Femme-Centric

Flawless: Decoding the Fixable Face in K-Beauty and Beyond

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 24 May 2023 14:08:25 GMT

K-Beauty offers a unique perspective through which we can better understand the demands of global beauty cultures.

Growing up, there were only three options for taking care of your skin: Noxema, Clarisol, or Oxy. Those were the products marketed to teenagers in the United States at the time, along with the advice to avoid greasy foods like pizza if you wanted to keep your skin clear. MTV and Seventeen ads reinforced the idea that your skin was a problem that could be fixed with these products. But what if they didn't work? Well, it was probably because you had chosen the wrong one.

After years of struggling with skin issues and countless trips to the dermatologist, some have finally discovered a skincare routine that involves using oil on their face. It might have surprised their younger self, but it brought about astonishing results with fewer zits. However, as soon as the worries about acne subsided, new concerns arose: lines, wrinkles, under-eye circles, sunspots, and freckles. It seemed like there was always something to fix, and that's exactly what companies wanted us to believe. After all, how would the economy thrive if we didn't think some part of us was broken and in need of consumption? Advertisers took advantage of our vulnerabilities, exposing us to insecurities we didn't even know existed.

In her book " Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital of the World ," Elise Hu sheds light on how this fixable face mentality has become ingrained in Korean culture and the economy. It's not exclusive to Korea though; K-Beauty offers a unique perspective through which we can better understand the demands of global beauty cultures.

Elise Hu, a Chinese-Taiwanese-American, embarked on a journey when she arrived in Seoul in 2015 as NPR's first South Korea bureau chief. In "Flawless," she takes us along as she familiarizes herself with the meticulous standards of K-Beauty culture, grapples with her own judgments, and navigates the challenges of parenting within this culture. This book is a delightful mix of personal narrative, cultural history, insightful analysis, and moments of introspection. If you share the same fascination and mixed feelings about beauty culture, particularly the world of serums, "Flawless" is a must-read that will captivate and inspire you.

You can find Elise Hu on Instagram here and you can buy "Flawless: Lessons in Looks and Culture from the K-Beauty Capital" here .

MADEMOISELLE DAZIE (Mlle. Dazie) Photo Gallery

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Tue, 08 Feb 2022 01:32:05 GMT

I enhanced and colorized these incredibly old photos. This might be her best collection on the internet. She was a great gal. Be sure to check out my other pages on her to discover the talent that she was. Button on the bottom of this page.

Watch the slide show. It automatically advances. Hover over to pause. Arrows on sides to go back or advance.

THE WHITE GORILLA (1945)

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 16 Jun 2021 22:10:44 GMT

Lorraine Miller is United with Eugenia Gilbert

Starring Lorraine Miller, Ray Corrigan, and Clyde Beatty.
The film was made by re-editing the 1927 silent film Perils of the Jungle, which is now lost, and adding new footage as a framing plot. This was done without regard to differences in film quality or speed. The entire movie was shot in two days and produced in 6 days. It was made to cash in on the Jungle Queen craze. Eugenia Gilbert is really the Jungle Queen in this film.

The White Gorilla (1945) Publicity Photos

The White Gorilla (1945) Publicity Photo with Ray Corrigan, Francis Ford, Charles King, George J. Lewis and Lorraine Miller. Enhanced and colorized by David the Bruce.

Lorraine Miller (1945) Publicity Photo (Colorized) for The White Gorilla

IRISH McCALLA Photo Gallery Pt 2

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 26 May 2021 18:20:40 GMT

Digitally Enhanced & Colorized Photos from Irish McCalla's Sheena: Queen of the Jungle TV Series in 1955

IRISH McCALLA Photo Gallery Pt 1

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 26 May 2021 17:40:22 GMT

Digitally Enhanced & Colorized Photos from Irish's Modeling Career in the 1950s.

SHEENA: Queen of the Jungle (1955-1956) Swinging with Irish McCalla

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 03 May 2021 16:11:41 GMT

One of the most important early TV shows

Orphaned and raised by wild animals in Africa, Sheena became the queen of the jungle.

Series Directed by

Carl K. Hittleman, Arthur Pierson, Stuart Gilmore, Frank McDonald

Writters:

Will Eisner, Lee Erwin, Ken Field, Lawrence L. Goldman, Frank Gruber, Jerry Iger, Budd Lesser, William Lively, Terence Maples, Joel Murcott, Samuel Newman, Herbert Purdom, Joe Richardson, Warren Wilson, Leroy H. Zehren

Cast:

Irish McCalla ... Sheena

Christian Drake ... Bob Rayburn

Neal the Chimp ... Chim

Virgil Richardson ... Rafik

Lee Weaver ... Lagi

Desciption and Titles:

SHEENA: Queen of the Jungle (1955-1956) with commentary

The program includes commentary. Orphaned and raised by wild animals in Kenya, Africa, Sheena became the queen of the jungle. She championed the local natives, protected animals, and battled evildoers. Sheena was a proto-feminist in leopard skin, being the only genuinely independent woman on television in that era. Sheena broke early 50s stereotypes. It is a series that has grown in popularity and importance over the years.

• Ep 03 Curse of the Voodoo

• Ep 05 The Elephant God

• Ep 06 Eyes of the Idol (1956)

• Ep 08 Forbidden Cargo

• Ep 09 Forbidden Land

• Ep 10 The Ganyika Kid

• Ep 14 The Lash (1956)

• Ep 15 The Leopard Menph

• Ep 16 The Magic Bag

• Ep 19 The Renegades

• Ep 20 The Rival Queen

• Ep 21 The Sacred River

• Ep 22 The Secret of the Temple

• Ep 23 The Test

• Ep 24 Touch of Death

• Ep 25 Jungle Pursuit

JUNGLE SIREN (1942) Back-to-Nature with Ann Corio

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Tue, 12 Jan 2021 19:57:58 GMT

A Tribute to Ann Corio. Movie with Commentary.

A young girl journeys to Africa to find her father, an explorer who vanished in the jungle.

Brief Description:

From the Taglines: America's no. 1 gorgeous girl gets her he-man! She's a one-girl love-blitz! It took this American he-man to teach her the manual of ARMS and what a pupil she made! You can't go wrong when you see Ann in a back-to-nature romance. She meets the Perfect Man, and life begins for both in the African Jungle. She's Gorgeous. Exotic. Breath-Taking! When you see bewitching Ann Corio in a back-to-nature romance with Buster Crabbe, You will get the thrill of your life!

Director: Sam Newfield

Story: George W. Sayre and Milton Raison

Screenplay: George W. Sayre, and Sam Robins

Stars: Ann Corio, Buster Crabbe, Evelyn Wahl

Also, on YouTube: https://youtu.be/XQGwzEyDjqE

Lynda Carter: A LOVE LETTER TO FANDOM FOR WONDER WOMAN DAY

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 20:20:06 GMT

The Amazing Wonder Woman Speaks

The anniversary of Wonder Woman’s comic book debut, October 21, is now known as “Wonder Woman Day.” Just four years ago on Wonder Woman Day, I had the honor of joining fellow wonder women Gal Gadot and Patty Jenkins in celebrating this beloved character as the United Nations Honorary Ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls.

As we approach the 80th Anniversary of Wonder Woman, I am once again reminded how special Wonder Woman is to women everywhere, and feel honored to be part of the fandom community.

Fandom is far more than wearing a costume and taking photos with your favorite actors at Comic Con—though I know that’s part of the fun! Fandom communities can be great agents for social change and important causes. Over the course of my career, I have had the pleasure to see these beloved fans in action. While serving as Grand Marshal at various LGBTQ+ Pride parades, I have met countless fans and kind souls who, like myself, have been empowered by the legacy of Wonder Woman, and in the process of featuring cosplayers on my Instagram, I have been honored to discover that the #realwonderwomen are using this supportive community to spread good around the world, with numerous cosplayers dressing as superheroes to visit children in hospitals and raise funds for critical causes.

To see what young fans are doing with our beloved legacy characters thrills me. These fans are bold, diverse, and strong. They demand better representation in storytelling. Editors and writers of color bring us amazing new characters like Ms. Marvel. And now, there is a new Wonder Woman storyline that reimagines the character as a teenage refugee. Her story reflects one of the most dire crises in the world and will undoubtedly inspire many to take action for positive social and political change.

The work of fan communities is ongoing, dynamic, and extraordinary, and I am thrilled to be a part of it. I recently partnered with an organization called The HP Alliance to create a Wonder Woman-themed “get out the vote” booklet called “Vote for Love and Justice with Wonder Woman” in the hopes of continuing to spread the love. This pro-transgender nonprofit has reminded me that stories are most powerful when left in the hands of the fans.

I want to celebrate all of you in the fandom, no matter where you are, but I want to give a special dedication to those who are undergoing cancer treatment, hospitalization, or coping with trauma who continue to send me letters and photos, sharing the love you have for this character. While you may not be traveling far and wide to attend conventions, I know that you are wearing Wonder Woman’s tiara or cape in some of the toughest times in your life. But more than just wearing the outfit, you embody her bravery, strength, and kindness in the face of adversity. You, my friends, are the best fans of all.

I believe in the power of fandom and its transformative effects, especially in the lives of readers and viewers around the world. It has been an extraordinary blessing to watch fans over the years become a part of this community and make the story their own. It’s the small moments, the silent efforts, and the long-term change that you have made happen that makes my life worthwhile and extraordinary.

You, the fans, are what’s so wonderful about Wonder Woman.

(featured image: Little Fang Photography)

Source: themarysue.com/

A Tribute to Ruth Bader Ginsburg

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Tue, 29 Sep 2020 15:17:02 GMT

Honoring the memory of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and her service to the nation.

Here is a video I did to honor the late great RBG

JUNGLE QUEEN (1945) Battling Nazis in Africa

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Thu, 06 Aug 2020 05:16:05 GMT

Three Jungle Goddess In One Series!

A young girl journeys to Africa to find her father, an explorer who vanished in the jungle.

Directed by Lewis D. Collins and Ray Taylor

Writing Credits: George H. Plympton, Ande Lamb and Morgan Cox

Cast (in credits order)

Edward Norris ... Bob Elliot

Eddie Quillan ... Chuck Kelly

Douglass Dumbrille ... Lang

Lois Collier ... Pamela Courtney

Ruth Roman ... Lothel

Tala Birell ... Dr. Elise Bork

Clarence Muse ... Kyba

Battling Nazis in Africa with the help on a Jungle Queen named Lothel who can walk through fire. Very unusual serial for the time with 3 leading women and lots of black actors. Plenty of plot twists with good production values and great cliffhangers. 13 chapters in 3 parts with commentary, bios on Lois Collier, Ruth Roman, and Tala Birell, with history of the Jungle Queens craze, comics, and movies.

• Chapter 1. Invitation to Danger

• Chapter 2. Jungle Sacrifice

• Chapter 3. The Flaming MountainNew Paragraph

• Chapter 4. Wildcat Stampede

• Chapter 5. The Burning Jungle

• Chapter 6. Danger Ship

• Chapter 7. Trip-wire Murder

• Chapter 8. The Mortar Bomb

• Chapter 9. Death Watch

• Chapter 10. Execution Chamber

• Chapter 11. The Trail of Doom

• Chapter 12. Dragged Under

• Chapter 13. The Secret of the Sword!

TALA BIRELL Photo Gallery Pt 2

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 22:48:54 GMT

Digitally Enhanced Photos From the 1930s & 40s

Tala Birell's movie career lasted thirty years from 1926 to 1955, with 66 credits to her name. On the one hand, that is a great achievement. Sometimes other people and situations keep us from fully being who we are. Tala Birell worked hard at breaking through that boundary as best she could. In many ways, she succeeded. She remains an example for us all.

TALA BIRELL Photo Gallery Pt 1

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 22:03:59 GMT

Digitally Enhanced Photos From the 1930s & 40s

Her movie career lasted thirty years from 1926 to 1955, with 66 credits to her name. On the one hand, that is a great achievement. Sometimes other people and situations keep us from fully being who we are. Tala Birell worked hard at breaking through that boundary as best she could. In many ways, she succeeded. She remains an example for us all.

TALA BIRELL

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 05 Aug 2020 21:04:37 GMT

People Saw Her as Someone She Was Not.

TALA BIRELL

Bio

Her movie career lasted thirty years from 1926 to 1955, with 66 credits to her name. On the one hand, that is a great achievement. Sadly, on the other hand, she was hindered by not being fully appreciated for the talent she was. She was cast all too often as the alternative or the substitute.

Sometimes people see you as someone you are not. Such was the case of Tala Birell.

She was born, Natalie Bierl, on September 10, 1907, in Bucharest, Romania, to a German couple. Her mother before marriage was the Baroness Stephanie Sahaydakowska of Poland, and her father, Carol Blerl, was born in Vienna but made his money in oil in Romania. She would later change the spelling of her family name to B I R E L L because the press continually misspelled it.

She was educated in a private school during World War 1 in Berlin.

In 1926 the attractive 5-foot 6 young woman landed a bit part in her first film 'Don't Play with Love.' But she also loved doing stage.

She was discovered in Germany by famed producer Max Reinhardt who signed her to be the understudy for Marlene Dietrich in leading roles, launching a stage career in Germany and Austria. Her success was instantaneous, and she was given a contract by the British International Film Company.

Being able to fill in for the legendary Marlene Dietrich gave her a tremendous start in show business. But it also initially established her as a substitute for someone else, clouding perceptions of who she genuinely was. This substitution perception would follow her for the rest of her career.

From 1930 to 1931, she headlined 4 German-language films, mostly remakes of successful French and British films. 'People in the Cage' was a remake of the 1930 British film 'The Love Storm.' Birell took the same lead role as Fay Compton had in the original British version.

And 'My Cousin from Warsaw' was the alternate-language version of the French film by the same name.

She went to England to star in "Cape Forlorn" under revered director Ewald André Dupont.

Agents for Universal Studios discovered Tala singing and acting on the stages and screen in Vienna and brought her to the attention of studio head Carl Laemmle. Her experience and talent were only enhanced by the fact she knew four languages fluently: German, French, Polish, and English. She was signed to a term contract, which took effect after her European commitment ended. Universal brought her to America for a part in Universal's "Love on Command," the German version of "Diplomatic Boudoir."

Even though she admitted to being homesick for her mother back in Europe, she remained in Hollywood.

Next, she starred in the 1932 Universal film 'Doomed Battalion.'

She became a relatively big name for a while in American films in the 1930s. She was often referred to as a rival to Greta Garbo, due to her German origin, accent, and cold glamorous appearance.

It did not matter that she had done things on her own in Europe on stage and screen. When she came to Hollywood, this Garbo-conscious town, she was put through the make-up mill. Her light brown hair was bleached and brushed into a Garbo bob, and all the trickery that lies in paint pots was employed to make her over, She was photographed in Garboesque poses, and her studio had a "second Garbo."

Natalie Bierl of Bucharest Romania had grown into a talented actress who admired Garbo but did not wish to imitate her. So Tala Birell was unhappy. After she did "The Doomed Battalion," she met her doom in "Nagana."

The studio dropped her after the poorly produced "Nagana." It was a starring vehicle for Tala Birell, but it was made of stock shots of wild animals and jungles, with Tala and Melvin Douglas thrust in here and there for story purposes. Tala says she never figured out who she was in the story, or how Douglas happened to wander into it, or why the picture was even produced.

It was bad enough, however, to cause Douglas to go back to the stage and gain success all over and to cause Tala Birell to be 'dropped." She, too, went to New York.

'I was determined not to go home a failure,' she said. I told myself I should never join the parade of foreign players who come to Hollywood and go back without accomplishing anything. It was hard to get a play in New York because my accent was heavy. But I stayed until I found one-my role was a Russian countess."

And in that role, a movie producer saw her and brought her back to Hollywood - because she looked like Garbo. It was for the picture, "Let's Fall in Love." And that led to other exotic roles, adventuresses, and villainesses.

Could she finally be herself? She was studying, erasing her accent, improving her English. She let her hair return to its natural color. She did well in "Crime and Punishment." She was hopeful.

In 1937 she became an American citizen. She was busy being Tala Birell, or so she thought.

During the 1940s, she took acting parts in patriotic anti-Nazi war films. In "China," she was a courageous Russian. In "Till We Meet Again" she was Madame Bouchard of the French Resistance. In the serial Jungle Queen, she was a Nazi Doctor Elise Bork, and in Women in the Night, she portrayed Yvette Aubert, the French adventurer, and entertainer who saves the world from destruction with the sacrifice of her life.

Sadly, despite her attempts at transformation, she was still being framed as the "Second Garbo" in the press. She continued to be viewed as someone she wasn't—endlessly being compared to others.

Following World War 2, Germany had changed, and her mother, who lived there, was not doing well. Leaving Hollywood in 1946, Tala Birell headed for Berlin. She said, "Ever since Germany started the war, I've tried to get Mama out of there, but never succeeded. And ever since it ended, I've tried to visit her. And only now it looks like I will be able to get there.

Tala Birell later would tell the press, " It's true that I am behind the Iron Curtain, 104 miles to be exact, but I am well protected by the British, French and American troops.

"I am in Berlin working for the United States Army as a command entertainment director. The unique situation in Berlin provides us with a new and enthusiastic audience the thousands of refugees seeking asylum in our sector. It never occurred to me that my silence might make anyone think that I had disappeared behind the Iron Curtain because I am an American citizen and have been for some years."

Her talents did not go to waste. As the Field Entertainment Supervisor, she sometimes took part in shows at military clubs in Munich, Nuremberg, and Orléans in France. Later, with the title Command Entertainment Director she put on shows for U.S. troops and refugees from Eastern Europe.

When things settled down, she attempted to restart her screen career. But her appearance as Queen of Cygnii in the 1955 Flash Gordon TV Series, would prove to be her final curtain.

She retired in 1957 for health reasons, passing away in 1958 and was laid to rest next to her mother in the family tomb in Bavaria, Germany.

Sometimes other people and situations keep us from fully being who we are. Tala worked hard at breaking through that boundary as best she could. In many ways, she succeeded. She remains an example for us all. Be you!

________

THE SAVAGE GIRL (1932)

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sun, 07 Jun 2020 16:04:36 GMT

A fierce killer gorilla protects a white jungle goddess.

African explorer Jim Franklin is hired by eccentric millionaire, Amos P. Stitch, to capture animals for his private Westchester estate zoo. Stitch, who is perpetual drunk, provides much of the comic relief. He also wants to know if elephants in the wild are afraid of mice.

Their expedition is secretly observed by The White Goddess, a white jungle girl, aka The Savage Girl. Having grown up with the animals, she warns the animals of the dangers of being captured. She, of course, releases the animals they do capture. The expedition eventually catches her by luring her with a shiny hand mirror. Naturally, complications ensue.

CAST:

• Rochelle Hudson as The Girl

• Walter Byron as Jim Franklin

• Harry Myers as Amos P. Stitch

• Adolph Milar as Alec Bernouth

• Ted Adams as Chauffeur

• Floyd Shackelford as Oscar

CREW:

Directed and Produced by Harry L. Fraser

Executive Producer: John R. Freuler

Written by Brewster Morse

Cinematography by Edward A. Kull

Edited by Frederick Bain

Release Date: 1932

Original Running Time 66 minutes

ABOUT ROCHELLE HUDSON

Rochelle Hudson plays the White Goddess; she was 16 years old at the time. The Savage Girl is her first headlining film. She arrived in Hollywood when she was just 14. RKO bumped her age by 3 years in the PR material so she could play leads in romantic films. At 14, he was hired to voice Honey, in the 'Bosko and Honey' cartoon series 1930-1938. Bosko And Honey were a fun-loving African American couple.

During World War II she and her husband, Harold Thompson, did espionage work in Mexico posing as a vacationing couple, they penetrated various parts of Mexico to help detect possible Nazi activity.

She has 116 film credits and is best remembered for:

• Rebel Without a Cause (1955) as Natalie Wood's mother

• Imitation of Life (1934) Oscar Best Picture nominee

• Wild Boys of the Road (1933) Selected by the Library of Congress for preservation

• She Done Him Wrong (1933) Best Picture nominee

Perils of Nyoka (1942)

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Fri, 29 May 2020 20:53:19 GMT

The Best Jungle Queen Serial Ever!

Kay Aldridge and Lorna Gray in Perils of Nyoka

Nyoka, battles the evil Queen Vultura, with help from Larry Grayson, in attempts to discover the Golden Tablets of Hippocrates. These ancient tablets contain the medical knowledge for the cure of cancer— not to mention being buried along with gold and other treasure. Here are the ingredients for one the most beloved and acclaimed Jungle Queen serials. 15 episodes in 3 parts with commentary.

