Family History #1:Teens, 1920s. Vaudeville. Joseph And Roxy LaRocca. Peoria. Virginia & Josephine Young. SLC. The Great Depression. Oakland.

Roxy LaRocca, known as “the Wizard of the Harp,” was a celebrated vaudeville performer and the great uncle of Diana Cotterell. Originating from a musically inclined family, Joseph Ned LaRocca was Roxy’s younger brother, and both toured the vaudeville circuits. Their father, Salvatore, was also a harpist. The LaRocca family faced challenges during the transition from vaudeville to emerging mass-media forms like radio, ultimately leading Roxy to retirement and local political involvement in Peoria.