjamin Franklin Goldenberger in Madison, Wisconsin, on November 5, 1893. A lifelong entertainer, he performed on the vaudeville stage first as Bennie Golden Berger and legally changed his name to Ben Bergor in the 1940s.
The Goldenberger family was among the early settlers of Madison. Benedict Goldenberger (1829-1901), a Swiss immigrant, came to Madison in 1858. He built a house at 801 University Avenue where he operated a cooperage and cider mill. He and his wife Elizabeth had nine children. One son, Benedict “Dick” Goldenberger, was born in 1855 while the Goldenbergers lived in Massachusetts. The younger Goldenberger attended the University of Wisconsin and graduated in 1877. In 1880 he married Elizabeth Fyfe in Fountain City, Wisconsin, where both were teachers. They had a son, Ivanhoe, but were later divorced. In 1888 Dick married Estelle Moessner, the daughter of another longtime Madison family, and settled in Madison where Goldenberger worked for the railroad.
Benedict and Stella Goldenberger had two children: Olive (later Olivia), born in 1889, and Benjamin, born in 1893. After his father's death, Ben Goldenberger dropped out of high school and entered show business. Then during World War I he served with the 53rd Infantry in France. After the war, Ben resumed his show business career, traveling on the vaudeville circuit with a base in Chicago under the stage name Bennie Golden Berger. In this act Bergor sang, danced, performed ventriloquism, and did rapid cartooning, eventually developing a repertoire of over 20 different acts. However, Bergor was best known as a skilled and humorous magician, and his sleight of hand routine was billed as the fastest in the business. In 1930 Bergor was the first magician to appear on television, the film of which was subsequently shown in motion picture theaters.
In 1930 Bergor married Alvina Topel of Lake Mills, Wisconsin. The responsibilities of family life, together with the decline of vaudeville led Bergor to settle in Madison. Thereafter, he performed in motion picture theatres, high school assemblies, conventions, and clubs. During the early years of their marriage Alvina Bergor assisted with the magic performances. She also performed a solo mind reading act billed as Madame Alva. The highlight of the Bergors' magic act was an escape in which the straight-jacketed couple exchanged places. This trick was so baffling that in 1940, 1941, and 1942 Bergor won the trophy awarded by the Houdini Club of Wisconsin. After his third triumph, Bergor was given permanent possession of the award.
During the 1930s Bergor began a slow transition from performer to theatrical agent which culminated in the establishment of Madison Theatrical Enterprises in 1940. He was also a producer of sports shows and a popular local master of ceremonies. Bergor continued to book entertainment, although to a progressively limited degree, until his death. During the 1950s he resumed songwriting, but his success was limited. He was more successful during that period as a writer of humorous quips that were published in the Madison newspapers in a column known as “Ben Bergor Says” and in numerous national magazines.
In addition to leadership in the Wisconsin Houdini Club, Bergor belonged to the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Society of American Magicians. In Madison he was actively involved in many civic and fraternal groups (including the Masons, the Loyal Order of Moose, and the Elks) and patriotic organizations (including the American Legion, Veterans of World War I, and Veterans of Foreign Wars). He died on November 30, 1981, and was survived by his wife and two daughters, Elvora “Ellie” Bergor Jacobi and Monona Bergor Rossol.
Olivia Goldenberger, the sister of Ben Bergor was born in Madison in 1889. She graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1909 with the intention of becoming a teacher of English and German. After she taught for one year at Montfort High School she learned about auditions being held by the recently-formed Chicago Grand Opera Company. She tried out and was hired as a member of the chorus and as a translator for the many non-English speaking members of the company. At this time she adopted the professional name Olivia Monona which became her legal name in 1935. Miss Monona was a comprimaria, the female second lead singer, and she eventually mastered a repertoire of over 200 operas. She traveled extensively with the company in Europe and the United States. She was also active in labor issues involving the Chicago Opera, and the women in the Chicago chorus elected her to the position of “delegate,” in effect their bargaining unit steward. She represented the chorus with the company management, arbitrated labor problems, and had oversight with regard to enforcement of union rules. In 1915 she married Clarence J. Johnson, an engineer. In 1919 she married Oscar Hanke, the first violinist with the Chicago Opera Company. After 18 years with the Chicago Opera she joined the Metropolitan Opera Company in order to spend more time with Hanke. She was associated with the Met until 1945. After retiring, Olivia Monona toured with Jeannette MacDonald and then settled in Little Rock, Arkansas, where she became active in civic organizations and worked as a stock broker. Because of failing health she returned to Madison during the early 1970s, where she died on May 14, 1976.