PERILS OF NYOKA (1942) Episodes 1-5

• Episode 1. Desert Intrigue (26min 50s)

• Episode 2. Death's Chariot (17min 9s)

• Episode 3. Devil's Crucible (16min 52s)

• Episode 4. Ascending Doom (16min 48s)

• Episode 5. Fatal Second (16min 49s)

PERILS OF NYOKA (1942) Episodes 6-10

• Episode 6. Human Sacrifice (16min 41s)

• Episode 7. Monster's Clutch (16min 47s)

• Episode 8. Tuareg Vengeance (16min 44s)

• Episode 9. Buried Alive (16min 41s)

• Episode 10. Treacherous Trail (16min 51s)

PERILS OF NYOKA (1942) Episodes 11-15

• Episode 11. Unknown Peril (16min 40s)

• Episode 12. Underground Tornado (16min 39s)

• Episode 13. Thundering Death (16min 43s)

• Episode 14. Blazing Barrier (16min 38s)

• Episode 15. Satan's Fury (16min 33s)

Cast

• Clayton Moore as Dr. Larry Grayson

• Lorna Gray as Vultura, Ruler of the Arabs

• Charles Middleton as Cassib

• William Benedict as Red Davis

• Forbes Murray as Prof Douglas Campbell

• George Pembroke as John Spencer

• Tristram Coffin as Benito Torrini

• Forrest Taylor as Translator

Supporting cast

• Forbes Murray as Professor Douglas Campbell

• Robert Strange as Professor Henry Gordon

• George Pembroke as John Spencer

• Georges Renavent as Maghreb, Vultura's high priest

• John Davidson as Lhoba, Tuareg high priest

• George J. Lewis as Batan, Arab henchman

• Ken Terrell as Ahmed, Arab henchman

• John Bagni as Ben Ali

• Kenne Duncan as Abou, expedition headman

• Emil Van Horn played the gorilla "Satan", he also played the gorilla in Jungle Girl.

JUNGLE GIRL (1941)

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Thu, 28 May 2020 15:05:27 GMT

Swing with Francis Gifford

The Jungle Girl serial with comments and extras!
Here is the full 15 episodes, bio on Francis Gifford, history of the Jungle Queens craze, comics and movies. Plus details on Edgar Rice Burroughs' original book. Bio on super stuntwoman Helen Thurston. Etc.

Synopsis from Paramount

Dr. Meredith (Trevor Bardette), an eminent physician, has been driven from civilization by the criminal activities of his twin brother. With his infant daughter, he has settled in the African jungle and in the ensuing twenty years, because of his ability to cure the native ills, has assumed virtual control of the Masamba tribes.

The tribes possess vast diamond mines which are coveted by a criminal element which is using Shamba (Prank Lackteen), witch doctor jealous of Dr. Meredith's control over the tribe, as a tool to further their nefarious interests. They lure Dr. Meredith away from the jungle and he is murdered by Slick Latimer (Gerald Mohr).

To secure the sacred amulet which is believed by the natives to be the secret of Dr. Meredith's power. Shamba attempts to kill Nyoka (Frances Gifford), Meredith’s daughter. Jack Stanton (Tom Neal), Latimer's former companion, rescues Nyoka and Assists her in her efforts to recover the amulet, which is valuable because it contains the secret of the entry to the Caves of Nakros, where the diamonds are kept.

Nyoka, despite her life-long familiarity with the jungle beasts, is endangered when she poses as a Lion Goddess and almost is killed to satisfy the natives' desire for a human sacrifice. Latimer works with Shamba and with Dr. Meredith's twin brother, who poses as the former so successfully that even his own daughter fails to realize the deception.

Through fifteen thrill-packed episodes Nyoka, Stanton and Curly Rogers (Eddie Acuff) face dangerous adventures. Finally, the jungle wreaks its vengeance, the criminals come to violent ends and Stanton and Nyoka assure the natives that the diamonds will be used for their good.

Episodes:

1. Death by Voodoo (27min 53s)

2. Queen of Beasts (17min 11s)

3. River of Fire (16min 45s)

4. Treachery (16min 43s)

5. Jungle Vengeance (16min 44s)

Episodes:

6. Tribal Fury

7. The Poison Dart

8. Man Trap

9. Treasure Tomb

10 Jungle Killer.

Episodes:

11. Dangerous Secret

12. Trapped

13. Ambush

14. Diamond Trail

15. Flight to Freedom.

Jungle Girl (1941)

Directors: John English ~ William Witney

Producer: Hiram S. Brown Jr.

Writers: Edgar Rice Burroughs (novel title) ~

Alfred Batson ~ Ronald Davidson ~ Norman S. Hall ~ William Lively ~ Joseph O'Donnell ~ Joseph F. Poland

CAST

Frances Gifford ~ Nyoka Meredith

Tom Neal ~ Jack Stanton

Trevor Bardette ~ Bradley Meredith/Dr. John Meredith

Gerald Mohr ~ Slick Latimer

Eddie Acuff ~ Curly Rogers

Frank Lackteen ~ Shamba

Tommy Cook ~ Kimbu

Robert Barron ~ Bombo

Al Kikume ~ Chief Lutembi

Bud Geary ~ Brock

Al Taylor ~ Claggett

Joe McGuinn ~ Ted Bone

Jerry Frank ~ The Lion Chief

Ken Terrell ~ Mananga (as Kenneth Terrell)

Jay Silverheels ~ Masamba tribesman (as Harry Smith)

15 episodes ~ Black and White

Original Music by Cy Feuer, Mort Glickman and Paul Sawtell

Betty Blythe

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 25 May 2020 15:50:47 GMT

She Did What Few Others Would Do!

Here is the near forgotten mother of all super-power women in movies. She is the first Jungle Queen in a full length movie. Here is her eye opening bio.

CHECK OUT ALL THINGS BETTY BLYTHE.

BETTY BLYTHE. Strong. Independent. Courageous. Trendsetter. A model for us all!

Actress, Singer, and Entertainer. Born: Elizabeth Blythe Slaughter on September 1, 1893, in Los Angeles, CA. She is best known for her dramatic roles in exotic silent films such as The Queen of Sheba (1921)

She performed in 63 silent films and 56 talking pictures. She is renowned for being one of the first actresses to appear nude in a film. She said, "A director is the only man besides your husband who can tell you how much of your clothes to take off."

Her career began in Los Angeles in 1914 where she made her debut at the Los Angeles Pantages Theatre as a singer and dancer in vaudeville (variety stage shows) going on to be a huge Vaudeville star

Betty Blythe made news when she broke the silly superstition nonsense of wearing peacock feathers. No designer would help her, so she made her stage costume herself.

The feathers were said to represent the "evil eye" of the female demon Lilith, who is the harbinger of misfortune, illness, and death.

She campaigned for a better swimming suit. The skirted swimming suit was a real danger. Betty Blythe said, "Skirts be hanged" and introduces new un-skirted bathing suits. Making "it possible for women to have a chance to swim without a risk of being tangled…"

She becomes a movie sensation. Between 1916 and 1918, she made 16 films! Sadly, nearly all her silent films are considered "lost."

She was one of Hollywood's original "Vamps." Originally, "Vamps" were not blood-suckers. Instead, they were Femme Fatales who preyed on respectable but foolish men by draining them of their life force. Other Vamps include Theda Bara, Valeska Suratt, and Louise Glaum,

Blythe married movie director Paul Scardon. It lasted until his death in 1954! A great love story!

Betty Blythe embraced her 5'8" height and her 150 lbs. "Be proud," she stated. She never wore flat heel shoes. She hid nothing. She said that a woman's "distinctive assets" are part of her "individual charm."

In 1921 Fox Studios released its most significant production at that time, The Queen of Sheba." It was a huge commercial success worldwide with a cast of 2000 plus 500 horses and camels.

Blythe achieved the pinnacle of her career in Queen of Sheba. She performed mostly topless throughout the entire film. "I had 28 costumes in that picture, and if I'd worn them all at once, I couldn't have kept warm."

In 'Queen Of Sheba,' there was a topless chariot race. With two competing women, not men, in a chariot race, it was a robust reflection of the emerging "New Woman" of the Roaring Twenties.

Next, Blythe pioneered sound film before sound films in the British-German film 'Chu Chin Chow' (1925). This film had a new experimental synchronized soundtrack for theaters with sound equipment. But, it pushed boundaries with a scantily clad Blythe and BDSM scenes. The U.S. release cut 50% of the film.

Her film "She" (1925) was the first feature-length book adaptation, and it was one of the first "Jungle Queen" movies. Plot: In Africa, an explorer is the reincarnated lover of the 2,000-year-old mysterious Egyptian queen.

But it too was trimmed from its original 98-minute running time down to 69 minutes for U.S. release.

As an actress, Betty Blythe quickly went from $40 a month to a million dollars annually. She bought and sold a section of what is now the Sunset Strip and reportedly made $3.5 million in the transaction. But with the 1929 stock market crash, she lost $15 million in just one day!

Blythe was never as successful in the sound era as she had been in the silent era. She took up ranching while continuing to act.

Live stage or screen, she continued to find opportunities. In 1936 she played Mary Magdalen in the famous outdoor Hollywood Hills Pilgrimage Play.

Live stage or screen, she continued to find opportunities. In 1940 she was cast with other silent-era actors Harry Langdon, Esther Muir, and others in 'Misbehaving Husbands.' One of 56 talkie films she did.

Her last screen appearance was an uncredited role in a crowd scene in 1964's 'My Fair Lady' starring Audrey Hepburn.

Betty Blythe died of a heart attack at age 78 in 1972 and was buried at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California.

She once said, "I must have been good at being bad. My fall from stardom was destined. I know now that a woman can't go on playing villainous roles and be successful for long though it is different for men. But if a woman is bad, she is stamped."

BETTY BLYTHE. Strong. Independent. Courageous. Trendsetter. A model for us all!

CHECK OUT ALL THINGS BETTY BLYTHE .

Betty Blythe Slide Show

SHE (1925) The Film That Started It All

Sat, 08 Feb 2020 16:07:37 GMT

SHE is the Mother of all Power-Women Movies

One of the few remaining Betty Blythe films. It is presented here with new color tinting with a great music sound track on the best film print available . The title cards have been replaced, making them easier to read. On the margin you will be given insight into the movie, Betty Blythe's life, Jungle Queen comic book and movie history . Also a homage to Betty Blythe's The Queen of Sheba (1921) a lost film which was the biggest spectacular of it's time. This video does contain PG-13 type nudity. Femme Centric has placed this video into the Public Domain.

WATCH THE FILM

MORE ABOUT BETTY BLYTHE >>

Posters

MORE ABOUT BETTY BLYTHE

2020! WE THINK FLAPPER 1920

Fri, 07 Feb 2020 01:56:06 GMT

Some How 2020 Reminds Us Of 1920 And The Flappers

MEGAN the BRUCE welcomes the New Year 1920! Er, no wait... 2020!

Here's to the great content coming year on FemmeCentric

CALAMITY JANE: Woman On The Edge

Fri, 10 Jan 2020 15:20:52 GMT

Her Days As A Soiled Dove

The story of Calamity Jane and her days as a Soiled Dove (aka prostitute). Calamity Jane tells her own story as she wrote it in her autobiography. She was the “most eccentric and picturesque character in the West.” - The New York Times This historical documentary contains language, nudity, and some graphic content. Enjoy the video.

The Autobiography of Calamity Jane
by Calamity Jane
The story of Marthy Cannary Burke, in her own words.
For a free copy of her autobiography go here

Today's Rogue is none other than Calamity Jane. I have heard of Calamity Jane all my life. She is legendary. Her story is more legend than it is actual history. In the many documentaries and books about her life, one thing stands out: She was a master storyteller. Her ability to tell stories about her self propelled her into the public mind. Her stories made her a legend.

She was asked to write a write down her story and she did. Now I will tell you right off the bat that there are some inaccuracies in this autobiography. But you got to remember that it was her storytelling ability that propelled her and made her a legend. Here we have her talking about herself. And because of her legendary status, we can appreciate and understand why this vital autobiography is so powerful.

I thought I'd just let it stand. So we're going to have her story read to you exactly as she wrote it herself. Calamity Jane is going to talk to you, telling you her story.

And I'm going to use graphics and movies in this video that she inspired. Unfortunately, we have very few photos of her. But we do have related western movies and pictures like that she inspired. So I used that material to illustrate her story. Indeed, her story propelled so much of the genre of the west. So why not use the Western genre that she Inspired. So that's what I'm doing here. So let's hear from Calamity Jane.

TRANS-SISTER SISTERS: Tempest, Sunshine and the Ziegfeld Follies

Thu, 07 Mar 2019 23:52:38 GMT

Thank the Sisters For Drag Shows, Live Stand-Up, Women Wearing Pants, The Mamba, and Pop Latin Music

Our Documentary of Tempest and Sunshine

Look at this photo below from 1910. What do you see? Do you see a boy and a girl? Do you see lovers? Or, not? Perhaps you have already figured it out from the title.

So, here it is. Though the couple may love each other, it’s not in a romantic way. They are sisters, Florenze Tempest, and Marion Sunshine, best known as Tempest and Sunshine.

As stage performers, they were a sensation at the turn of the 1900s. Sister Tempest was a transvestite, a cross-dresser, a boy impersonator. And sister Sunshine was a girlie-girl. They sometimes performed as a romantic couple. But the fact that they were sisters did not bring accusations of incest. And more. In many communities where they performed cross-dressing was illegal, including, at that time, San Francisco, yet they never had a run in with the law. So, how in the world did they pull it off?

The short answer is: In performance art, you can do most anything that goes against the norm because it is an enactment. You could act out the role of a murderer on stage and, the police would not be there when the curtain goes down to arrest you. By the way, this is the reason why literature and the arts are so vital. It gives us a safe way to explore human behavior, both good and bad. It helps chart a future course by breaking down bias and prejudice. This is what the sisters did. They broke down barriers.

THEIR CAREER

The sisters were tremendously talented. They could act, sing, dance and even write songs. They had been on stage from early childhood and were so good, that Florenz Ziegfeld brought them into the 1907 Ziegfeld Follies show, signing Florenze Tempest to a 3-year contract. At that time, she was just 16, and Marion was a mere 13 years old. The relationship with the Follies continued at various times throughout the years. In 1922 Sunshine became romantically involved with Cuban businessman Eusebio Azpiazú who she met while working for Ziegfeld, eventually leading to her marriage with his brother, Cuban bandleader Don Azpiazú. It was a marriage to last “till death do us part” (1930-1965) and had a profound effect on pop culture as they introduced the Rumba and Cuban culture to the world. It was huge. She became known as “The Rumba Lady.” [1]

Florenze had conceived her cross-dressing act all by herself. [2] From the start of her career with her two sisters, June and Marion, she would play the boy parts.

They had a brother, but he was not interested in acting. Florenze would, therefore, fill in.

As unintended as it was, her transvestite performances helped bring about the 1930s “Pansy Craze” when gay and bisexual people began to perform as drag kings and queens in New York and other cities throughout America. [3]

Despite being a boy impersonator, she was considered “The Prettiest Girl in Vaudeville.” [4] She went on to marry two very influential men. Interestingly, she spent less than two months with her first husband, Joseph E. Shea, a principal vaudeville agent during their four-year marriage. [5] Her second husband was Homer Dickerson, an acclaimed vaudeville performer. She spent every available moment with him, forming a traveling comedian team, much like that of George Burns and Gracie Allen.

CHILDHOOD

Obliviously, their theatrical names Tempest and Sunshine were not their birth names. Florenze once explained, "Our family name is Ijames. I am Florenze Ijames, and my sister is Marion Ijames. We were born in Louisville and it seems to me that we hung around the Avenue Theater there at matinee time from our earliest school days. We made our bow to the public at a church festival. I muffed my lines and Marion broke out laughing at me. I gave her a furious calling down on the little stage, and after the affair was over, the kind old pastor said, ‘Girls, if you ever go on the stage, I suggest that you call yourselves Tempest and Sunshine, for you are exactly that.’ So, when Lincoln J. Carter engaged us for ‘The Two Little Waifs’, we became Florenze Tempest and Marion Sunshine. I always played the boy while Marion was my sweetheart.”

Florenze also recalled doing some Shakespeare, where they both cross-dressed playing the two little princes in Richard III , “Now we are going back to Vaudeville, and we're glad. That's all there is." [6] They loved zany Vaudeville, over classic drama.

There were three sisters, and they all attended an Irish Catholic Convent school. Their mother was Irish. Her maiden name was Hennesy. Their father was Spanish, hence the Ijames family name. The two younger sisters usually self-identified as Irish, dropping their Spanish name in their professional lives. Marion would later fully embrace her Spanish heritage as “The Mamba Lady.”

THE THREE SISTERS

1. June Ijames was born in 1888. [7] Although she kickstarted the family entertainment business, she had a short professional life.

2. Florenze Tempest was born Claire Lillian Ijames in 1891. She has an ever-changing name in bios and news articles. Her sister June called her ‘Clara Lee,’ and some early newspaper accounts of her refer to her as simply ‘, Lee.’ [8] After 1903, she abandoned her birth name and used the gender-neutral name of Florenze for her cross-dressing act. When working with Marion, she was ‘Florence,’ and for her solo acts she was often ‘Florenze,’ sometimes ‘Florenz.’ ‘Claire’ was not a great name for her cross-dressing act. To her two younger sisters she was ‘Tempest’ because she was temperamental, which landed her in jail a time or two. [9] For consistency, I use her preferred names ‘Florenze’ and ‘Tempest.’

3. Marion Sunshine was born Mary Tunstall Ijames (1894 –1963). Though her sister June called her ‘Tunstall,’ she used ‘Marion Sunshine’ consistently throughout her career, except in her post-career days when she preferred her married name of ‘Mary Azpiazu.’

The brother was a military man; he was not a performer. He was stationed at Fort Dix, serving in WW1.

THEIR FATHER’S DEATH

When their father, unfortunately, died “the three Ijames girls and were confronted with the stern necessity of earning their livelihood.” [10] The stage, which they loved, was there best income option. The eldest girl, June, took charge and at age fourteen became a show producer. She hoped to support her entire family.

The Courier-Journal of Louisville, Kentucky (April 5, 1902) reported:

"June Ijames, a pretty miss fourteen years of age and not yet out of short dresses, is the manager, organizer and moving spirit generally of an amateur Vaudeville company which will give an entertainment, consisting of 15 numbers at Music Hall Wednesday evening, April 9th (snip) Miss Ijames is not only at the head of the company in a business way but will be one of the principal participants in several of the features of the performance.

"In explaining the reasons for giving the entertainment, Miss June Ijames said yesterday afternoon, “You can see my two sisters have a talent for music, and both my mother and I have been anxious for a long time to give them the kind of musical education we thought they ought to have. Already Clara Lee can play the violin as well as a lot of people a good deal older and Tunstall ought to make a great singer one of these days. But you see we haven't the money to give them any advanced lessons at all, and so I thought if I could get my friends to help me, I could get up an entertainment [company] and make some money. Then, if there was enough to pay for our music lessons, I could give the rest to mother to help her some.

"I've seen many fundraisers for other things [and even for] myself, and my friends have been mighty kind when I asked them about it [i.e., support]. That was what made me think of it. I saw other people setting up benefits and making money. The thing I wanted most to do was to help Mother and give my sister's the right sort of musical education. I began to work on this show last February, and there has been a lot of rehearsals and everybody ought to do well. Everything is ready, all we have to do is sell the tickets, but I don't know that that's the very hardest part of the show. (snip)

"Little Miss [Marion] Ijames has taken quite a prominent part in several amateur performances given in the city. For her age, she had said to have a fine voice and those who have heard her predict that she will develop into a good singer." [11]

After many self-produced shows, they came to the attention of famed producer Lincoln J. Carter who gave them their professional debut in 1905. Audiences loved the trio. The sisters soon found themselves traveling by train to bookings all over the country with their mother as chaperon. The trio was known as “Tempest and Sunshine,” and their fame kept growing and led to overseas engagements. In London, England, Florenze fell sick, and Marion simply filled in for Florenze, doing both of their parts. [12] Because they were so similar in appearance, and the audience was never aware that one sister was missing. That’s how talented and adaptable they were.

Returning to the U.S., Florenz Ziegfeld got Florenze Tempest to sign a three-year contract for his upcoming Broadway shows. All three sisters performed in the roadshow version of the “Follies of 1907.”

THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES

The “Follies of 1907” was the first Ziegfeld Follies ever. It was intended to be a summer-only event. But with the contracted popular entertainers and the chorus line of Anne Held Girls, the patrons came by the thousands. The public loved it, and Ziegfeld had a hit on his hands.

