Two pieces of information must be reconciled.

Rayno tells us that Tommy Gott toured Europe with Gaby Deslys.
Gott tells us that he was in France 1918-1920 with the AEF,

I wonder if enlisted men would not see action but, as musicians, would
entertain troops.

Additional relevant information.

- According to IMDB Gaby Deslys was a spy for the French governement
during WWI.
- Gaby Deslys died in Feb 1920 after 8 or 9 throat operations.

Did Tommy Gott come back to the US in 1920? The figure 1920 in his
passport application is written over what appears to be 1919 and then
1920 written above again. Tommy's first recording sesssion was in Jan
or Fe 1920 with a group led by Vincent Lopez.

I'll try to get a copy of "Gaby Deslys, A Fatal Attraction" by James
Gardiner.

Albert
Gaby Deslys was very beautiful. Take a look at 14 of her photos.
http://www.fanpix.net/gallery/gaby-deslys-pictures.htm
She appeared on Broadway in several shows between 1911 and 1917. Al
Jolson and Mae West were in the cast of one of her shows,



--- In RedHotJazz@yahoogroups.com, "Albert Haim" <alberthaim@...> wrote:
>
> I got (no pun intended) good information about Tommy Gott.
>
> Tommy Gott's given names were Arlan Thomas, not Thomas Arlan. But by
> the 1940s he was Thomas Arlan. The evidence.
>
> 1. World War I Registration Card. June 5, 1917.
> Arlan Thomas Gott, born March 2, 1895 in Waveland, IN. Resides in
> Kentland, IN. Railroad telephone operator for New York Central Railway
> Co in Schneider IN.
>
> 2. 1900 US Census, Walnut, Montgomery, IN. Arlan [misspelled as Dolan]
> Gott, age 6 [this is in error; he was 5], resides in New Ross Town,
> Montgomery, IN with father Stephen, mother Kate, sister Audra and
> brothers Neil and Frederick.
>
> 3. Application for passport, Feb 27, 1923. Arlan Tomas Gott. Born Mar
> 2, 1895 in Waveland IN, occupation musician, living at 9 West 97th St,
> New York, New York. Indicater\s that he will go to England on March 3,
> 1923 on the SS President Harding, theatrical business for Paul Whiteman.
>
> 4. New York Passenger lists. SS Leviathan, sailing from Cherbourg Aug
> 7, 1923, arriving in New York Aug 13, 1923. Sailing with Arlan Gott
> were wife Anna, Paul and Mildred Whiteman, and J. Ross Gorman and wife
> and child.
>
> The World War II reeistration card gives the name Thomas Arlan Gott.
>
> An interesting piece of information. In his application for a
> passport, Tommy Gott states that he was in France from 1918 to 1920 in
> the A.E.F, which stands for American Expeditionary Force, the United
> States military force sent to Europe in World War I.
>
> If scans of the documents are needed, I'll be happy to provide.
>
> Albert
>