J. Barrett Maus
Toronto Daily Star, June 30 1931
A search for J. Barrett Maus turned up nothing, partially because there is a contemporary musician named John Maus who was born in 1980.
So I went looking for J. Barrett Maus in the Toronto city directories. I found out that he might have been leading a double life - or, more accurately, that he had a day job. The 1932 directory lists a "Barre H Maus" as a musician living at 512 Jarvis, and the 1933 directory lists him under his correct name as a vocal instructor at the same address. But the 1932 directory also lists a John B. Maus at that address and working as a sales manager at W. K. Buckley Limited, and the 1933 directory lists him as the general manager at General Health Remedies Limited. It's possible that two separate people named J. Barrett Maus and John B. Maus were living together at the same address, but I'm going to make the reasonable assumption that they were the same person.
Going forward, I found J. Barrett Maus in the 1935 directory at apartment 10 of 91 Wellesley, working as a vocal instructor. His presumed alter ego, John B. Maus, was at the same address with no listed occupation. The 1936 directory doesn't have a listing for either one of them, so I assume that he or they pulled up stakes and went looking elsewhere for work.
Going backwards, I found a listing for a John B. Maus at least as far back as 1925. But the 1931 address and occupation for this man were different from those of John B. Maus in 1932, so I have no idea whether they are different people. I like to think that, at about the time of this photograph, Mr. Maus decided to follow his passion. It's not always possible to do this, and it was especially difficult to do this in the depths of the Great Depression. But at least he got to sing on the radio.
Created September 2, 2025.