Ziegfeld knew he had to take the show on the road, to theaters all across the U.S. and Canada. This required signing additional acts, to keep it fresh, and the Tempest and Sunshine trio became a part of Ziegfeld’s “Follies of 1907” which would extend into 1908.

In Philadelphia when the Follies road show played, Florenze Tempest was featured as one of Philadelphians favorites. [13] She was prominently billed in Washington D.C. [14] In Chicago, a news report that she “possesses the distinction of being one of the youngest actresses on the stage to enjoy being a featurette on the bill.” [15] In Arlington Heights, Illinois, the press reported, “Never in its history has the Auditorium played to the enormous houses that the ‘Follies of 1907’ are now drawing” mentioning Tempest with the other performers. [16] It was an exciting time to be sure.

The public response was so astronomical that the Follies became a standard attraction on Broadway for the next quarter century.

LITTLE NEMO

As the Follies of 1907 was in full swing, the debut announcement came of an extravagant “Little Nemo” show for an unheard of budget of $100,000 (today’s value: $2,700,700). With rave reviews, it played to sold-out houses in New York.” [17]

Harry B. Smith, who helped Ziegfeld with the “Follies of 1907” wrote the music for “Little Nemo,” and knew both Tempest and Sunshine, and made sure they had parts. [18] It was a major Broadway hit.

Who was “Little Nemo,” you ask?

Little Nemo was a fictional character created by American cartoonist, animator, and genius Winsor McCay. “Little Nemo in Slumberland” was a full-page weekly strip depicting Nemo having fanciful dreams that were suddenly ended by his awakening in the final panel. Wikipedia: “The strip is considered McCay's masterpiece for its experiments with the form of the comics page, its use of color, it's timing and pacing, the size and shape of its panels, perspective, architectural and other detail.” [19]

It went on the road for two incredible seasons and added to our girls’ already impressive resume.

COAST TO COAST FAME

With the success of the ‘Little Nemo’ and the ‘Follies,’ the girls were gold. The San Francisco Call praised their latest act in the West Coast Bay Area, by reminding readers “This Tempest and Sunshine trio consisting of Florence Tempest, Little Sunshine, and June Ijames… was a feature with Ziegfeld’s first Revue ‘Follies of 1907’ and of ‘Little Nemo’ at the New Amsterdam Theater, New York.” [20] Theaters were opened to them no matter where they went. They were famous and in demand.

DEATH, INHERITANCE, BREAKUP, AND MARRIAGE

It was during this eventful time that their mother's brother, John J. Hennesy, died and left the family with a fabulous inheritance of $80,000, ($2,000,000 in today’s value). The money gave them a stable sense of security that they had never experienced before. [21]

Sister June Ijames decided to go solo and departed the sisters for an opportunity in Vaudeville on the West Coast. Her career hopes don’t seem to have panned out, and she ended up marrying Jerome Rosenberg, manager of the Casino theatre in Asbury Park in New Jersey. [22]

Over the next few years, Florenze and Marion had great success on the Vaudeville circuit together and independently. Independently? Yes. as one newspaper put it: Tempest and Sunshine “had an unsisterly quarrel and have parted.” [23] It was an on-and-off-again relationship.

THE MOVIE ERA

People think of Hollywood movies as full-length features as they are today. But in the early days, movies were usually short films. In 1915 Tempest and Sunshine made a short film called “Tempest and Sunshine.” The film was the only film that Tempest did. [24] Sunshine independent of Tempest went on to make 26 short films. She worked with some of the most notable stars of the time including D.W. Griffith, Mack Sennett, Mary Pickford, Florence Lawrence, Harry Carey, Mabel Normand, Jack Pickford, Blanche Sweet, and the legendary Dorothy Gish.

She was active in film for eight years from 1908 to 1916. [25]

A TEMPEST MARRIAGE

In 1915 Florenze Tempest connected with the famed Vaudeville producer Joseph E Shea and married him. The union was, perhaps, a great career opportunity for her, but it was not a great marriage decision. Whatever romance there was, disappeared in less than two months of after the wedding, when they parted company. Florenze would file for divorce 5 years later on the grounds of desertion. [26]

THE JUNE BRIDE DIVORCES

During June’s marriage her husband, Jerome Rosenburg, helped an African-American group obtain the first black-owned theatre in New York, for the “Darktown Follies.” [27] It was not characteristic for Whites to help Blacks in such business matters at the time. But in spite of such noble business dealings, the marriage didn’t work out, and in the summer of 1916 they divorced, and she was awarded $20 a week alimony. [28] Today that would be equivalent to $1,732 monthly. A year after the settlement Rosenberg filed for bankruptcy, [29] due to a failed movie theatre business. [30] She was just 28 at that time, and of the rest of her life, nothing more is known. [31]

1918 MARION’S BRIEF ENGAGEMENT TO A HERO

It was an eye-popping 1918 announcement of marriage. Marion, the well know Vaudeville actress, was to marry Arthur Guy Empey the very famous WW1 hero and best selling author. The 1918 Newspapers reported:

The announcement of the engagement of Mr. Arthur Guy Empey, the noted author of “Over The Top” to Miss Marion Ijames of Chicago has a bearing of local interest outside of the fact that Mr. Empey’s name is a household word and his experience “over there” have been read in eagerness by thousands of people.

The local color is created by the bride-elect who is better known as Marion Sunshine of the theatrical team “Tempest and Sunshine.” [32]

For whatever reasons, it never happened. Empey went on to be a screenwriter, actor, movie producer, and pulp fiction author. In 1930, Empey married Hollywood actress Patricia Archer a former "Miss Long Beach" beauty contest winner. [33] Their daughter, Diane Webber, became a famous model, dancer, and actress, appearing as a ‘Playmate of the Month’ in Playboy Magazine. [34]

A TEMPEST YEAR

Fortuitously, on Friday the 13th, May 1921, the entertainment trade magazine ‘Variety’ reported: “Florenze Tempest Ijames filed a voluntary petition for bankruptcy in the Federal District Court. Her liabilities totaled $5,224; there are no assets.” [35] Adjusted for U.S. inflation that would be $120,704 in today’s money.

It was not the best year for Tempest. And true to her name on Saturday, October 1st she was arrested for disorderly conduct at the Hotel Radisson in Minneapolis at 5 am. Taken to police headquarters, the desk sergeant asked for her name. “Better let me write it,” she suggested. “It’s hard to say.” And she wrote the unique name of “Tapes Ijames” on the police blotter. She was released on $25 cash bail and later fined another $25 by the judge. [36] She had been the headliner at the Orpheum theater the previous week. (Trivia: Bob Dylan’s brother once owned this theater).

That same year Sunshine, perhaps to bring sisterly support, rejoined Tempest for a grand show at the B. F. Theater in Washington DC. [37] Tempest and Sunshine didn’t always get along. They had carved out two different paths. But, this was a difficult year for Tempest and Sunshine was there for her.

A NEW PARTNER FOR TEMPEST

A year later, Florenze teamed up with Homer Dickerson, performing comedy routines. It was a successful match. They worked well together and eventually got married.

Homer had previously been married to Gracie Deagon, and they too were a successful comedy team for at least ten years but broke up in 1922. Ms. Deagon had teamed up with Jack Mack in 1923, and then with Charles Cannefax in 1927. She seems to have done well without ex-partner Homer Dickerson.

Florenze Tempest and Homer Dickerson were together for the rest of their careers.

THE PANSY CRAZE

Florenze’s influence on the ‘Pansy Craze’ is often overlooked by historians. It is time we give her the credit she is due. She was one of the earliest embodiments of it. The Pansy Craze mostly occurred from 1930 to the end of Prohibition in 1933. A short time, to be sure. In the prohibition days of the late twenties, saloons discovered commercial success by featuring Drag Queens, and Drag Kings. It drew patrons. And suddenly the gay subculture went mainstream and was featured on the stages of Manhattan winning public acclaim.

Florenze had been a Drag King (a girl impersonating a boy) since 1905. She had spent a full quarter-century in Vaudeville houses all across the U.S. and Canada paving the way for the Pansy Craze. People and critics loved her.

Paradoxically, as the Pansy Craze waned with the end of Prohibition in 1933, so did the show biz career of Florenze. When nightclubs could serve booze again, the broader public showed up. Drag shows were no longer the draw, alcohol was. Many of the new customers were uncomfortable with such performances. In some instances, police were stationed at the entrances of former pansy nightlife hotspots making sure Impersonators were banned. [38]

To make matters worse, when the Hays Code, a censorship code, went into full effect in 1934 it banned public performances of gay characters. It was a new era.

The last newspaper mention of Floreze Tempest was in a 1936 O. O. M'Intyre’s syndicated column. He wrote, “Tempest lives only a few blocks from my [New York] apartment. I see her once in a while walking her dog - retaining much of her charm that captured the gallery gods of another day.” [39]

And, so it was, the once popular Florenze Tempest faded from public memory.

MARION’S NEW PARTNER

Marion continued performing throughout the 1920s. Mostly by doing her solo act. It was during this final decade of headlining that she fell in love with the love of her life.

In 1922, while performing with the Ziegfeld Follies, Marion fell in love with Cuban businessman Eusebio Santiago Azpiazú, and in December 1930 she married him. His brother Justo Ángel Azpiazú (aka Don Azpiazú) was a prominent bandleader in Havana, and it was with him that Marion translated the “Peanut Vender” song which became the first Latin million-selling single. The story behind that million-seller is one that speaks loudly to about her creative spirit.

The great Wall Street Crash of 1929 ended the flapper era and the world that Marion knew. It was all gone and so was the money of her fiance. He lost it all. Marion did not despair. She married him anyway. While on their honeymoon in Havana Cuba, Eusebio took Marion to see his brother and his orchestra. Marion was taken by one of the numbers they played, “El Manisero.” (translation: Peanut Seller). She thought this should be introduced to a larger audience. After translating it into English, she approached the New York Palace and procured a booking. (Trivia: One of the venue’s partners was Joseph Kennedy, father of U.S. President John F. Kennedy). When the curtain rose and the Cuban musicians appeared in their Cuban dress and instruments, the audience was hooked. [40] The Mumba craze has officially launched in America.

She was named “The Mamba Lady.”

TOGETHER AGAIN

It is nice to know that as the careers of Tempest and Sunshine were ending, they appeared together again on stage for the last time doing their beloved cross-dressing song and dance act. [41] Additionally, Sunshine was honored during her lifetime as among the “famous women composers and lyricist.” [42]

THEIR LEGACY

Today, when you ever see a drag show, enjoy a live stand-up variety show, wear pants as a woman, do the mamba, listen to pop Latin music, or enjoy the legendary Ella Fitzgerald sing “When I Get Low, I Get High’ you have Tempest and Sunshine, in part, to thank. And now you know things most people don’t.

MUSIC BY MARION SUNSHINE

El Manisero (ThePeanut Vendor)
Havana Casino Orch-1930

When I Get Low, I Get High
Singers: The Speakeasy Three -
Written by: Marion Sunshine

When I Get Low, I Get High
Artist: Ella Fitzgerald
Writer: Marion Sunshine

"Rhumba" Really? Son Cubano
Don Aspiazu - La Havane 1933
This is the group that Marion Sunshine worked with.

One Side of Me
Chick Webb, Ella Fitzgerald
By Marion Sunshine

________________________

[1] Candelaria, C.; García, P.J.; Aldama, A.J. (2004). Encyclopedia of Latino Popular Culture. Greenwood Press. p. 47. ISBN 9780313332104

[2] Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, PA) Fri. Apr 12, 1912. Page 20

[3] https://www.1843magazine.com/culture/look-closer/crossdressing-a-secret-history

[4] The Courier (Harrisburg, PA) Sun. May 9, 1909. Page 11

[5] The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, OR) Sun. Aug 22, 1920. Page 44

[6] Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, PA) Fri. Apr 12, 1912. Page 20 (a widely distributed bio)

[7] The Courier Journal (Louisville, KY) Sat. Apr 5, 1902. Page 7 (1902 minus 14 yrs old = 1888)

[8] Kentucky Irish American (Louisville, KY) Sat. Apr 5, 1902. Page 3

[9] Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) Sun. Oct 2, 1921. Page 13

[10] Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, PA) Fri. Apr 12, 1912. Page 20

[11] The Courier Journal (Louisville, KY) Sat. Apr 5, 1902. Page 7

[12] The Inter Ocean (Chicago, IL) Sun. Mar 5, 1905. Page 32

[13] The Philadelphia Inquirer (Philadelphia, PA) Sun. Dec 29, 1907. Page 10

[14] The Washington Times (Washington, DC) Sun. Sep 15, 907. Page 26

[15] The Inter Ocean (Chicago, IL) Sun. Mar 1, 1908. Page 45

[16] The Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, IL) Fri. Feb 21, 1908. Page 5

[17] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Nemo

[18] The New York Times. Wed. Oct 21, 1908

[19] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Nemo (retrieved 2019-01-26)

[20] The San Francisco Call. (San Francisco, CA) Nov 07, 1909. Page 28

[21] 1912 Pittsburgh Daily Post (Pittsburgh, PA) Fri. Apr 12, 1912. Page 20

[22] Asbury Park Press (NJ) Fri. Sep 30, 1910. Page 1

[23] Chicago Tribune (Chicago, IL) Fri. Sep 6, 1912. Page 8

[24] https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2206776/?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm

[25] https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0839374/?ref_=tt_cl_t2

[26] The Oregon Daily Journal (Portland, OR) Sun. Aug 22, 1920. Page 44

[27] The Baltimore Sun (Baltimore, MD) Wed. Jun 10, 1914. Page 6

[28] Asbury Park Press (Asbury Park Press, NJ) Wed. Jul 26, 1916. Page 1

[29] The New York Times. Wed. Sep 8, 1915. Page 5

[30] The New York Times. Wed. Jan 21, 1914. Page 16

[31] The historical record is devoid of any further mention of her, as best I can determine.

[32] The News Palladium (Benton Harbor, MI) Thu. May 9, 1918. Page 4

[33] Prescott Evening Courier (Prescott, Arizona) October 23, 1934, Pages 1 & 3.

[34] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diane_Webber

[35] Variety, May 13, 1921. Page 62

[36] Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) Sun. Oct 2, 1921. Page 13

[37] Evening star (Washington, D.C.) April 24, 1921. Pt 3, Pg 1

[38] https://www.sisterhouse.net/library/2017/10/21/a-brief-history-of-the-pansy-craze/

[39] The Marion Star (Marion, OH) Sat. Nov 14, 1936. Page 6

[40] Josephine Powell. Tito Puente: When the Drums Are Dreaming. AuthorHouse; First Edition edition, 2007. Page 33-34

[41] The Winnipeg Tribune (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada) Tue. Feb 11, 1930. Page 9

[42] The Jo urnal Times (Racine, WI) Sun. Feb 23, 1936. Page 4

TOSHI REAGON IS A ONE-WOMAN CELEBRATION

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 21:18:13 GMT

"One Helluva Rock’n’Roller-Coaster Ride"

Described by Vibe magazine as “ one helluva rock’n’roller-coaster ride ” and by Pop Matters as “ a treasure waiting to be found. ”

Toshi Reagon is a one-woman celebration of all that’s dynamic, progressive and uplifting in American music. Since first taking to the stage at age 17, this versatile singer-songwriter-guitarist has moved audiences of all kinds with her big?hearted, hold-nothing-back approach to rock, blues, R&B, country, folk, spirituals and funk. The New York Times described her blend as “…a love of mixing things up…[her] vocal style ranges from a dirty blues moan to a gospel shout to an ethereal croon.” Her live performances, in particular, aren’t just accessible; they’re irresistible. And Toshi Reagon loves her audiences. Leading her renowned band– BIGLovely , launched in 1996–she instantly connects, inspires and empowers.

Toshi Reagon – “Ain't Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around”

Over nearly 30 years, Reagon has collaborated with top innovators across a wide spectrum of the entertainment field. Since Lenny Kravitz chose her, straight out of college, to open for him on his first world tour, she has gone on to share stages with notable colleagues such as Nona Hendryx, Elvis Costello, Ani DiFranco, Pete Seeger, Dar Williams, Lizz Wright, Me’shell NdegéOcello and Marc Anthony Thompson (aka Chocolate Genius). Her performances with her mother, Bernice Johnson Reagon–civil rights activist and founder of the a cappella group, Sweet Honey in the Rock–are legendary.

Toshi Reagon & BIGLovely - Real Love - Joe's Pub (1.24.14)

Toshi Reagon composed and served as musical director for Bones and Ash: A Gilda Story (1995), a production by the acclaimed Urban Bush Women dance troupe. She has also scored dance works by LAVA (most recently, we become in 2008) and by the Jane Comfort Dance Company (Asphalt and Underground River). Her musical work has been featured in film (The Secret Life of Bees) and television (PBS/WGBH’s Africans in America, The L Word, Crossing Jordan, House and HBO’s award-winning Beah: A Black Woman Speaks, produced by Jonathan Demme and LisaGay Hamilton). She collaborated, as conductor, musician and instrumental composer/arranger, with director Robert Wilson and with Bernice Johnson Reagon on a Gustave Flaubert-inspired opera, The Temptation of St. Anthony (2003), which toured throughout Europe.

As a producer, Poet and playwright Carl Hancock Rux tapped Reagon as one of the producers for his Rux Revue album. She also produced Casselberry DuPree’s Hot Corn in the Fire and Gina Breedlove’s Open Heart. She served as producer or co-producer on four CDs for Sweet Honey in the Rock–In This Land (1995), Still On The Journey (1993), Sacred Ground (1996) and The Women Gather (2003). She has written songs for Lizz Wright’s Dreaming Wide Awake (2005) and co-wrote and plays on several songs on Wright’s The Orchard (2008). She is currently working on a new CD with Wright.

Some of Reagon’s proudest moments have included playing for her godfather Pete Seeger’s 90th birthday celebration at Madison Square Garden (2009), a benefit for Seeger’s environmental organization, Clearwater. She has also performed with the Freedom Singers at the White House in President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama’s tribute to the music of the civil rights movement.

Toshi Reagon’s honors include a 2009 Out Music Award, the 2007 Black Lily Award for Outstanding Performance, and a 2004 New York Foundation for the Arts award for music composition. She was one of several women honored by the National Women’s History Project for “amazing intelligence, talent, courage and tenacity [that testify] to the myriad ways that generations of women have moved history forward.”

(Source: toshireagon.com/ )

BETTIE PAGE: Number One Pinup

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 17:20:13 GMT

After years of obscurity, she experienced a resurgence of popularity in the 1980s and has an ever increasing and significant cult following.

QUICK OVERVIEW VIDEO

Bettie Page (1923 â 2008) was a model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She is the "Queen of pinups". Her iconic trademark look (e.g. her jet black hair withbangs) has influenced many artists.

She was also one of the earliest Playmates of the Month for Playboy magazine.

Her later life was marked by depression and several years in a state psychiatric hospital. In 1959, she converted to Christianity, and later worked for Billy Graham. After years of obscurity, she experienced a resurgence of popularity in the 1980s and has a significant cult following. (source: Wikipedia)

THE FLAPPER (1920) With Commentary

Sat, 15 Dec 2018 04:58:52 GMT

Focusing on actress Olive Thomas and writer Frances Marion.

The great silent film with original period music.
Synopsis: Teenager Ginger King is living in a very wealthy family in the boring town of Orange Springs, Florida, where even having a soft drink with a boy is scandalous.
Commentary by David the Bruce focusing on actress Olive Thomas and writer Frances Marion.

THE FLAPPER ( Wikipedia )
A 1920 American silent comedy film starring Olive Thomas. Directed by Alan Crosland, the film was the first in the United States to portray the "flapper" lifestyle, which would become a cultural craze or fad in the 1920s.

Frances Marion ( Wikipedia )
Frances Marion (1888-1973) was an American journalist, author, film director and screenwriter often cited as the most renowned female screenwriter of the 20th century alongside June Mathis and Anita Loos. She was the first writer to win two Academy Awards.

Olive Thomas ( Wikipedia )
Thomas began her career as an illustrator's model in 1914, and moved on to the Ziegfeld Follies the following year. During her time as a Ziegfeld girl, she also appeared in the more risqué show The Midnight Frolic. In 1916, she began a successful career in silent films and would appear in more than 20 features over the course of her four-year film career. That year she also married actor Jack Pickford, the younger brother of fellow silent-film star Mary Pickford.

On September 10, 1920, Thomas died of acute nephritis in Paris five days after consuming mercury bichloride. Although her death was ruled accidental, news of her hospitalization and subsequent death were the subject of speculation in the press. Thomas' death has been cited as one of the first heavily publicized Hollywood scandals.two Academy Awards.

WHO IS LOTTE REINIGER? The Pioneering Animator

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 20:31:41 GMT

She brought together Chinese art, film, stop-frame animation and, European fairy stories and folk myths, and created a sensation that knows no parallel. She is totally unique.

