Picture Enfield - Then And Now ... And Then Some

ENFIELD, CT — Today's look back at Enfield history, which we first published in 2020, takes us down many roads, from Thompsonville to Broadway to Hollywood. This picture on display in the Old Town Hall Museum shows a number of businesses on Pearl Street in the late 1950s or early 1960s, including Hydack Hardware and the subject of today's feature, Crichton's Lingerie, Cards & Gifts.

Crichton's was owned and operated by Mary Crichton, who lived just down the street on Burns Ave. with her husband Fred and son Donald. Enfield land records indicate a trade name certificate for the business was obtained on Sept. 21, 1949, and several longtime residents told us they believe the shop was open until the late 1960s or early 1970s.

The building which housed Crichton's store no longer exists. Here is a more contemporary look at the property.

Donald Crichton wound up becoming one of the top success stories in Enfield lore. He graduated from Enfield High School in 1952, earning the accolades "Best Dressed Boy" and "Best Boy Dancer." The latter designation proved prophetic, as he taught dance classes in his hometown for several years before embarking on a career that saw him perform on Broadway, and ultimately on the highest-rated television variety program of its time.

"Donald was only a teenager when he started teaching," said longtime Enfield resident Karen (Thibodeau) McGuire, who took dancing lessons from him in the early 1950s. "I think every little girl who took lessons had a crush on him. He was a wonderful dancer. At one of our dance recitals, he did a couple of solos that brought the house down. He designed all our dance recital outfits. I'm quite sure his mom helped with the designs. I remember shopping with my mom and sister at Crichton's, especially at Christmas. I still have some of the pictures of our dance recitals. I lost some during the flood in 1955."

Crichton made his way to Broadway in 1953, performing with such stars as Rita Moreno and Carol Channing. He landed a television role on Garry Moore's variety show, where he met an up-and-coming young comedienne named Carol Burnett. Eventually, he ended up in Hollywood, the show-biz capital of the world, and as part of the Ernie Flatt Dancers, he became the lead dancer on Burnett's popular long-running variety series.

Vicki Lawrence, who won an Emmy Award during her tenure with the Burnett show and later parlayed a popular skit from the program into the "Mama's Family" series, said she has wonderful memories of Crichton from all the years they worked together.

"I'm not surprised he was named best dancer," she said in a 2020 phone interview with Patch. "The first time I met Don was our first day at a big rehearsal hall. Carol and I were talking and in walks this gorgeous, handsome man in tap shoes, and he comes clicking across the floor up to Carol, who squealed with delight over seeing him again. He was super nice, very supportive, like a lovely teacher. I was such a young kid and got thrown into these dance numbers with these amazing dancers. He was the lead dancer so I usually danced with him, and he was so kind, helpful, generous and always smiling."

Lawrence recalled meeting her idol, Fred Astaire, at a Golden Globes party early in her career. Crichton attended the ceremony with her.

"I didn't even have a boyfriend then, so Don went with me," she said. "We saw Fred and I said, 'oh my God Don, it's my biggest crush in the whole world, I love him so much.' I asked Don if he would go over with me to say hi, and he said sure, let's go. I would not have had the guts to do it if Don hadn't been there."

During the run of the Burnett show, Crichton appeared on several other programs, including "The Bob Hope Show" and three episodes of "Here's Lucy." Following the end of the series, he choreographed episodes of many TV series, including "Alice," "The Tim Conway Show," "Three's Company," "Silver Spoons," "The Colbys" and "Mama's Family," reuniting him with Lawrence.

In 1991, he was a judge at the 40th annual Miss USA Pageant, and he did an hour-long interview in 2007 for the American Masters series on pbs.org. He was nominated for Emmy Awards on two occasions.

Crichton will be 90 years old on Sept. 3, and is believed to be living in Florida. Efforts to reach him via phone and email were unsuccessful.

Lawrence emailed Patch this photo of her with him from their days together on the Burnett show.