Franz Benteler owned a 1701 Stradivarius, and he played for five U.S. presidents — but Aggie DeBartolo made him forget all about his violin. “Benteler said, ‘Oh, my gosh, I’ve got a chance to dance with Aggie’ — and he flings this instrument over to my father at the Daley Plaza. He takes off dancing with my mother,” said her son Bill.

Mrs. DeBartolo and her husband Tom were two of Chicago’s finest ballroom dancers. They performed at the Chicago Theatre, the old Edgewater Beach Hotel and glamorous country clubs and ballrooms including the Aragon on the North Side, the Melody Mill in North Riverside and the Willowbrook in Willow Springs. They also taught dance on cruise ships, at night schools and under the Picasso at Daley Plaza.