Lotte Reiniger , the German-born film-maker, brought a European slant to the age-old Chinese art of silhouette puppetry. She fell in love with silhouette puppet animation and it was the love affair that lasted her entire life. Next to her co-producer husband, Carl Koch, it was the love of her life. It was while she was a teenager in school that she started experimenting with shadow puppet shows. She began with scenes from Shakespeare, evolved into animating Fairy Tales. She brought together Chinese art, film, stop-frame animation and, European fairy stories and folk myths, and created a sensation that knows no parallel. She is totally unique.

As a little girl she wanted to be an actress, she even studied with Max Rheinhardt at the Deutsches Theater Berlin. After then being exposed to Chinese shadow puppets she took her dramatic skills and applied then to animator – going on to produce more than 60 animated films from 1919 to 1980, of which, sadly, only about 40 survive.

In our video , we present one of her earliest productions, Cinderella , which has been described by Dan North (Spectacular Attractions) as “evocative and engrossing.” Because it was a silent film, I have added music by Kevin MacLeod to accentuate the story with a dramatic flare. “Nobody else has defined a form of animation as authoritatively as she did,” Dan North continued, “and the opening section, where scissors make the first cuts into the main character, conjuring her out of simple raw materials, displays the means by which the story is fabricated and marks it out as a product of her labor.”

We also present her 1922 “The Star of Bethlehem” in its revamped 1956 color version. We have replaced the Cathedral Films cheesy music and narration with the finest tradition Christman music to better showcase each scene. This demonstrates the timeless nature of Reiniger’s artistry. What worked in 1922 was still valued in 1956, and with our soundtrack update, still works in 2018, nearly a century later.

Her only feature-length work is The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926), which three years to complete, is often credited as being cinema’s first full-length animation. This precedes Disney’s Snow White (1937) by over a decade. For this feature, she developed the multiplane camera which was later developed for Walt Disney by animator and special effects technician Ub Iwerk , the original designer of Mickey Mouse.

Reiniger left Germany after Hitler took power, later saying: “I didn't like this whole Hitler thing and because I had many Jewish friends whom I was no longer allowed to call friends".

She and her husband eventually settled in England taking British citizenship and founded Primrose Productions , through which they produced a number of films for the BBC, among others. They were a dynamic production team.

Following the death of her husband in 1963 took a decade-long creative hiatus, and then she produced her last two works, Aucassin, and Nicolette in 1975 and The Rose and the Ring in 1979.

She died in Dettenhausen , Germany on June 19, 1981, at the age of 82.

Filmmaker Hans Richter, a close friend of Reiniger’s, said: "she belonged to the avant-garde as far as independent production and courage were concerned." And, the British Film Institute’s Philip Kemp said : “No one else has taken a specific animation technique and made it so utterly her own. To date, she has no rivals, and for all practical purposes the history of silhouette animation begins and ends with Reiniger."

LOTTE'S FILMS
1980 The Four Seasons
1979 The Rose and the Ring
1975 Aucassin and Nicolette
1974 The Lost Son
1961 The Frog Prince
1958 A Night in a Harem
1957 Helen la belle
1957 The Magic Horse
1957 The Gallant Little Tailor
1956 Jack and the Beanstalk
1956 The Star of Bethlehem
1955 The Little Chimney Sweep
1954 Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
1954 Caliph Storch
1954 Cinderella
1954 Däumlienchen
1954 Hänsel and Gretel
1954 Puss in Boots
1954 Snow White and Rose Red
1954 The Frog Prince
1954 The Grasshopper and the Ant
1954 The Sleeping Beauty
1954 The Three Wishes
1951 Mary's Birthday
1950 The Dancing Fleece
1950 Not Without Licence
1949 Here and There
1944 The Goose That Lays the Golden Eggs
1938 The HPO
1937 Daughter
1937 The King's Breakfast
1937 The Tocher
1936 Silhouetten
1935 Der Graf von Carabas
1935 Galathea: Das lebende Marmorbild
1935 Kalif Storch
1935 Papageno
1935 The Little Chimney Sweep
1934 Das gestohlene Herz
1933 Carmen
1933 Das rollende Rad
1932 Sissi
1931 Harlekin
1930 Zehn Minuten Mozart
1928 Der scheintote Chinese
1928 Dr. Dolittle and His Animals
1928 Grotesken im Schnee
1927 The Chinese Nightingale
1926 The Adventures of Prince Achmed
1924 Die Barcarole
1922 Cinderella
1922 Sleeping Beauty
1922 The Flying Koffer
1922 The Secret of the Marquise
1920 Amor und das standhafte Liebespaar
1919 The Ornament of the Lovestruck Heart

TRACEY EMIN: Bad Girl Artist

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 18:59:50 GMT

The Bad Girl of the Young British Artists Movement

Personal traumatic events such as unreported rape, public humiliation, sexism, botched abortions, alcoholism, and promiscuity have been the backdrop of her highly personal art.

Best known as the bad girl of the YBA* generation, Tracey Emin is now one of the most successful artists working anywhere in the world. This film follows Emin at work in her studio as she prepares for an exhibition in Vienna, where her work is displayed alongside that of Egon Schiele, her artistic hero. In recent years Emin has shifted focus to more figurative work, creating paintings and sculptures that continue to explore her most intimate concerns. She speaks candidly about a life devoted to making art, as well as her ambitions for the future.

*TBA = Young British Artists movement.

PART 1

PART 2

Tracey Emin , CBE, RA (; born 1963) is an English artist known for her autobiographical and confessional artwork. Emin produces work in a variety of media including drawing, painting, sculpture, film, photography, neon text and sewn appliqué. Once the "enfant terrible" of the Young British Artists in the 1980s, Tracey Emin is now a Royal Academician of the Royal Academy of Arts.

In 1997, her work Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995 , a tent appliquéd with the names of everyone the artist had ever shared a bed with was shown at Charles Saatchi's Sensation exhibition held at the Royal Academy in London. The same year, she gained considerable media exposure when she swore repeatedly in a state of drunkenness on a live discussion programme called The Death of Painting on British television.

In 1999, Emin had her first solo exhibition in the United States at Lehmann Maupin Gallery, entitled Every Part of Me's Bleeding . Later that year, she was a Turner Prize nominee and exhibited My Bed – a readymade installation, consisting of her own unmade dirty bed, in which she had spent several weeks drinking, smoking, eating, sleeping and having sexual intercourse while undergoing a period of severe emotional flux. The artwork featured used condoms and blood-stained underwear.

Emin is also a panellist and speaker: she has lectured at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Art Gallery of New South Wales in Sydney (2010), the Royal Academy of Arts (2008), and the Tate Britain in London (2005) about the links between creativity and autobiography, and the role of subjectivity and personal histories in constructing art. Emin's covers a variety of different media, including needlework and sculpture, drawing, video and installation, photography and painting.

In December 2011, she was appointed Professor of Drawing at the Royal Academy; with Fiona Rae, she is one of the first two female professors since the Academy was founded in 1768.

Emin lives in Spitalfields, east London.

(This biography is from Wikipedia under an Attribution-ShareAlike Creative Commons License . )

Read full Wikipedia entry

EXAMPLES OF HER ART

Tracey Emin
Exorcism of the Last Painting I Ever Made (detail)
1996

Tracey Emin
Untitled (Porchester Baths)
1988
Oil on board
28 x 26 cm

Tracey Emin
Untitled
2000
Photographic print
104 x 130 cm

Artist: Tracey Emin (British, born 1963)
Title: Naked photos - Life model goes mad (in 9 parts)
1996
Medium: color coupler print
Size: 29.4 x 29.4 cm. (11.6 x 11.6 in.)

LINKS:

10 things you should know about Tracey Emin

Erin"s art at artsy.net

Great Bio and Critque

Great Blog: Art Now and Then

SITA SINGS THE BLUES

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 23:37:34 GMT

A musical, animated personal interpretation of the Indian epic the Ramayana.

Sita Sings the Blues is a 2008 American animated musical romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley. It intersperses events from the Ramayana, light-hearted but knowledgeable discussion of historical background by a trio of Indian shadow puppets, musical interludes voiced with tracks by Annette Hanshaw and scenes from the artist's own life. The ancient mythological and modern biographical plot are parallel tales, sharing numerous themes.

Q: What drove you to create "Sita Sings the Blues"?

Nina Paley : Sita Sings the Blues is a musical, animated personal interpretation of the Indian epic the Ramayana. The aspect of the story that I focus on is the relationship between Sita and Rama, who are gods incarnated as human beings, and even they can't make their marriage work.

And then there's my story. I'm just an ordinary human, who also can't make her marriage work. And the way that it fails is uncannily similar to the way Rama and Sita's [relationship fails]. Inexplicable yet so familiar. And the question that I asked and the question people still ask is, "Why"? Why did Rama reject Sita? Why did my husband reject me? We don't know why, and we didn't know 3,000 years ago. I like that there's really no way to answer the question, that you have to accept that this is something that happens to a lot of humans.

Q: How did you discover Annette Hanshaw's music?

Nina Paley : I heard her voice for the first time while "sofa surfing" after my break-up. I was staying in the home of a record collector in New York. He had original Hanshaw 78's on his shelf, a friend played 'Mean to Me,' and I was hooked. Her voice is so sweet and vulnerable and without bitterness, even as she sings of heartbreak and man-done-her-wrong. Also it comes from a completely different era, separate from both today and ancient India. Those old songs really show how the story of heartbreak in the Ramayana transcends time and culture.

Source: http://www.sitasingstheblues.com/

A MESSAGE FROM THE CREATOR (Nina Paley)

Episodes from the Ramayana

Episodes with dialogue from the Ramayana are enacted using painted figures of the characters in profile, which strongly resemble the 18th-century Indian tradition of Rajput painting. The Rajput style of brush painting was principally enacted on manuscripts and commonly employed in the telling of epics such as the Ramayana. In the film they serve as a more traditional style of dramatic narrative, although the dialogue is frequently ironic, inappropriately modern or otherwise humorous.

The background in each scene is usually static and the poses of each character are kept minimal, with movement achieved by simply transporting the character across the screen in its set position. Speech is enacted by alternating the set pose of the face with a slightly liquified version where the jaw is lower. ( Source )

Narration and discourse on the Ramayana

Narration and discourse on the Ramayana

Aseem Chhabra, Bhavana Nagulapally, and Manish Acharya provided the voices for three silhouettes, traditional Indian shadow puppets. They link episodes of the Ramayana with a lively, unscripted, discussion of their personal impressions and knowledge of the epic. They provide context and commentary for the story, which has innumerable incarnations and regional variations.

The voices are clearly contemporary and somewhat irreverent, unlike their visualisations, which further establishes the theme of contrast between "ancient tragedy and modern comedy"; Chhaya Natak shadow theatre, for example, was commonly used in retellings of the Ramayana.

During these sections, the ideas and contradictions raised over the course of the puppets' discussions are visualised in animated photographic compositions in the background. ( Source )

Musical episodes from the Ramayana

Episodes set to certain songs performed by jazz singer Annette Hanshaw are visualised, with Sita as the singing performer, using the strikingly modern technique of vector graphic animation.

The slick, bold style – driven by digital animation software – is at odds with the somewhat rustic quality of the old musical recordings but allows close synchronisation with the vocals. The smooth, repetitive, side-scrolling movement it effects assists in suspending the musical episode from the more consistent narrative plot. ( Source )

Contemporary parallel

The modern, more personal element to the contemporary part of the story is narrated using the rough, energetic Squigglevision technique of traditional animation. It conveys the kind of restlessness inherent in the story and achieves a more light-hearted, universal tone with its simple, highly stylised renderings of character and environments. ( Source )

Nina waives all copyright restrictions, as follows:

To the extent possible under law, Nina Paley has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to Sita Sings the Blues. This work is published from: United States.

Dear Audience,
I hereby give Sita Sings the Blues to you. Like all culture, it belongs to you already, but I am making it explicit with a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License updated 1-18-2011: CC-0 license ("Public Domain") . Please distribute, copy, share, archive, and show Sita Sings the Blues . From the shared culture it came, and back into the shared culture it goes.

You don't need my permission to copy, share, publish, archive, show, sell, broadcast, or remix Sita Sings the Blues . Conventional wisdom urges me to demand payment for every use of the film, but then how would people without money get to see it? How widely would the film be disseminated if it were limited by permission and fees? Control offers a false sense of security. The only real security I have is trusting you, trusting culture, and trusting freedom.

That said, my colleagues and I will enforce the Share Alike License . You are not free to copy-restrict ("copyright") or attach Digital Restrictions Management (DRM) to Sita Sings the Blues or its derivative works. updated 1-18-2011: Who am I kidding? I'm not going to use our broken legal system to enforce anything. The law is an ass I don't want to ride. I still don't want you to restrict derivatives or attach DRM or misattribute, but I'm not going to sue over it.

Some of the songs in Sita Sings the Blues are not free, and may never be; copyright law requires you to obey their respective licenses. This is not by my choice; please see our restrictions page for more.

There is the question of how I'll get money from all this. My personal experience confirms audiences are generous and want to support artists. Surely there's a way for this to happen without centrally controlling every transaction. The old business model of coercion and extortion is failing. New models are emerging, and I'm happy to be part of that. But we're still making this up as we go along. You are free to make money with the free content of Sita Sings the Blues, and you are free to share money with me . People have been making money in Free Software for years; it's time for Free Culture to follow. I look forward to your innovations.

If you have questions, please ask each other. If you have ideas, please implement them - you don't need my permission or anyone else's (except for the copyright-restricted songs , of course). If you see abuses, please address them, but don't get bogged down in arcane details of copyright law. The copyright system wants you to think in terms of asking permission; I want you to think in terms of freedom. We've set up this Wiki to get things started. Feel free to improve it!

I've got to get back to my life now, and make some new art. Thanks for your support! This film wouldn't exist without you.

Love,
--Nina Paley
28 February, 2009

PUSSY RIOT

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Fri, 16 Nov 2018 16:07:03 GMT

A young female music group, The Pussy Riot, was jailed for speaking out in Russia.

We posted this video on 09-21 2013. And much has happened since. Pussy Riot is an incredible group of feminist punk musicians! Where others have feared to tread, they have gone. Personally, I am a great fan. If you are not familiar with them and the history they made, please do yourself a favor and check this video out.

Update via Wikipedia:

Pussy Riot is a Russian feminist protest punk rock group based in Moscow. Founded in August 2011, it has had a variable membership of approximately 11 women ranging in age from about 20 to 33 (as of 2012). The group staged unauthorized provocative guerrilla performances in public places, performances that were filmed as music videos and posted on the Internet. The collective's lyrical themes included feminism, LGBT rights, and opposition to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whom the group considered to be a dictator, and his policies. These themes also encompassed Putin's links to the leadership of the Russian Orthodox Church.

The group gained global notoriety when five members of the group staged a performance inside Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Savior on February 21, 2012. The group's actions were condemned as sacrilegious by the Orthodox clergy and eventually stopped by church security officials. The women said their protest was directed at the Orthodox Church leaders' support for Putin during his election campaign. On March 3, 2012, two of the group members, Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and Maria Alyokhina, were arrested and charged with hooliganism. A third member, Yekaterina Samutsevich, was arrested on March 16. Denied bail, they were held in custody until their trial began in late July. On August 17, 2012, the three members were convicted of "hooliganism motivated by religious hatred", and each was sentenced to two years' imprisonment. On October 10, following an appeal, Samutsevich was freed on probation and her sentence suspended. The sentences of the other two women were upheld.

The trial and sentence attracted considerable attention and criticism, particularly in the West. The case was adopted by human-rights groups, including Amnesty International, which designated the women as prisoners of conscience, and by a number of prominent entertainers. Public opinion in Russia was generally less sympathetic towards them. Having served 21 months, Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were released on December 23, 2013, after the State Duma approved an amnesty.

In February 2014, a statement was made anonymously on behalf of some Pussy Riot members that both Alyokhina and Tolokonnikova were no longer members. However, both were among the group that performed as Pussy Riot during the Winter Olympics in Sochi, where group members were attacked with whips and pepper spray by Cossacks who were employed as security guards. On March 6, 2014, Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina were assaulted and sprayed with green paint by local youths in Nizhny Novgorod.

Speaking as much to western European and North American audiences as to Russian audiences, in 2016 Pussy Riot anticipated a Trump victory and two weeks before the vote, released "Make America Great Again", depicting a dystopian world where a President Trump enforces his values through beatings, shaming, and branding by stormtroopers. In describing the video, Rolling Stone magazine noted that "jaunty, carefree music contrasts with the brutal events depicted on screen."

LIANE JUNGLE GODDESS: Strong and Independent

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 21:05:46 GMT

Powerful female. An early female superhero. Powerful and proud.

Liane, Jungle Goddess (German: Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald) is a 1956 West German film directed by Eduard von Borsody. Plot: A beautiful (and completely topless) white jungle siren is discovered in the wilds of Africa living with a native tribe.

FEMMECENTRIC REVIEW:

Yes, yes, I know that this Movie has been seen as sensational exploitation, especially by the standards of the 1950s, and racist in its depiction of native Africans by positioning white culture as superior. But on the other hand, I also see a powerful female character that takes on the world by her own terms. She is strong and independent. She is obligated to no man and is functioning a male world as a strong feminist. Here is a film the presents a Jungle Queen as a precursor to the “We Can Do It” feminist movement of the upcoming 1970s. Here is a film, set in that androcentric time of the 1950s, that didn’t present a woman in a demeaning way, but rather as strong and independent.

The Jungle Queens were female Tarzans. They were a shemale character.

And by the way, the novel that this film is based on was written a woman, Anne Day-Helveg (1898 – 1975) who was an Austrian dancer, dance teacher, and romance writer.

Anne Day-Helveg changed her name several times by 3 marriages (Gruner, Helveg, Lothringer) and by taking pen-names. As a dancer and dance teacher, she was Annie Helveg during her time in Vienna. As a writer of romantic stories, she was Anne Day-Helveg or Anne Day.

In 1938, shortly after her mother's death, she left Austria escaping from the Nazis to France without any money or passport. In 1941, under the name Anna Gruner-Helveg, she was accepted as a stateless refugee in Geneva. Her famous brother Karl Popper supported her during war-time by sending money through the Red Cross, though he himself lived under financial strains in New Zealand. She became a Swiss citizen after marrying the Swiss writer Fred Lothringer. They lived and worked together in Ascona, the place where she died in 1975.

Anne's only remarkable success was the romance in German language Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald (Liane: The Girl from the Jungle), after having been made a German film in 1956 (Liane, Jungle Goddess). It is about a female Tarzan starring the four-star actor Marion Michael, and in those years the topless young beauty Marion Michael was a sensation.

Marion Michael suffered injuries in a car accident during this time period. She returned to acting but stopped again in 1965. She suffered a major bout of depression. Michael sometimes returned to film and television acting later in her life, but only rarely. However, despite her lack of screen time after the 1960s, she remained a well known German film icon. Her last onscreen appearance was in a 1996 German television musical about her life, entitled Liane.

Michael died of heart failure in Gartz, Brandenburg, four days shy of her 67th birthday.

Long live the Jungle Queens for opening the door to a better understanding of what being female is all about.

(Sources include: Wikipedia)

THE STORYLINE FROM IMDB :
An expedition discovers blonde 16-year-old Liane venerated by the native tribe in the African jungle and returns her to Hamburg where she is welcomed by her grandfather, ship tycoon Von Amelongen. His nephew Schoening, present head of the firm and prospective heir, tries all to stop his uncle from acknowledging her, including perjury, destruction of evidence, and finally resorting to murder. He dies in an accident driving his car into the river in his flight from the police. There is a subplot around a love quadrangle centered around Thoren, who is secretly loved by biologist Jacqueline who is in turn courted by Hungarian Tibor. Thoren plays paternal protector to Liane before succumbing to her youthful charm and returning with her to the jungle.

CAST with Wikipedia links

Marion Michael - Liane
Hardy Krüger - Thoren
Irène Galter - Dr. Jacqueline Goddard
Peter Mosbacher - Tibor Teleky
Rudolf Forster - Theo Amelongen
Reggie Nalder - Viktor
Rolf von Nauckhoff - Professor Danner
Edward Tierney - Kersten
Reinhard Kolldehoff - Keller
Herbert Hübner - Justizrat Warmuth
Olga von Togni - Alma
Jean Pierre Faye - Tanga
Arno Paulsen - Kriminalkommissar
Anneliese Würtz - Frieda the Maid
Editha Horn - Miss Helumund
Waltraut Runze - Ellen the Upstairs Maid
Walter Bluhm - Port Said Rep
Curt Lucas - Ship's Captain
Hans Emons - Nedrick
Erik Radolf - Jensen

Directed … Eduard von Borsody
Produced … Helmuth Volmer (producer)
Written … Anne Day-Helveg (novel Liane, das Mädchen aus dem Urwald), Thomas Fough (idea) and Ernst von Salomon (script)
Music … Erwin Halletz
Cinematography … Bruno Timm
Edited … Walter von Bonhorst
Distributed … Distributors Corporation of America (US)
Release date … 4 October 1956
Running time … 88 minutes
Country … West Germany
Language … German

POSTERS

GRACE LA RUE: And Her Inkey Boys

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Tue, 13 Nov 2018 06:26:18 GMT

Part of the Ziegfeld Follies. A singing star of the 20s. A musical comedy headliner on Broadway. She is reputed to be the first woman to earn over $40,000.00 a week in adjusted dollars in 1907. She intro black culture to white audiences!

This extraordinary woman was born Grace Parsons. But such a name would never work on Vaudeville, dispute her talent. So, she adopted the more exotic name of Grace La Rue. And with that name, she became part of the Ziegfeld Follies, A singing star of the 20s. A musical comedy headliner on Broadway. She is reputed to be the first woman to earn over $40,000.00 a week in adjusted dollars in 1907. [1] She made millions. Ironically, in retirement, she filed for bankruptcy with only $600 to her name. Her story is one of hard work, fame, and misfortune. The irony of her life is that she may never have realized the culture-shifting good she had done. This is her extraordinary story.

(Above) The first and only video documentary on Grace La Rue. Enjoy! We worked hard on it.

“Born on April 23, 1882, i n the poverty of a Missouri farm not far from Kansas City. But poverty would not stand in her way. She knew how to sing and got the best training she could get. Grace began her stage career at the age of nine in the Shakespearean repertory. Her first Broadway engagement was in “The Tourist” with famed Julia Sanderson and Lillian Lorraine in 1906. Then the following year she was featured in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1907 and 1908. [2] Her assent was rapid and highly successful.

Grace La Rue recalled, “When I was 11 years old as a child soprano, singing the Psalms at the Grand Avenue Church, Kansas City, and I made my theatrical debut one year later in the same city, as a page in Julia Marlowe’s production of ‘As You Like It.’ My initial traveling engagement came the following year when the Milton Nobles stock company signed me up to play boy parts. But alas, before two weeks had passed I experienced such a teary attack of homesickness that I was promptly sent home to mother.

“And there I stayed very willingly until the call from a stock company in Pittsburgh. From playing boy and girl parts with this organization I went to Denver for a dramatic stock season. And then I retired from the stage forever… and seriously committed to the study of music. But in 10 months I was in Vaudeville.” [3]

VAUDEVILLE

Vaudeville is a live variety entertainment show popular chiefly in the US in the early 20th century, featuring a mixture of specialty acts such as comedy, song and dance. [4] The early 1900s was the time before television, broadcast radio and even movie theatres. Going out was pretty much confined to shopping, church, public meetings, and Vaudeville. Is it any wonder that Vaudeville was so popular? Preachers felt the competition and often railed against it. Vaudeville, however, was generally family-friendly, with perhaps some occasional risqué humor as you might expect in a PG-13 movie of today. Promoters, after all, wanted the maximum attendance for maximum profits. There was another form of Vaudeville called ‘Burlesque’ which could be the more R-rated form of variety show often found in cabarets and clubs, as well as theatres, and might feature bawdy comedy, saucy music, and female striptease. [5]

Grace La Rue was ideally suited for Vaudeville. She could sing, dance, act, and even developed an acrobatic-dance act. [6] Her singing voice was considered one of the best in the world.

Racial bigotry was huge at that time. Blacks had nearly no place in the Vaudeville, especially in white areas. These were the black-faced minstrel days, that is, white people with blacken faces as black people. Some Vaudeville performers refused to appear on the same stage with actual African-Americans. It is, therefore, most significant that Grace La Rue began her Vaudeville career performing with a black comedy team known as the Inkey Boys. Oddly, for her and them it worked. In fact, audiences loved it. A beautiful and talented white girl performing with an actual African-American comedy team filled the seats. Grace La Rue is to be commended for her step outside the box of convention and thus helping to open the door for other black artists to perform before a white audience.

The situation was that she needed them more than they needed her specifically. As one report stated it, “Grace La Rue is accompanied by two of the brightest colored boys seen on the local stage for some time. That is all that saves Grace, for she has no native ability.” [7]

There was at that time an Irish Vaudeville team known as the “Burke Brothers” and they fashioned an act with a donkey named “Wise Mike.” They would ask their funny little donkey questions and it would respond with hilarious comebacks. It was highly successful

In 1898 the Burke Brothers were cast in the Knicker-Bocker Burlesquers along with La Rue. This may have been their first experience together. While this burlesque show included a “female contingent comprised of the fairest specimens that ever stepped through the old stage doors,” La Rue didn't appear as one of these showgirls. But, rather as a comedic actor where she could showcase to her song and dance. [8]

La Rue was teamed up with them. The Burke Brothers had become known as “the premieres of all comedians” writing, producing and starring in their own productions. [9] At first, La Rue had supporting roles in their shows, but she soon became a headliner [10] and especially when she performed with her Inkey Boys. This prompted her to cancel her management contract with Klaw & Erlanger. [11] She was doing well enough on her own with the Inky Boys.

Grace La Rue and Charles H. Burke became close. Some false reports claimed they married. However, they may have been romantically linked. She referred to him as “another optimistic soul like myself.” [12] To capitalize on their comedic chemistry, Charles broke, for a while, from the Burke Brothers and Talking Mike gig and in 1903 formed a Vaudeville act with La Rue and the Inkey Boys. It was a great success. The Hartford Courant reported, “Charles Burke is funnier than ever and has made a hit with Grace La Rue and the Inkey Boys.” [13] The Evening Journal out of Wilmington, Delaware wrote, “Burke, La Rue and The Inkey Boys …introduces a line of comedy that is refined and wholesome and so conspicuously good that everyone enjoys it.” [14]

Unfortunately, the press often referred to the Inkey Boys, because they were black, as pickaninnies, which was the dominant racial slur and caricature of Black children for most of America’s history. [15] Despite the demeaning racial attitudes and stereotyping, La Rue continued to perform with them and to surprisingly great box office. The songs La Rue sang with them were referred to as “Coon Songs.” [16] Later, Florenz Ziegfeld was to promote black talent as well, especially Bert Williams, despite social norms of the time. And, by the way, both Ziegfeld and La Rue found great financial success in doing so.

They performed together until La Rue got the call form Ziegfeld to join the Follies in 1907. La Rue left the group, but Charles and the Inkey Boys continued as just “Burke and the Inkey Boys.” [17] But then after 1908 little mention is made of either in Vaudeville. The act apparently didn’t seem to work as well without her. Or, perhaps it all ended because they were just burned out after 4 years of the same old act with little change.

1907 ZIEGFELD FOLLIES

She recalls, “I stayed in Vaudeville until I became a headliner, then I left it for a prima donna role in ‘The Follies of 1908’” [18] (Note: Prima Donna means leading female singer). Ziegfeld paid her well for her singing voice, she is reputed to be the first woman to earn over $40,000.00 a week in adjusted dollars in 1907. [19]

For the 1907 Follies, she played Pocahontas, and, of course, she sang. Her beautiful voice was the very thing Ziegfeld hired her for. [20]

She continued in the Follies through 1908. And she may have continued, but she fell in love with Byron Chandler the “Millionaire Kid” [21]

THE LONG ENGAGEMENT

Byron Chandler, the “Millionaire Kid,” was the son of a former Governor of the state of Vermont. It was a wealthy family. His father was also the head of the largest bank in New Hampshire. Besides all this, the family was very religious. They attended church every Sunday. They were devout Puritans. But, Byron didn’t seem to connect with the family religion. He later spoke of the money he received as an allowance growing up as being subversive. “I had an allowance of hundreds of dollars where other boys received only dimes and quarters.” When he inherited a million dollars when his father passed on he became popularly known as the “Millionaire Kid,” a knick-name that came about earlier when he was exactly that, a kid. He first came to public attention when he became the first person in Boston to own a car. He spent tons of money on his friends and loved to put on huge lavish parties flowing with the finest campaign. He said Broadway had won over the Governor’s son. He was a sucker, he passed out money to friends like it was going out of style.

“Gold diggers?” asks Brian Chandler, “I wonder why they tie that name to women. The way some of my money went, my ‘friends’ might as well have worn a mask, shoving a gun in my side and rolled me for it. ‘Good old Broadway!’ The man who first wrote that into a song must have lived in Des Moines and never have been east of Chicago.” [22]

La Rue and Chandler first met in Chicago while she was performing “Nearly A Hero” in which La Rue was the leading lady. [23] It was an instant attachment. They went everywhere together. The press was always near. In 1908 the now famous girl from the Follies was seen registering at the Auditorium Hotel in Chicago with Chandler. The clerk at the hotel, attempting to protect them, said they had been married. In those days, of course, sleeping in the same room was something you did after marriage. People did a lot of sneaking around as you might imagine. When the press asked the couple if they had married, they responded “No.” But, they never said anything about being together in a room. [24]

La Rue seemed to like complicated men. Chandler had an army of adoring stage beauties that he spent money on. He had been married to Grace Steecher in 1902 when he was 22. Steecher sued for divorce citing his fondness for drink and other women. Additional Mrs. Edith Roberts, of Manchester, who alleged his attention to her daughter had resulted in $20,000 damages to the young woman. [25] Steecher settled quietly through the secret divorce system in New York that the rich took advantage of. [26] And, there was the $10,000 (that’s $245,000 in today’s money) suit from actress Miss Joan Swartz for breach of promise. [27] Ultimately, Chandler would be married and divorced four times and sued for alleged breach of promise twice and would take his life by suicide in 1942. He was complicated.

Despite all the obstacles and red flags, La Rue married him.

MARRIED LIFE

Their 1909 marriage happened in London, England. Naturally, their honeymoon was in London and Paris. Nothing was too good for her. He burned through money while in Europe on every extravagance possible.

But why marry in London? Because the former Mrs. Chandler’s divorce decree forbid Chandler from marrying during her lifetime. [28] So, they couldn't do it in the USA, they did in the UK.

While in Europe La Rue appeared in many great venues, bolstering her renown.

She had become so famous, in fact, that when she reported to Scotland Yards that her jewels and money, valued at $7,000 (that’s $178,492 in today’s money), had been stolen from her hotel room while she was performing at the Palace Theatre in London, it made worldwide news. [29]

Byron Chandler became her financial backer for plays they now produced together. But despite the money backing, not all shows were successful. The St Lewis Dispatch reported that the Chandler backed [30] “’Betsy’ bores its Garrick audience. Grace La Rue has an unsatisfying play.” [31] And the lifestyle of wine, woman, and song for The Millionaire Kid had kicked in again.

The so-called ideal husband and wife team of money and talent was beginning to crumble. [32]

THE LONG DIVORCE

La Rue could be tough. Grace won a 1910 verdict over playwright George V. Hobart for not delivering a play she had paid him to write for her. [33] He had to pay her $8,423, in today's money. [34]

And she was just as tough on Chandler. La Rue filed for divorce in 1914, alleging that Chandler was unfaithful and that he beat her. She was tough taking decisive action.

The Millionaire kid was not too happy with the whole divorce proceedings. [35] He denied ever being violent and said she would get nothing from him. “I guess Grace is out for the coin,” he said. “She has plenty of money and a good theatrical engagement besides. She says I threatened to shoot her. That is simply ridiculous. Why, I have always loved, honored, and respected her.” [36]

He even tried to weasel out of responsibility to La Rue by claiming “that he was not legally separated from his first wife at the time he paid court to Miss La Rue. He, therefore, said he considered his marriage to her invalid.” [37] The claim didn’t fly.

A few months later in May of 1914 La Rue Chandler announced his intention to marry a much younger Hilma A. Nelson. [38]

Crazy as it might seem, Grace, reconciled with the Millionaire Kid two years later in 1917, settling their matrimonial differences. [39] This comes after he inherited another million from his Grandmother [40] and made a killing on Wall Street. [41] Apparently, a private financial deal was stuck, and all was good between them. [42]

Despite everything, La Rue continued strong in her career.

Modeling clothing was now a part of her shows. Women came to her shows not just to be entertained but also to see the latest fashions. La Rue did not disappoint. Some of her clothes came from Paris, some from New York and some she made herself. “At the international Fashion Show at New York La Rue was claimed to be the best-dressed woman in the world.” [43] About her performance with high fashion, she said each dress she had created was to “serve as an expression of the song she is rendering.” [44]

THE NEW MAN

Whether it was Charles Burke, Florenz Ziegfeld, or The Millionaire Kid, it seems La Rue always needed a powerful and influential man in her life. Perhaps she was never fully aware of her own power. After all, these strong and influential men were also drawn to her as well. She was in her own right a powerful and influential woman.

There was no man she ever fought so hard for than popular actor Hale Hamilton. She fought off all foes, married him and was with him until the day he died.

It all began in 1918 when she began dating Hamilton. By 1919 she was appearing in productions with him. [45] Even though he had been married twice before, [46] La Rue married Hamilton in 1920. [47]

Hamilton had been married to actress Myrtle Tannehill for 6 years, and they had divorced 2 years previously in 1918. But then in 1920 Hamilton’s ex-wife drops a surprisingly unexpected lawsuit on Grace La Rue for $100,000 charging alienation of affection. That would be about $2 million dollars today. She claimed that her ex-husband had first met La Rue in 1908 and “by giving him money and following him about the country, weaned him away from her.” [48] She also falsely claimed that La Rue was still married to The Million Dollar Kid. To complicate things further showgirl Luella Gear claimed she had been the wife of The Millionaire Kid. [49]

The only thing that was running smoothly at the time was the La Rue and Hamilton production of “Dear Me.” It was a huge success. [50]

THE FINAL CURTAIN

How this whole mess was finally resolved isn’t totally clear due to the secret legal settlements of that time. And life went on, with La Rue slowly fading from public memory. Every once and a while there was a News item about La Rue. She claimed that color can talk. [51] She developed a corset for slender and middle-weight women. [52] And it was reported that the Prince of Wales liked Grace La Rue’s golden voice [53] so much that he requested an encore of her song “What’ll I Do” two times. [54]

Between October 1922 and 1923 she played successfully at the Music Box, New York, in Irving Berlin's second Music Box Revue. She was back in London again at the Coliseum in the summer of 1924 in a sketch, Dangerous Advice with her husband, Hale Hamilton. Returning to America, the fading La Rue appeared in productions such as The Greenwich Village Follies (Winter Garden, New York, 1928) where she was limited to two songs.

By the early 1930s, she was living in retirement in California, where she made a brief appearance in Mae West's film “She Done Him Wrong” (1933). [55] In her second and final screen appearance, she played herself in Bing Crosby’s “If I Had My Way” (1940), as a salute to old Vaudeville.

The truth was that the day of live stage performances had given way to motion picture theaters. Even though variety shows will always be with us, Vaudeville had seen its better days. She was never again the headliner she had been. Her large amounts of income had ended. In 1937 she and her husband filed voluntary bankruptcy in federal court listing assets of only $600 and insurmountable liabilities of $21,212. [56]

The Millionaire Kid went on to divorce his third wife, Luella Gear. Then marry Betty Jean West, resulting in his fourth divorce in 1941. As one newspaper summarized his life, “Byron Chandler’s pocket bugging with money seem never to have given him a permanent hold on the joy he started confidently in pursuit of so many years ago.” [57] He committed suicide in 1942 at his Palm Beach estate. His body was found floating in Lake Worth with a bullet wound to the chest. [58]

Finally, in 1956, the “Ziegfeld singing star of the ‘20s Grace La Rue Hamilton” [59] passed away at age 75 in a Peninsula hospital [60] shortly after the death of her beloved husband, Hale Hamilton. In her final days, she had written an autobiography that was never published and is now probably lost. It was named after her biggest successful show “Dear Me.” [61]

The show “Dear Me” was about writing a letter to yourself. The thoughtful premise was: “When you have been down-hearted, discouraged or rebellious, have you ever tried writing yourself a letter… and offering yourself a remedy? No! Try it at once! …and see how quickly your viewpoint of life will change.” [62]

We will never know what Grace La Rue wrote in her “Dear Me” autobiography, but she was probably unaware of her greatest contribution to the American stage. And that is, in an era of extreme bigotry against blacks she mounted a successful career by teaming up with two talented black performers and entertained white audiences. She was one of those daring performers who helped introduce black culture artists to a larger audience.

Like Grace La Rue, often the good things we do go unnoticed, even by ourselves. Take a moment and write that Dear Me letter to yourself. You may be surprised as you discover the real you. The good you!

___________

FOOTNOTES

[1] The Kansas City Times. Wed. Mar. 14, 1956. Page 1

[2] The Morning Call (Penn.) Sunday Nov. 27, 1921. Page 16

[3] The Indianapolis Star (Ind) Mon. Nov 13, 1911. Page 7

[4] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaudeville

[5] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burlesque

[6] Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express (NY) Sun. Oct 27, 1901. Page 23

[7] Buffalo Courier (NY) Sun. Nov 22, 1903. Page 34

[8] The Boston Globe. Sun. Feb 13, 1898. 1898

[9] The Dayton Herald Wed. Nov 7, 1900. Page 5

[10] Buffalo Morning Express and Illustrated Buffalo Express (NY) Sun. Oct 27, 1901. Page 23

[11] The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sun. Sep 20, 1903. Page 32

[12] The Indianapolis Star (Ind) Mon. Nov 13, 1911. Page 7

[13] Hartford Courant (Conn.) Wed. Oct 28, 1903. Page 7

[14] The Evening Journal (Delaware) Wed. Jan 24, 1906. Page 6

[15] https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=pickaninny

[16] The Buffalo Enquirer (NY) Tue. Nov 24, 1903. Page 3

[17] The News Journal (Del.) Tue. Feb 5, 1907. Page 6

[18] The Indianapolis Star (Ind) Mon. Nov 13, 1911. Page 7

[19] The Kansas City Times. Wed. Mar. 14, 1956. Page 1

[20] Evening Star (Wash DC) Tue. Sep 17, 1907. Page 16

[21] Santa Cruz Evening News (Calif.) Tue. Dec 29, 1908. Page 6

[22] Buffalo Courier (NY) Sunday Feb. 4, 1923. Page 57

[23] Chicago Tribune. Sun. Jul 16, 1911. Page 2

[24] Santa Cruz Evening News (Calif.) Tue. Dec 29, 1908. Page 6

[25] The Buffalo Times (NY) Wed. Dec. 23, 1908. Page 3

[26] St. Louis Post Dispatch (Missouri) Sun. Dec 12, 1909. Page 26

[27] The Evening Sun (MD) Wed. Aug 20, 1913, Page 1

[28] The Stark County Democrat (Ohio) Thu. Aug 19, 1909. Page 1

[29] Palladium Item (Ind,) Wed. Aug 20, 1913. Page 6

[30] New York Herald. Wed. Jul 31, 1918. Page 8

[31] St. Louis Post Dispatch (Missouri). Tuesday Nov. 7, 1911. Page 8

[32] New York Tribune. Thu. Apr 2, 1914. Page 3

[33] The Wichita Daily Eagle (Ks) Sunday June 26, 1910. Page 20

[34] The award was $316.90 in 1910

[35] New York Tribune. Sat. Jul 11, 1914. Page 4

[36] The New York Times. Thu. April 9, 1914. Page 6

[37] The Washington Herald (DC) Thu. Aug 1, 1918. Page 6

[38] The Washington Herald (Wash. DC) Sun. Dec 5, 1915. Page 27

[39] The Cincinnati Enquirer (Ohio) Thu. Jan 4, 1917. Page 4

[40] Chicago Tribune. Sun. Jul 16, 1911. Page 2

[41] Actress Returns to ‘Millionaire Kid’ — Los Angeles Herald 4 January 1917

[42] Actress Returns to ‘Millionaire Kid’ — Los Angeles Herald 4 January 1917

[43] Harrisburg Daily Independent (Penn.) Wed. Jan 26, 1916. Page 8

[44] The Courier (Pennsylvania) Sunday, Jan. 23, 1916. Page 6

[45] San Francisco Chronicle. Sunday, Aug. 3, 1919. Page 4

[46] The Gazette (Montreal, Canada) Tue. Jun 1, 1920. Page 13

[47] The San Francisco Examiner. Sat. June 5, 1920. Page 2

[48] Buffalo Courier (NY) Thu. Mar 4, 1920. Page 1

[49] Daily News (NY) Wed. Jan 28, 1920. Page 7

[50] The Daily Times (Davenport, Iowa) Mon. Sept. 6, 1920. Page 14

[51] The Washington Herald (Wash. DC) Sunday, Dec.11, 1921. Page 33

[52] Joplin Globe. Sun. Mar 19, 1922

[53] Iola Daily Register and Evening News (Kansas) Thu. Sep 4, 1924. Page 4

[54] The Buffalo Commercial (NY) Sat. Sep 6, 1924. Page 7

[55] https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0357883/bio

[56] Vidette Messenger of Porter County (Indiana) Thu. Jan 14, 1937. Page 1

[57] San Francisco Chronicle. Sunday Nov. 25, 1923. Page 7

[58] The Hutchinson News (Kansas) Mon. Dec 21, 1942. Page 7

[59] The Blizzard (Pennsylvania) Wed. March 14, 1956. Page 7

[60] The Kansas City Times. Wed. Mar. 14, 1956. Page 1

[61] The Times (San Mateo, CA) Wed. May 23, 1956. Page 2

[62] Iowa City Press Citizen (Iowa) Wed. Sept. 1, 1920. Page 6

ANNABELLE WHITFORD: The Scandalous “She Wouldn’t Girl”

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 19:58:32 GMT

She introduced America to eroticism. She was the "New Girl" for the new century!

Imagine being a 17-year-old Burlesque dancer who introduces Americans to exotic dance and then created a national scandal by refusing to take her clothes off at a high society party. This is the remarkable story of Annabelle, the first movie star in a color movie produced by Thomas Edison. The first Gibson Girl. The original Nell Brinkley Girl. And the personification of the Christy Girl. [1]

(Above) We produced the first and only documentary on Annabelle. Enjoy!

Annabelle first won fame as a child dancer known as Baby Annabelle at age 11. She was in demand at society functions. She grew up on the stage. [2] She had a show business mom. Her birth father, Edward P. Whitford had passed on when she was born. Her mother, Amanda Pittman, had led Amazonian type women in glittering burlesques. [3] Being on the stage was normal and natural for Annabelle. Doing Lois Fuller’s skirt dance seemed like the right thing to do for her.

Her mother remarried when Annabelle was 11 years old to William S. Moore. And Annabelle, for a time, used her stepfather’s last name.

She had a busy early life, not only on stage but also as a model. Charles Dana Gibson used her for his Gibson Girl. And Nell Brinkley had her model for her famous “Betty” character seen daily in newspapers nationwide. [4]

LOIE FULLER SKIRT DANCE

As a young teenager, Annabelle decided to be a dancer and began performing the Loie Fuller skirt dance. As she danced up and down the stage, her white skirt would change color as she passed by each of the colored lights. It may seem strange today, but back in 1893 electric light bulbs were still a new thing to most people. People knew of candlelight and even gaslight, but, electric lights? Not so much, let alone colored spotlights. And, even today her dance, as it was recorded by Thomas Edison, will exist on YouTube forever. It still works. Annabelle was famous for her skirt dance then and she still is today.

Her talents gained her a reputation and opportunities.

THE COLUMBIAN EXPOSITION IN CHICAGO

In fact, at age 14 Miss Annabelle Moore comes to the world’s attention at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago (aka Chicago World's Fair) in 1893 where she introduced skirt dance exotic burlesque to the world. She was the talk of the Exposition.

And there was another young teenage gal getting attention at the Expo. And that was Little Egypt. Catherine Devine took on the show name Ashea Wabe and appeared as Little Egypt. There were others. She once stated: "It's just this way. There are four Little Egypts in this country, three in Chicago and one in Minneapolis. They claim to be Little Egypt, but I am the only genuine one." Despite her claim, she was probably one of the several rotating dancers doing Little Egypt in the Egyptian Theatre during the Expo. And it must have been something to watch. Some people claimed they had seen her dance the hootchy-kootchy in the nude, wearing nothing but a diamond garter. Legend has it that Mark Twain suffered a coronary after seeing her dance. But the actual historical facts of Little Egypt are scarce.

Just a little perspective here. This was America’s first major introduction to Belly Dancing. Legend has it that Little Egypt both scandalized and delighted visitors when she danced at Expo's Egyptian Theater. Further, it inspired the Expos entertainment director (and later a U.S. Congressman) Sol Bloom, to coin the term "belly dance," which was known prior to many Americans as the hootchy-kootchy dance. [5] The hootchy-kootchy is a catch-all term used to describe sexually provocative belly dancing. Little Egypt inspired Bloom to write the lyrics, "There's a place in France/where the women wear no pants, ...where the naked ladies dance", etc. [6]

Ashea Wabe as the nude Little Egypt was later to intersect with Annabelle again in a huge scandal.

THOMAS EDISON

After the 1893 Expo Annabelle moved to New York and connected-up with Thomas Edison and made her first film at 16 in 1894. Later she performed for the famed Biograph Studios.

Edison marketed his films everywhere in his new 1887 devise called the Kinetoscope. The public would pay 6 dollars, in today’s money, to watch a short film clip. Remember this was before movie theaters. People had never seen a moving picture before. And here was Annabelle. They could not get enough. Her dance films were literally worn out from overuse in the Kinetoscope. Edison had to send out new prints to replace the worn prints, so much so that his negative wore out as well. Annabelle had to come in and perform for the cameras again. It is said she introduced eroticism in film. Sex sells and Edison knew it and made a ton of money from his Annabelle films.

The sale of her Edison films was further boosted in December 1896 when it was revealed, in a scandal that made all the newspapers, that she had been approached to appear naked at a private high society Seely dinner party at Sherry’s Restaurant.

THE SCANDAL

Annabelle and Little Egypt were nationwide icons. And a certain group of men wanted them to dance at their dinner party, and they were offering $607.24 [7] for their services. [8] According to later court testimony, 17-year-old Annabelle said, “(My stepfather) told me that Mr. Liman had an engagement for me to dance at Sherry’s at midnight… I called on Mr. Liman at his office.

“He said it was a party of 22 men. He asked me if I did high-kicking. I said, ‘yes.’ Mr. Phelps entered the office with another man and I told them what dances I did, and Mr. Phelps said, ‘yes that is very good. We want you to do something more. We want you to dance nude from the waist down.’ He said that little Egypt was going to dance as he wanted her to. I could not speak in answer to Mr. Phelps at first. Then I said, ‘I would not do what they wanted.’ Mr. Phelps then asked me if I could not arrange to drop my tights at the end of the dance, saying that by that time the men would be so drunk that it wouldn't make any difference what I did. I got out of the office as well as I could and went straight to my step father's office and told him I had been grossly insulted.” [9]

Mr. Moore was furious and went straight to police Captain Chapman and told him of the event that was to take place at Sherry’s, telling him that Little Egypt was scheduled in the “all-together.” Captain Chapman said he would stop the event. And so, on that cold dark night of December 19, 1896, when many of the richest men in New York City were enjoying themselves at a bachelor party, suddenly the event was raided by the police.

Little Egypt later testified in court she was nude and wore only a costume of gauze, which she said was quite transparent. Witnesses said that a dozen men followed her into the dressing room when she retired from the stage and pulled off her costume of gauze and pulled her about the room. [10] She said, “…they mauled me and tossed me about, but they took no liberties at all.” [11]

Besides Little Egypt, singer Lottie Mortimer also performed fully exposed to the men. [12]

For her encore dance, Little Egypt said, “I was to dance entirely nude, except for silk stockings and slippers.” [13] But, the police had arrived.

The Newspapers reported: “From Harlem to the Bowery, from the east to the North River, the Seely dinner is being discussed over cold coffee, hot toddy, in the pulpit and in the depths of the Bowery … Little Egypt, the darling of the ‘Johnnies,’ who was the central figure at the Seeley dinner at Sherry’s, (and she told all). … (Everyone was) reading her account of how she thrilled and delighted over a score of .. bachelors on the memorial night of Dec. 19, 1896.” [14] [15] Picture cards of her sold out all over the city.

Belly dancing had its official American birth.

And Annabelle became the famous “She Wouldn’t Girl.”

Then, during the trial, Annabelle’s stepfather succumbed to a cold contracted during the Chapman trial and died. He had conducted a vaudeville agency. He was just 52. [16] Annabelle was devastated.

MARRIAGE

In 1899 she announced her engagement to Baron Wen-ces-las von Wreden-berg of Austria-Hungary. She said they had met just 3 weeks previously. [17] But, the marriage apparently never happened.

Five years later, in 1904, she announced her engagement to the very wealthy Henry Bissing, head of the Bissing Electric Company in New York. [18] [19] The marriage lasted for a few years, but for whatever reasons it ended.

During these days of engagements and marriage, Annabelle changed her stage name back to her birth name Annabelle Whitford. And can you blame her? Apparently, she really wanted to distance herself from a failed marriage, the death of her step-father and the scandalous trial.

FIRE

Annabelle continued to make the news. While performing the Queen of the Fairies in “Mr. Bluebeard” at the Iroquois Theatre in Philadelphia in 1903, that magnificent building burned down claiming scores of lives. Initially, it was misreported that Annabelle was one of those mortally wounded. [20] [21] But reports of her death were very premature. She would live for nearly 60 more years. The initial reports had her confused with another Annabelle who did die in the fire.

MORE FAME

Regardless of her name, she continued to be well known on the New York Stage. She danced Loie Fuller's Serpentine Dance, and her famous Skirt Dance, as well as her new Flag Dance, where she dressed in American colors of stars and stripes and waved the flag while she danced, as well as the beautiful Butterfly Dance where she's used many different colors and danced like a fairy butterfly as well as performing the Mermaid Dance, Tambourine Dance, and the Sun Dance.

THE ZIEGFELD FOLLIES

Annabelle was selected by Florenz Ziegfeld for the premiere of his Follies in 1907 for three reasons: 1) Her fame. 2) Her talent. 3) Her resemblance to the Gibson Girl. [22]

Annabelle starred as the Gibson Bathing Girl in the first of the Ziegfeld Follies (1907) and popularized the song “That’s Why They Call Me the Gibson Girl.” [23]

In the next Follies of 1908, she was the Nell Brinkley Girl, the new New Girl. The Gibson Girl was fading.

Annabelle is reported to have earned upwards of $26,370, in today’s money, per week with Ziegfeld.

In the Follies of 1909, Annabelle played Venus surrounded by various pretty girls as goddesses in the first act. And was a hit later in the show as the Brinkley Bathing Girl.” [24]

In 1909, her last year with the Follies, she was on stage with one of the highest salaried woman comedian in the world, Eva Tanguay, “the girl who made vaudeville famous.” And, Eva had a well-planned assault on stuffy Victorian convention. [25] More on her in another chapter.

Despite the high salaries of Annabelle and Eva, both would decades later die penniless, living in devastating poverty after being largely forgotten.

CULT FOLLOWING

But, during the 1900s Annabelle had a huge cult following. People could not get enough of her. She had a way of morphing into whatever the New Girl was. It was a time when women were being redefined and continually transformed. From the Victorian Woman to the Edwardian Woman to the Gibson Girl to the Nell Brinkley Girl. And all eventually this leading to the 1920’s flapper. It was quite a journey. Annabelle served as the role model from one type of woman to the next. She was the embodiment of the ever-evolving New Girl of her time. And she knew this. And capitalized on it. [26] [27]

BEGINNING OF A NEW DECADE

In 1910 she was one of Oscar Hammerstein’s "Prima Donna's" in his 'Light Opera Company.’ A very high honor.

In her 1910 various stage shows Annabelle, the original Gibson Girl and Nell Brinkley Girl, did skits as “The Flirting Girl,” The Newspaper Girl,” and “The Aeroplane Girl.” Just a little perspective here. It had been a mere seven years earlier that the Wright Brothers had famously taken wing in their first powered aircraft at Kitty Hawk. And here was Annabelle turning off all stage lights in the auditorium, except for one spotlight that shown on the airplane that she flew over the heads of the audience and sang. The plane was on a track, of course, but she had claimed flight for women. The audience went wild. [28] It can be said that she opened the door for women in flight.

Plastic cosmetic surgery? Nearly unheard of in 1910, but Annabelle went under the knife and had her natural dimples removed. Many women at the time had doctors give them artificial dimples. But Annabelle, being the trendsetter that she was, went the other direction and had New York doctor W. Hubert Miller make small incisions and eradicate hers. [29]

She remained active on stage until her marriage and subsequent retirement in 1912.

RETIREMENT

She retired to Chicago with her new husband Dr. Edward Buchan, who was two years her younger. Interestingly, they both developed severe arthritis in their senior years. They lived on just old age assistance. [30] He died in 1958, and she passed four years later in 1961. She was penniless, due to misfortune and bad investments. [31]

She leaves us an example of artistic passion connected to integrity. Annabelle and her influence live on, captured forever in her colorful dance films in cinematic history and even on YouTube.

She, more than most, helped define the New Woman for an entire generation. We are forever grateful for her.

_____________________________

FOOTNOTES

The Spokane Press, Saturday, May 28, 1910

[2] The Washington Times (DC). Monday September 27, 1909. Page 4

[3] The Anaconda Standard (Montana) Tuesday, January 10, 1899. Page 6

[4] Los Angeles Herald, Saturday, July 16, 1910. Page 16

[5] http://www.streetswing.com/histmai2/d2egypt1.htm

[6] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sol_Bloom

[7] $20 in 1897 is equivalent in purchasing power to $607.24 in 2018

[8] Boston Post, Tuesday, January 12, 1897. Page 8

[9] St. Louis Post Dispatch. Sunday, January 10, 1897 Page 1

[10] The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sunday, January 10, 1897. Page 2

[11] Boston Post, Tuesday, January 12, 1897. Page 8

[12] The Philadelphia Inquirer. Sunday, January 10, 1897. Page 1

[13] The Philadelphia Inquirer Wednesday, January 13, 1897, Page 1

[14] Boston Post, Tuesday, January 12, 1897. Page 8

[15] St. Louis Post Dispatch. Sunday, January 10, 1897 Page 1

[16] The Times (Philadelphia). Monday, January 18, 1897. Page 1

[17] The Indianapolis Journal. Sunday, August 6, 1899. Page 13

[18] San Francisco Chronicle. Sunday, February 7, 1904. Page 9

[19] The Boston Globe. Fri., Jan. 15, 1904. Page 9

[20] The Sun (NY, New York) Thursday December 31, 1903. Page 2

[21] San Francisco Chronicle. Friday, January 1, 1904. Page 2

[22] The Inter Ocean (Chicago IL) Sun., Dec. 15, 1907. Page 38

[23] 1955 Shamokin News Dispatch (Shamokin Penn.). Wed., Oct. 5., 1955. Page 4

[24] The Brooklyn Daily Eagle (NY). Tue., Nov. 16, 1909. Page 10

[25] Rosen, Jody. Vanishing Act: In search of Eva Tanguay, the first rock star. Dec. 1, 2009. http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/music_box/2009/12/vanishing_act.html (cited 2018-08-12).

[26] Pittsburgh Daily Post. Sun., April 10, 1910. Page 14

[27] Star Tribune (Minneapolis, MN) Sun., May 8, 1910. Page 27

[28] Pittsburgh Daily Post. Sun., April 10, 1910. Page 14

[29] The Philadelphia Inquirer, Sun., Nov. 20, 1910. Page 25

[30] Kingsport Times News (TN) Sunday, July 7, 1957. Page 23

[31] Beauties of The Past – Annabelle Whitford. Stuff Nobody Cares About, http://stuffnobodycaresabout.com/ (citied 2018-08-12)

BETTY BOOP BEFORE THE CODE & AFTER

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 15:24:00 GMT

A selection of Betty Boop cartoons before and after the Hays Code took place in Hollywood.

BEFORE

A selection of Betty Boop cartoons before the Hays Code took place in Hollywood.

AFTER

MARILYN MONROE: American Icon

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Fri, 31 Aug 2018 15:04:52 GMT

A classic 1966 American documentary film chronicling the life and career of actress Marilyn Monroe

Part 1

03-20-2013
Part 2

Part 3

TWO ICONS: SEX GODDESSES

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 22 Aug 2018 22:22:26 GMT

Marilyn Monroe and Bridgette Bardot

A look back at Marilyn Monroe and Bridgette Bardot, reigning Hollywood Love Goddesses of the 50s and 60s

Marilyn Monroe was an American actress, model, and singer. Famous for playing comic "blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and was emblematic of the era's attitudes towards sexuality.

Brigitte Bardot is a French actress, singer, dancer, and fashion model, who later became an animal rights activist. She was one of the best known sex symbols of the 1950s and 1960s and was widely referred to by her initials, B.B.

MADEMOISELLE DAZIE: The Masked Superhero

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Tue, 21 Aug 2018 02:23:13 GMT

The Ziegfeld Follies: The Girl in the Red Mask

DAISY PETERKIN, THE MASKED SUPERHERO

She was a world-class ballerina, known as the Le Domino Rouge, the Girl in the Red Mask, who, for a time, never revealed her true identity. Le Domino Rouge was an international sensation, becoming a masked superhero when she saved a little girl from drowning.

Theatre Magazine reported the sensational appearance of the dancer Le Domino Rouge. “This mysterious lady was first heard of in London, where she appeared in hotels and cafes beautifully dressed, but wearing always and everywhere a red mask. Every possible effort was made to force her to reveal her identity but without success. The only words that she would ever say were: ‘I am soon going to America.’ This statement was cabled across to the United States, and people began immediately to take an interest in Le Domino Rogue… Finally, the mysterious lady landed in America.” [i]

She was a sensation. People flocked to her performances. Adjusted for inflation, she was pulling in $55,998.00 weekly at the height of her tour. [ii]

Finally, she appeared at the Weber and Field Music Hall where she unmasked revealing herself as an American girl from Detroit, Daisy Peterkin, aka Mademoiselle Dazie.

Above: The only documentary on Mlle Dazie, The Girl in the Red Mask.

Explaining her life journey, she said, “While I have danced ever since childhood, imitating every new step I saw. It wasn’t until I was a well-grown girl of 14 that I decided to make stage dancing my profession and I picked the most difficult style of all as my specialty. So, I started in to learn toe dancing, but it was only dogged determination to succeed that kept me at it.” [iii]

She called her style of dance as “Tripping lightly on her toes,” She stated, “It took me 3 years of hard persistent practicing to enable me to do that ‘trip’ without pained expressions indicating that it was anything but ‘light’ and pleasant… I look back upon those three years of training as one long, terrible nightmare. But my dream came true, for my first appearance was a sensational success… for the past three years, I toured all over Europe, triumphing over the terpsichorean [dance] traditions of the ballet master as the only American dancer who ever excelled them in their own field” [iv]

As a young teenager, her role models were famed dancers Isadora Duncan and Ruth St. Denis. She was self-taught and performed in local vaudeville houses, taking the show name “La Belle Dazie.”

She was no stranger to vaudeville, because when she was eight her Father moved the family from St. Louis, were she was born, to Detroit to manage candy franchises in vaudeville theaters. [v] She danced in regional vaudeville theatres, and notably, appeared at Hopkins' Theatre in Chicago in 1899 and as La Belle Dazie at the Casino in New York in 1901. She earned good money.

In 1901 at the age of seventeen, and able to afford the trip, she went abroad to study classical ballet and joined the Court ballet one year after arriving. And was made Secunda ballerina in her second season in the Royal Opera of Russia. [vi] After this Dazie appeared in unique dancing specialties in the leading music halls of London, Paris, Berlin, Breslau, Vienna, Budapest and Hamburg. [vii]

She was the first American to distinguish herself in classical ballet. And if this was not enough she mastered Jujutsu and later incorporated it into her dance. [viii]

One of her dance teachers was the legendary Lois Fuller, a pioneer of both modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques. Fuller also helped the famous dancer Isadora Duncan ignite her European career in 1902. Influenced by Fuller, Dazie merged modern dance with ballet and made use of colored stage lights into her act. One reviewer commented that she was “one of the most remarkable toe dancers ever seen.” [ix]

In 1904 she returned to America for a tour of ten weeks over the Keith vaudeville circuit. During that season she accepted an engagement at the Wisteria Grove in New York, under the direction of mega-show producers Louis F. Werba and Mark A. Luescher. Werba and Luescher were a premier production team. [x]

Mark A. Luescher was smitten by Dazie and became her personal manager. They became an item. Together they cooked up the most amazing promotion scheme ever. Daisy Peterkin, aka La Belle Dazie, would take on still another identity. She would travel back to Europe where she would wear a red mask, keeping her identity secret and announce herself as the “Le Domino Rouge” which is French for “The Girl in the Red Mask.” She would grant no interviews and say only “I am soon going to America” in broken English with a Russian accent. And off to Europe, she went to assume her new persona.

The PR stunt worked and became legendary. It was at the Folies Bergere in Paris, that she first appeared as Le Domino Rouge and danced masked, claiming that the glare of the footlights to be too painful to her eyes. [xi] “Le Domino Rouge” appeared everywhere, in cafes, hotels, and theatres, known only as Le Domino Rouge. Amazingly, no one connected “La Belle Dazie” with “Le Domino Rouge”. Instead, rumors had it that “Le Domino Rouge” was of noble birth due to the suggestive golden coronet embroidered on the right side of her red mask. [xii] Some suggesting she needed to keep her noble birth a secret. [xiii]

Music halls tried to put her under contract. But she refused, of course, because it was all a promotional stunt designed to create interest in her upcoming America tour. [xiv] The international press could not get enough of her.

Interesting side note: The Scarlet Pimpernel (1905) is the first novel to feature a masked superhero. Hard to say who was first. But Le Domino Rouge was the first live masked hero, male or female. [xv]

She returned to America in 1905 as “Le Domino Rouge” and created a sensation. Keeping her identity, a secret. Even on the White Star ocean liner during her trip to America she was identified on the passenger list as only “Le Domino Rouge.” [xvi] So popular she had become that the press was there at the dock when she arrived. She was the first passenger to come down the gangplank, she, of course, had her red mask on, followed by her attending maid. She made her way to an automobile and was whisked away never saying a word to the press. When the Press interviewed the other passengers, they learned she always had the mask on and seldom spoke. A total mystery. [xvii] The press was hooked.

People began reporting spotting her in restaurants, hotels, theaters, and even a church service on New York’s fashionable 5th Avenue. But, always wearing her red mask. [xviii]

The reviews of her shows were stellar. Performing at the Paradise Roof Garden and the Wisteria Grove, she was described by one reviewer as a “dancing devil” from Paris whose “manner is original and eccentric… She makes you wonder if she ever walks flat-footed… the tips of her toes are all she uses” [xix]

Just a side note here. During these performances, Dazie appeared with a young sixteen-year-old Elsie Janis, who would later become very important and popular in the Ziegfeld Follie. [xx] Elsie was prepped by Dazie’s husband, Mark A. Luescher. But, more on this in a later chapter.

Le Domino Rouge performed in the dance halls and vaudeville stages with a red mask over her face. Her top-notch dancing coupled with the mystery of who she was created a publicity bonanza. She was the talk of the town.

Venues, where she performed, would distribute souvenir postcards days before her performance. Poli’s Theatre handed out thousands of promotional cards. [xxi]

No vaudeville act in New York had been so well advertised. [xxii]

And here is what made her a superhero. In 1906 she was back in London performing at the Palace Theatre for $750 a week (that would be $20,399 in today’s dollar). She suddenly showed up at the Hyde Park waters and saved a drowning girl. The newspapers went wild over “the girl in the red mask” who jumped into the waters and saved a little girl from certain death. The Royal Humane Society medal was being considered for the masked unnamed hero woman. However, after the heroic act, she was nowhere to be found. She was staying at the Hyde Park Hotel, but she was not there. [xxiii]

On September 9, 1906, Le Domino Rouge was finally found lying unconscious. She had been poisoned by “a chronic form of ptomaine poisoning” (i.e. food poisoning). [xxiv] But just how did this happen? Lying unconscious for an entire day is seriousness, and perhaps due in part to a health issue she had. Her health issues would resurface later when she gets stabbed in the chest with a knife. More on this later. At that time, nothing more was said of the food poisoning, nor of her unconscious state. Being the determined person, she was, she just moved on.

She said she wore the face mask because stage lights bothered her eyes. She would place a cloth over her face when training with Lois Fuller and her bright stage lights. She spoke of getting so overcome by the stage lights she would nearly pass out (again, her health issue). But more than this, her manager, Mark Luescher, whom she would later marry in 1906, thought the face mask was a great PR tool, and it certainly was. But the origin of the mask comes from her sensitivity to strong lights. She literally took a weakness and turned it into a strength.

The mask was red, and it was claimed to be completely opaque. Her managers insisted she was dancing sightless. [xxv]

By the end of 1906, she finally revealed herself as Mademoiselle Dazie. Her unmasking came at Weber’s Theatre in New York in late 1906 to a packed house. It had been announced on every billboard all over town. [xxvi]

She had a new stage name. The former La Belle Dazie was now Mademoiselle Dazie (Mlle Dazie). [xxvii] A new name that had been suggested by her manager/husband Mark Luescher.

The renowned Broadway producer Oscar Hammerstein immediately contracted her as his premiere dancer. This show was a high honor for her. Mademoiselle Dazie was a popular sensation for Hammerstein.

Her success was “spectacular and unprecedented as few toe dancers have ever established a vogue in America” [xxviii] ( New York Telegraph, 16 July 1906 )

Meanwhile, Florenz Ziegfeld was putting together a new show called “Follies of 1907” and he needed headliners to assure the show's success. He was drawn to the immensely popular Mademoiselle Dazie. She and others like Nora Bayes, Grace LaRue, and Annabelle Whitford were all contracted to be his dream team. Well, that and the 50 Anna Held Girls, soon to be known as the Ziegfeld Follies. But Dazie was the “chief attraction.” [xxix]

The first ever Follie’s was a smashing hit in New York and it was soon on the road to such places as Washington DC, Boston, and Chicago. And Mademoiselle Dazie was always headlined.

Always looking for fresh ways to present dance, Mademoiselle Dazie introduced a Jiu-Jitsu Waltz. Just exactly how she combined classic dance and the martial arts has been lost to history. But there on the Ziegfeld stage, she was performing jiu-jitsu as a dance. [xxx] Very unique and most unusual. But, it wasn’t as eye-catching as her Salome.

The show would end with Mademoiselles Dazie playing Salome doing the Dance of the Seven Veils and the audience would go wild. [xxxi]

What was the Dance of the Seven Veils you might ask? Well, this is a very interesting story. Basically, it was a striptease. It was a reenactment of a scene from the Bible. Striptease in the Bible? Well, yes, or at least Oscar Wilde’s version of it in his wildly popular play entitle Salome.

In the Bible book of St. Mathew, chapter 14, the daughter of Herodias danced so seductively before King Herod that he offered her anything she wanted. She requested the head of John the Baptist. Though the Bible does not name the daughter of Herodias as Salome, the Jewish historian Josephus does.

Artists through the years have artistically imagined what this seductive dance might have looked like. In so doing Salome became a symbol of a dangerous female seductress. Oscar Wilde wrote his take of Salome in his 1896 play which includes his Dance of the Seven Veils, and it was promptly banned in London. Later it was combined with the music of Richard Strauss which premiered in Dresden, Germany in 1905, and it was off and running. Salome dressed only in the Seven Veils would strip them off slowly during the dance until she had nothing more on. Lois Fuller, Dazie’s teacher, was the first solo dancer to present a Salome piece.

Being the turn of the century, Salome had a particular meaning. to the emerging new woman who was taking control of her own sexuality and breaking from the subjugation to men. Here in Salome was an independent sexual woman demanding the head of a man. The symbolism spoke to myriads of women. Salomania was born. Women everywhere were wanting to perform the part of Salome. You might say Salomania was part of the turn of the century feminist movement.

Salomania was also the beginning of modern striptease, where veils and clothes are slowly removed in time to the music. It’s crazy to think perhaps, but modern striptease was sparked by a Bible story.

Salome was Ziegfeld’s most successful act in his “Follies of 1907” and Mademoiselle Dazie was the one who performed it. The staging was based on Audrey Beardsley’s famous illustrations appearing in Oscar Wilds published play.

As Dazie would perform the Salome Seven Veils Dance, the police would arrive, and arrest Dazie as the Follies burst out in the Can-Can dance. It was all staged of course. And what a great closing act it was. The audiences loved it. No wonder it was the most popular act in the 1907 Follies show.

THE REST OF THE STORY IS IN MY NEWLY PUBLISHED BOOK AVAILABLE ON AMAZON

LE DOMINO ROUGE: The Girl in the Red Mask:

The First Masked Superhero

Paperback $9.95

Large 8.5 x 11 pages with over 70 full color photos on high quality paper

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_____________

References

[i] Theatre Magazine. New York. November 1920. Page 322

[ii] http://vaudevilleamerica.org/actor/daisy-peterkin/

[iii] The Decatur Herald, Sunday, February 19, 1905

[iv] The Decatur Herald, Sunday, February 19, 1905

[v] Ziegfeld, Richard and Paulette, Harry N. Abrams, New York, 1993. The Ziegfeld Touch: The Life and times of Florenz Ziegfeld. Page 290

[vi] Detroit Free Press. Sunday November 7, 1909

[vii] Who's who on the stage: 1908 the dramatic reference. Page 120

[viii] Detroit Free Press. Sunday November 7, 1909

[ix] The Topeka State Journal., February 16, 1905 The Belle of New York, Page 2

[x] Who's who on the stage: 1908 the dramatic reference. Page 120

[xi] http://vaudevilleamerica.org/actor/daisy-peterkin/

[xii] The Topeka Daily Capital, June 04, 1905, Page 1

[xiii] The Sedalia Democrat, Thursday, June 8, 1905

[xiv] The Sedalia Democrat, Thursday, June 8, 1905

[xv] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Pimpernel

[xvi] The Topeka Daily Capital, June 04, 1905, Page 1

[xvii] The Boston Globe, Thursday June 8, 1905

[xviii] The Courier Journal, Kentucky, Sunday, August 6, 1905

[xix] The Courier Journal, Kentucky, Sunday, August 6, 1905

[xx] The Courier Journal, Kentucky, Sunday, August 6, 1905

[xx] The Decatur Herald, Sunday, February 19, 1905

[xxi] Hartford Courant, Saturday, January 20, 1906

[xxii] Pittsburgh Daily Post, Sunday, December 8, 1907

[xxiii] Buffalo Courier, Sunday, September 9, 1906

[xxiv] The Pittsburgh Press, Sunday, September 9, 1906

[xxv] New York Evening World, 14 July 1907

[xxvi] Pittsburgh Daily Post, Sunday, December 8, 1907

[xxvii] The Boston Globe, Tuesday, October 16, 1906

[xxviii] New York Telegraph, July 16, 1906

[xxix] The Buffalo Sunday Morning News. Sunday September 5, 1909

[xxx] van der Merwe, Ann Ommen. The Ziegfeld Follies A History in Song. Scarecrow Press, 2012. Page 16

[xxxi] van der Merwe, Ann Ommen. The Ziegfeld Follies A History in Song. Scarecrow Press 2012. Page 11

MAY LESLIE And Her Bad Boys

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 20 Aug 2018 22:40:59 GMT

The Ziegfeld Follie Connected to the Biggest NY Gang

May Leslie first appears on Broadway in the 1903 production of Twirly Whirly that ran for a whopping 247 performances with the famous Lillian Russell. What an awesome show biz start for May Leslie. She was a talented young performer with great dreams for the life ahead of her.

It’s hard to know a lot about May Leslie, but what little we do know from news accounts is sensational. She seemed to catch the eye of wealthy men. She was in the first Ziegfeld Follies in 1907, which even President Theodore Roosevelt attended. And she was cast in the first Midnight Frolic, along with the famous cowboy comedian Will Rodgers. Significantly, she became the very first stage manager on Broadway. She was a great fund raiser for the troops during World War l. Additionally, she went on to produce her own stage shows and continued to raise funds for worth well causes. She was a kind and gracious woman who had show business in her blood. However, she had a way of attracting interesting men with dark sides. All of this makes her story fascinating and most unique.

Above: An original documentary on the life of May Leslie, a Ziegfeld Follie, who may have been involved with the notorious 5 point gang of New York.

The first of the many Broadway shows she was in was the 1903 production “Twirly Whirly” at the famed Weber and Fields' Broadway Music Hall, with a huge cast including trend setter Lillian Russell, “one of the most famous actresses and singers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, known for her beauty and style, her voice and stage presence” (Wikipedia).

May Leslie was busy. From 1903 through 1906 she was in 7 Broadway productions. And then in 1907 she was contracted by Ziegfeld. A real game changer for her.

But before we delve into her time with Ziegfeld, let's get caught up with her sorted personal life.

The earliest newspaper mention we have of her is from April 15, 1905, when she was seeking a divorce form Mortimer Thompson, a millionaire with whom she had had a daughter. They had been married 5 years earlier in 1900 but were only together for two of those years.

Now after 3 years and legal separation, she wanted a divorce.

She had caught the eye of Charles Rodgers son of millionaire William J. Rogers who was the president of the famed Borden's Evaporated Milk Company. And son Charles had fallen madly and passionately in love with May Leslie, a show girl.

While she was staying at the Young’s Hotel in Atlantic City awaiting the final divorce papers. Charles left his family and the Borden Company to be with the show girl. When the family learned of this they were horrified. A show girl could have no place in their family. And so, they cut off their son. He had no financial support and no money. His father was quoted in the press as saying, “He will not get a dollar from me. If he marries he will have to depend on himself entirely.”

The two love birds left Atlantic City, with divorce papers in hand, they returned to New York. What happened to their relationship after that is unclear but were are no records of marriage. They had parted company.

A few months later May Leslie was in the news again. This time she was involved in a shootout that left Willian J. Harrington dead and mobster Paul Kelly wounded. She appears to have been on a double date at the saloon and dance hall when the shootout happened. She was arrested with all seven other people who were at the scene at the time. Police believed they were all members of the Paul Kelly mobster association.

The NYPD could not give a clear picture of what happened and ultimately no one was convicted of any crime. But why was May Leslie there with these mobsters, and why was she staying at the Matawan Hotel where the Paul Kelly gangster association would rendezvous? We may never know. But to be fair, show girls dated many guys, and especially the famous and rich. So, perhaps she was unknowingly dating someone in the mob. Perhaps she was just curious, or madly in love.

Who is Paul Kelly you might wonder? Paul Kelly according to Wikipedia “was an American mobster and former boxer, who founded the Five Points Gang in New York City after starting some brothels with prize money earned in boxing. It was one of the last dominant street gangs in New York history. He was known for his high culture and gentle manners, Kelly recruited young men who later became prominent criminals of the 20th century, including Johnny Torrio, Al Capone, Lucky Luciano and Frankie Yale”

May Leslie was certainly rubbing shoulders with the wrong people.

Let us now return to May Leslie’s time with Ziegfeld, the soon-to-be most powerful showman ever to grace Broadway.

Although the first 1907 Ziegfeld Follies show, of which she was a part, was only intended to be a brief summer run, it turned out to be the best long running show Ziegfeld had ever done. It changed show business forever. The public demanded more. Everyone that was somebody paid the admission price and attended show. Florenz Ziegfeld Jr. became one of the wealthiest men in all of New York. And he lavished the women with more money than they could ever have imagined. There were no discounted minimum wage girlies in Flo Ziegfeld’s world. There were only glorified show business professionals.

For women who had come out of the poverty of New York’s lower east side and then to be one of the Follie was beyond anything they could have imagined. They suddenly had lavish life styles. They were dating millionaires. And when the Hollywood studios came looking for actresses they came knocking.

And May Leslie was a participant in this major historical culture event. She performed for the Ziegfeld Follies of 1907, 1908, 1912-1914, and 1917, a full decade. She was part of Ziegfeld's musicals “A Parisian Model” (1908), “The Century Girl” (1916-1917), and “Miss 1917” (1917-1918). It was a great ride.

As part of the Ziegfeld Follies May Leslie became one of the culture icons of the independent “New Women” that was beginning to immerge out the Victorian era. Even though she left the Follies in 1918 she was a nonetheless part of the cultural revolution that was taking place.

Madison Avenue ad agencies knowing it had to tap into this new cultural direction, came knocking too. They hired May Leslie to model such things silk lingerie for Vanity Fair.

The Follies to which she belonged was a phenomenon the likes of which the world had never seen, nor has yet to see again.

To promote the 1916 Midnight Frolic for Ziegfeld, May Leslie did a public event that drew the attention of the public and press alike. She and Margaret Morris satirized hoop skirts and bloomers then changed into grass skirts revealing their bare knees. And in 1916 this was an absolute sensation. Men were lined up outside the dressing booth to get a glimpse of those bare legs. It was a comical parody of the Victorian Woman verses the New Women. She was the flapper before the flapper era. The promotion made a full page in the New York Tribune.

In the summer of 1917 May Leslie made more news by raising money to buy smokes for the soldiers fighting the war overseas. America was fully involved in the World War. Patriotism was in full swing. Although it may sound a bit bizarre today, back then providing smokes to soldiers was a very patriotic thing to do. May Leslie and other Ziegfeld Follies set up a game between the all-male Ziegfeld Follies baseball team and the Friars Club. The idea was that fans would put money in the silk stockings of the Ziegfeld Beauties. What fan could resist? They raised $19,000.00 in today’s dollar value. And that was a lot of smokes for the soldiers overseas.

May Leslie continued raising funds for the soldiers after this event, but she did it apart from the Follies. And that was because something happened, and she was with the Follies no more. And that something was an event that mirrored her time before she joined the Ziegfeld Follies involving the New York gangs.

There are April 1918 newspaper accounts of a certain May Leslie being involved in yet another shooting with ties to the underworld. Harry Cohen, a gambler and master burglar was shot and killed in the hallway of the apartment house where he lived. Cohen was scheduled to tell the District Attorney all about the illegal mob run gambling business in New York. The mob feared their operations would be exposed if Cohen spilled the beans, so they simply had Cohen erased.

May Leslie was arrested with her boyfriend Sam Schepps by police because they had been at a crap game where Cohen was the night before his death. But, prosecutors had a favorable view of Sam Schepps because he had had previously aided the District Attorney to convict police officer Charles Becker of the famed Rosenthal murder. The only thing police found note-worthy were checks written by May Leslie to Sam Schepps for jewelry. But, buying jewelry is not a crime. After being questioned it was obvious to the investigators that they had nothing to connect the couple to the actual murder.

Just a side note here. May Leslie’s lover Sam Schepps may have helped bring down the "Crookedest" Cop in New York. But, Samuel Schepps was also a New York City mobster himself with the Monk Eastman Gang. Schepps ran gambling houses for the gang. On July 16, 1912, Herman Rosenthal was murdered in front of the Hotel Metropole in New York City. Schepps was identified by co-conspirators as the "paymaster" of the plot to kill Rosenthal. But in discussions with law enforcers Schepps was happy to testify against his accomplices for immunity. Schepps, with other mob informants, testified at the Becker-Rosenthal trial. Their testimony resulted in the conviction of Charles Becker and the four gunmen involved in the murder.

Charles Becker became the first American police officer to receive the death penalty for murder. The scandal that surrounded his arrest, conviction, and execution was one of the most important in New York City’s Progressive Era. And May Leslie’s gangster boyfriend helped to bring him down. One wonders just how much in all of this was May Leslie involved? It is also worth remembering that her boyfriend was connected to mobster Paul Kelly and the Five Points Gang. The same mobster group she was involved with before joining the Follies.

May Leslie and the men she dated seemed to generate news headlines. She certainly was into the bad boys.

Now, no longer with the Ziegfeld Follies, and with never a dull moment in her life, May Leslie suddenly reappears in the news again as the first woman stage manager in the history of Broadway.

Brought in as a show girl for a new production “Midnight Whirl” at the Century. May Leslie suddenly found herself appointed stage manager by producer Ray Comstock. The former stage manager had been drafted to serve in the armed forces. The war was in full swing and single women in various fields suddenly found themselves filling positions previously held by men. And since May Leslie had years of stage experience her engagement seemed natural and obvious.

She managed the “Midnight Whirl” with a great team of women. The show took place on the roof of the Century and as the name might suggest it was patterned after Ziegfeld’s Midnight Frolic. One of the women she worked with was Betty Allen who would go on to perform as a ballerina in the 1925 classic film “Phantom of the Opera.”

May Leslie also performed in the “Midnight Whirl” as Salome and the dance of the Seven Veils. A similar Salome act was in 1907 Follies show where May Leslie began her time with Ziegfeld. The show did well. May Leslie had gone full circle.

Following the show May Leslie leaves the world of big Broadway productions and seems to settle down, producing her own shows. These were much smaller shows and easier to produce. Perhaps the reason for this was her new marriage. An article in the South Bend News would later report that former Ziegfeld show girl “May Leslie, one of the most beautiful show girls in the world, now happily married and has two children.”

Our story began with a married May Leslie who had a daughter, and ends in the same way, except now she is married with two children.

Most show girls in that era would eventually marry, retire from show business and disappear from public view. But not May Leslie. She continued making news doing fundraisers, teaching dance, and even small Cabarets shows right up through 1930. For more than a decade following her time with Ziegfeld, she lived her artistic dream.

Perhaps the most significant thing she leaves us is a fabulous piece of art by the great art nouveau artist Raphaël Kirchner. It can be seen all over the internet. It is entitled “Pierrot Dream” for which she modeled. It was a part of his 7 deadly sins series. The masterpieces hung in the Century Theater for years. They were and continue to be a part of the Ziegfeld legacy.

The Dream painting personifies all that May Leslie was about. To dream and live big.

HOW GIRLS ARE CHANGING THE WORLD, Part 2

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 13 Aug 2018 14:04:27 GMT

Sokha, Suma & Ruksana seek the opportunity to attend school and learn, as do 66 million other girls around the world.

12-19-2013

GAIL DAVIS: TV's Forgotten Super Hero

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 26 May 2018 16:54:14 GMT

She was the only female TV Western star in the 1950s

The first role model for young woman in the 1950s on Television! In the 1950s she was the only female western star on television. Her Annie Oakley character was the only single career woman on television. This is her amazing story.

Before her TV role she made 32 movies, which included In Room 303 (1947), Merton of the Movies (1947), The Far Frontier (1948), Law of the Golden West (1949), West of Wyoming (1950), Texans Never Cry (1951), Flying Leathernecks (1951), The Old West (1952), and Winning of the West (1953).

She may have been just over five feet tall and under 100 pounds, but Davis was a fearless as the hero on the Annie Oakley TV show. She wore pigtails and stopped bad guys by outsmarting them and never once did she kill anyone. Additionally, she did many of her own stunts.

Many young women would later say they were influenced by Gail Davis in her female character in a traditionally male role.

Above: THE ONLY DOCUMENTARY ON GAIL DAVIS
David the Bruce narrates this amazing story.

Below: Annie Oakley TV Shows

ANNIE OAKLEY'S DESERT ADVENTURE (1954) with Commentary

ANNIE OAKLEY: OUTLAW BRAND (1956) with Commentary

ANNIE OAKLEY: GUNPLAY (1954) with Commentary

ANNIE OAKLEY AND THE LILY MAID (1954) with Commentary

ANNIE OAKLEY: AMBUSE CANYON (1954) with Commentary

RESOURCES:
Do You Remember “Annie Oakley”
westernclippings.com

Gail Davis (1925–1997) aka: Betty Jeanne Grayson
encyclopediaofarkansas.net

Gail Davis "I Was Annie Oakley"
by Boyd Magers

Gail Davis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gail Davis
IMDb Bio

TV's First Female Hero: Annie Oakley
By Robert Moore
popmatters.com

Public Cowboy No. 1 The Life and Times of Gene Autry
By Holly George-Warren
Oxford University Press

The First Official TV Book
By Neil Summers
Old West Shop Publishing

Annie Oakley and Tagg dell Comics 1955-59

Annie Oakley TV series

COFFEE DATE SEXUAL ASSAULT (#MeToo Part 4)

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Ashley Sue tells her story of sexual harassment while on a coffee date.

Ashley Sue tells her story of sexual harassment while on a coffee date. She says, People are asking why victims are coming forward now, if their claims of sexual harassment, assault, and rape are true. It's time to break silence and kill the enemy. Do you wonder why victims feel they can't speak up #MeToo. I wonder why we are made to feel that way.

Many see December as a turning point in the Trump presidency. Actually, there has been several bad moments throughout his time in office, but with the #METOO campaign and the Mueller investigation in December 2017 made this month particularly interesting.

(CC) Ashley Sue Sparkle and Ash (YouTube)

ROSE McGOWAN SPEAKS (#MeToo part 5)

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 13 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Rose McGowan gives a speaks truth to power.

In part 5 of our #MeToo series Rose McGowan gives a speaks truth to power. Uma Thurman's powerful response about the Harvey Weinstein scandal. A Metoo artiste uses hair to draw attention to sexual harassment. Powerful men in the media are facing claims of sexual abuse of women.

Many see December as a turning point in the Trump presidency. Actually, there has been several bad moments throughout his time in office, but with the #METOO campaign and the Mueller investigation in December 2017 made this month particularly interesting.

All content is in the Creative Commons
(CC) VIRAL MOJO
(CC) MrJupiter65
(CC) MSNBC
(CC) BuzzyNews UK
(CC) the Comedy Mix

ME TOO MEN TOO (#MeToo Part 3)

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

After #MeToo, Men Share #HowIWillChange Promises

After #MeToo, Men Share #HowIWillChange Promises
Thousands of heart-touching stories of sexual abuse survivors flooded the Internet recently #MeToo

In part 3 of our #MeToo series we focus on men as they react to the #METOO Campaign. Watch a Metal Rocker go after a man how gropes a woman’s breast. Extensive look at the Kevin Spacey accusations. And, reactions on Morning Jo.

Many see December as a turning point in the Trump presidency. Actually, there has been several bad moments throughout his time in office, but with the #METOO campaign and the Mueller investigation in December 2017 made this month particularly interesting.

All content is in the Creative Commons or are Promotional.
(CC) MSNBC
(CC) BuzzyNews UK
(CC) Beeflynews

HARVEY WEINSTEIN AND BEYOND (#MeToo part 2)

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

HARVEY WEINSTEIN AND BEYOND (#MeToo part 2)

Part 2 in our #METOO series focuses on Harvey Weinstein and the aftermath following sexual harassment accusations against him.

Many see December as a turning point in the Trump presidency. Actually, there has been several bad moments throughout his time in office, but with the #METOO campaign and the Mueller investigation in December 2017 made this month particularly interesting.

All content is from either Promotional Releases or Creative Commons content.
(CC) MSNBC
(C) Time Magazine Promotions
(CC) VIRAL MOJO

TIME MAGAZINE’S PERSON OF THE YEAR (#MeToo part 1)

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Many see December as a turning point in the Trump presidency.

Many see December as a turning point in the Trump presidency. Actually, there has been several bad moments throughout his time in office, but with the #METOO campaign and the Mueller investigation in December 2017 made this month particularly interesting.

All content was released into the Creative Commons
(CC) MSNBC

THE WOMEN SPEAK (#MeToo part 6)

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 11 Dec 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Shan BOODY talks about her nude photoshoot.

The 6th in our #MeToo series. Shan BOODY talks about her nude photoshoot. Marina shares What started as curiosity about the body led to a dangerous situation.

Many see December as a turning point in the Trump presidency. Actually, there has been several bad moments throughout his time in office, but with the #METOO campaign and the Mueller investigation in December 2017 made this month particularly interesting.

All content is in the Creative Commons
(CC) Shan BOODY
(CC) Eco Goddess

HEDDY LAMARR'S ECSTACY

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Tue, 15 Aug 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Ecstasy was highly controversial at the time

Brown Sugar presents the film Ecstasy from 1933 , which was highly controversial at the time

Ecstasy is a 1933 Czech-Austrian romantic drama film directed by Gustav Machatý and starring Hedy Lamarr (then Hedy Kiesler), Aribert Mog, and Zvonimir Rogoz.

the film is about a young woman who marries a wealthy but much older man. After abandoning her brief passionless marriage, she meets a young virile engineer who becomes her lover. Ecstasy was filmed in three language versions—German, Czech, and French.

Ecstasy was highly controversial in its time because of scenes in which Lamarr swims in the nude and runs through the countryside naked. It is also perhaps the first non-pornographic movie to portray sexual intercourse and female orgasm, although never showing more than the actors' faces. The film was celebrated as the first motion picture to include a nude scene, rather than the first to show sexual intercourse, for which it has a better claim.
( Source )

WOMAN'S MARCH: The Amazing Speeches

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Hear Scarlett Johansson, Ashley Judd, Gloria Steinem, John Lewis, and Ieasha Prime.

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

_______________________

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: The Songs Of Revolution

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Featuring Alicia Keys and Madonna, performers deliver great new songs like "We Shall Overcomb" and more.

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

_______________________

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: Pussyhats

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The story behind the Pussyhats

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

_______________________

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: Paris France

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The people of Paris, France tell why they marched in the historic January 21 2017 world-wide Woman's March.

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

_______________________

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: A World-Wide Love-In

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

Woman's Marches in Portland, Amsterdam, Bemidji, Boston, Ireland, Los Angeles, London, New York and more.

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

_______________________

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: It Happened In Santa Fe

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The people of Santa Fe, New Mexico tell why they marched in the historic January 21 2017 world-wide Woman's March.

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

_______________________

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: The Voice Of The People

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

People from all over the tell why they marched in the historic January 21, 2017 world-wide Woman's March.

People from all over the tell why they marched in the historic January 21 2017 world-wide Woman's March.

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

_______________________

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: Make It Canada

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The people of Vancouver and Toronto tell why they marched in the historic January 21 2017 world-wide Woman's March.

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: It Happened in San Diego

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

It was the largest march ever in the history of the world. It was a worldwide protest. Here is what happened in San Diego, California.

It was the largest march ever in the history of the world. It was a worldwide protest. Here is what happened in San Diego, California. The people of San Diego, California tell why they marched in the historic January 21 2017 world-wide Woman's March.

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

_______________________

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMENS MARCH: It Happened in Grand Rapids

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 18 Mar 2017 00:00:00 GMT

The people of Grand Rapids, Michigan tell why they marched in the historic January 21 2017 world-wide Woman's March.

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

_______________________

C HECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

EMMA STONE AS CRUELLA DeVIL

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Prequel to 101 Dalmatians

Disney is release the feature movie prequel to 101 Dalmatians with Emma Stone as Cruela DeVil

THELMA & LOUISE ARE ALIVE AND WELL

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Tue, 20 Dec 2016 00:00:00 GMT

NATIONAL FILM REGISTRY 2016

25 more films have been included into the National Film Registry including Thelma & Louise (1991) with Geena Davis as Thelma and Susan Sarandon as Louise , The Birds (1963), The Lion King (1994), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), The Princess Bride (1987), and The Breakfast Club (1985)

2016 National Film Registry

The Atomic Cafe (1982
Ball of Fire (1941)
The Beau Brummels (1928)
The Birds (1963)
Blackboard Jungle (1955)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
East of Eden (1955)
Funny Girl (1968)
Life of an American Fireman (1903)
The Lion King (1994)
Lost Horizon (1937)
Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
Paris Is Burning (1990)
Point Blank (1967)
The Princess Bride (1987)
Putney Swope (1969)
Rushmore (1998)
Solomon Sir Jones films (1924-28)
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
Suzanne, Suzanne (1982)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1916)
A Walk in the Sun (1945)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

aMUSE: CAROLE FEUERMAN

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 14 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

An American artist and hyper-realistic sculptor shares her work made with resin, bronze and stone.

Carole A. Feuerman is recognized as a pioneering figure in the world of hyperrealistic sculpture. Together with Duane Hanson and John De Andrea, Feuerman is one of the three artists that started the Hyperrealism movement in the late seventies by making sculptures portraying their models in a life-like manner. Dubbed ‘the reigning doyenne of super-realism’ by art historian John T. Spike , Feuerman has solidified her place in art history.

Feuerman’s prolific career spans over four decades and four continents. Through her sculptures, she creates visual manifestations of the stories she decides to tell: of strength, survival, balance. She seeks to connect with her viewers on an intuitive level, evoking emotion and engagement. It is often the viewer’s participation, or the object/viewer relationship, that completes her stories. She has produced a rich body of work in the studio and the public realm. By combining conventional sculptural materials of steel, bronze, and resin, with more unconventional media like water, sound, and video, she creates hybrid works of intricate energy and psychology.

She has taught, lectured, and given workshops at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Solomon Guggenheim Museum, Columbia University, and Grounds for Sculpture. In 2011, she founded the Carole A. Feuerman Sculpture Foundation .

Feuerman exhibits in private and public collections, sculpture parks, galleries, and museums worldwide. Her works are often integrated with architecture and landscaping in the creation or renovation of buildings and sites. An important example is her monumental ‘Double Diver’ spiraling 36 feet in the air, and permanently sited in Silicon Valley, owned by the City of Sunnyvale, California. ‘Survival of Serena’ has been exhibited by New York City Department of Parks & Recreation and was also recently chosen to be installed in Central Park for their celebration 'It's Happening! 50 Years of Public Art in NYC Parks'. Currently, it is being exhibited publicly in the Piazzetta in Capri, Italy. ‘Monumental Quan’ was first exhibited in the Frederik Meijer Sculpture Gardens in Grand Rapids, Michigan, next in the Venice Biennale and is current on the beach in Knokke, Belgium. One of Feuerman’s most recognizable pieces, ‘The Golden Mean’, is owned by the City of Peekskill, NY, and can be seen in Riverfront Green Park overlooking the Hudson River.

There are four full-color monographs written about her work: Carole Feuerman Sculpture , both editions published by Hudson Hills Press; La Scultura incontra la Realtà , available in multiple languages; and Swimmers , published by The Artist Book Foundation . Her first swimmer, ‘Catalina,’ in included in A History of Western Art, published by Harry N. Abrams, and written by Anthony Mason and John T. Spike.

Feuerman has had nine solo museum retrospectives, exhibited extensively worldwide, and is included in the permanent collections of 19 museums. In Italy, she exhibited in Palazzo Grazie in the Piazza della Repubblica in Florence, the Teatro Romano e Museo Civico in Fiesole, and the Musei di Rimini. In China, she has had solo shows in Hong Kong, the National Museum of China, and Huan Tai Hu Museum in the Jiangsu province. She has exhibited in Korea at the Clayarch Gimhae Museum, Daejeon Museum, and Suwon Museum. In Germany, she has exhibited at the Nassauischer Kunstverein Wiesbaden, the Contemporary Art Museum in Aachen, and in Kassel during Documenta 14 (2017). In Spain, she exhibited at Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao and the Academia de Bellas Artes de Madrid. In Mexico, she has exhibited at Marco Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Monterrey, and Denmark at the Arken Museum of Modern Art.

In 2017, the European Cultural Centre organized a solo show for her in Giardini Marineressa entitled Personal Structures – Open Borders , one of many exhibitions surrounding the Venice Biennale, where Feuerman has had a presence four times. Her works were also exhibited at Venissa in Burano, Palazzo Mora, Palazzo Bembo, and the San Clemente Palace. Feuerman was one of the keynote speakers at the International Women’s Forum Conference of world leaders in Houston. She Spoke about her ideas of artists remaking the world.

2018 started with her sculpture, "Monumental DurgaMa" being featured at INTO ACTION in Los Angeles, an art and music celebration of community power and cultural resistance. Feuerman's newest monumental sculpture "Strength" is on exhibit outside of the National Hotel in Miami, Florida. Her Sculpture called the “The General’s Daughter” has traveled to five museums in a show called Almost Alive: Hyperrealistic Sculpture from 21-07-2018 – 21-10-2018. Currently she is having a 12 piece outdoor exhibition in a show called Sculpture Link in a show called Sculpture Link in Knokke-Heist, Belgium.

Her selected collectors include the Emperor of Japan, President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Norman Brahman, the Caldic Collection, Mark Parker of NIKE, and Malcolm Forbes.

Feuerman is married with 3 children and 5 grandchildren. She lives in New York City.

(Source: http://www.carolefeuerman.com/bio/ )

TRUMP ELECTION PROTEST

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 09 Nov 2016 00:00:00 GMT

When the results of the 2016 Presidential election were announced, young people took to the streets.

When the results of the 2016 Presidential election were announced, young people took to the streets. This was the precursor to the Woman's March.
Watch Video

PHOTOS AND POSTERS

2017 Women's March Stats
Saturday, January 21 (7 AM - 2 PM)

The anti-Trump protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimated up to 4.8 million worldwide. WOW!

The Women’s March on Washington was at 3X bigger than the crowd at Trump’s inauguration.

The protests were the largest political demonstrations since the anti–Vietnam War protests in the 1960s and 1970s.

Estimates show one out of every 100 Americans participated in the march, which is astonishing.

At least 3.3 million people participated in the Women’s March across the US.

There were zero arrests during the Women’s March on Washington, but hundreds on inauguration day.

People marched against Trump on all seven continents. Nasty women rule the world.

Long story short: The entire globe is ready to resist Donald Trump — especially women.

Source: Wikipedia, Elite Daily

_______________________

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

WOMAN'S MARCH: GETTING READY (EPISODE 1)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE AMAZING SPEECHES (EPISODE 2)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE SONGS OF REVOLUTION (EPISODE 3)
WOMAN'S MARCH: A WORLD-WIDE LOVE-IN (EPISODE 4)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN PARIS (EPISODE 5)
WOMAN'S MARCH: THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE (EPISODE 6)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SAN DIEGO (EPISODE 7)
WOMAN'S MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN SANTA FE (EPISODE 8)
WOMAN'S MARCH: MAKE IT CANADA (EPISODE 9)
WOMENS MARCH: IT HAPPENED IN GRAND RAPIDS (EPISODE 10)

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE WOMAN'S MARCH FEMME-CENTRIC EPISODES

OCEAN'S EIGHT (2018) Pitch Problem

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT

Let's talk about the problem with the way the movie is being pitched!

OCEAN'S EIGHT (2018)
Starring: Sarah Paulson, Helena Bonham Carter, Anne Hathaway, Sandra Bullock, Cate Blanchett, Mindy Kaling, Rihanna,, Awkwafina
Director: Gary Ross
Writers: Olivia Milch, Gary Ross

DEVASTATING: Hollywood’s Shocking Pay Gap

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Wed, 19 Oct 2016 00:00:00 GMT

AVA DUVERNAY & HILARY SWANK DISCUSS HOLLYWOOD’S SHOCKING PAY GAP

(Oct. 19, 2016 Megan Lasher at motto)
Wednesday’s episode of Chelsea Handler’s Netflix show, Chelsea, features a star-studded dinner party where Handler sits down with Ava DuVernay and Hilary Swank, among other notable women. In a clip provided by CNN, they dive into the massive pay gap in Hollywood, revealing personal experiences with inequality.

DuVernay begins by talking about Selma, which she says was a “big jump” for her because of how high the film’s budget was. “I was the seventh director they asked. All the men before me said no,” she said. She went to tell a fellow director about her news, and he admitted that he was also given a high-budget film—Jurassic World.

Hilary Swank was also candid about her salary struggles. “When I did Boys Don’t Cry, I was 24 years old, I made $3,000. In order to have health insurance, you have to make $5,000,” she told the table. “I had an Academy Award, no health insurance.”

“A couple movies later, I get offered a movie, but the male hadn’t had any kind of critical success,” she said. “He had been in a movie where he was ‘hot.’ And he got offered $10 million, and I got offered $500,000.”

VEATHER VETCH: Pussycat Preacher

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Sat, 16 Jan 2016 15:29:19 GMT

Veather Vetch is an ex-stripper turned Christian minister, sharing honest, fearless and opinionated views.

01-16-2016

BURLESQUE AS IT WAS 100 YEARS AGO

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Fri, 27 Jun 2014 00:00:00 GMT

A ton of historic film footage and a 77-year-old ex-burlesque star.

Burlesque as it was 100 years ago! Actual historic film footage plus an interview with a 77-year-old burlesque star. Here is film from Thomas Edison and others who captured Burlesque a hundred years ago.

A LITTLE HISTORY

American burlesque shows were originally an offshoot of Victorian burlesque. The English genre had been successfully staged in New York from the 1840s , and it was popularized by a visiting British burlesque troupe, Lydia Thompson and the "British Blondes", beginning in 1868.

Burlesque originated in 17th century Italian theater as a type of comic interlude. The word derives from the Italian "burla," a joke, ridicule or mockery. Burlesque can be applied to literature, music and theater.

Burlesque Dancer - a scantily-clad provocatively dancing female accompanied by slapstick comedy, humor, short, entertaining and humorous skits and striptease, of course. Stripper- Someone who undresses to provide erotic pleasure to others by strip-teasing and dancing very provocatively to music.

Famous Burlesque Dancers

Josephine Baker.
Theda Bara.
Candy Barr.
Ann Corio.
Yvonne De Carlo.
Diana Dors.
Gypsy Rose Lee.
Bettie Page.

BELOW ARE TURN-OF-THE-CENTURY BURLESQUE PROMOTIONALS

KHANDEE KHISSES: Burlesque Queen

david-the-bruce@outlook.com (David the Bruce) — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 00:00:00 GMT

Vivica Liqueur interviews top UK Burlesque Queen Khandee Khisses who is a plus-sized star. Filmed in New York & Ashland, Oregon.

Dubbed ‘Queen of Burlesque’ by numerous publications and voted regularly into the Top Stars of Burlesque in World (2009, 2010 , 2011 and 2012 consecutively), Khandie Khisses is the unstoppable tornado whose talents far exceed that of her burlesque skills. She is already an accomplished DJ, MC and model, but more recently completed her first major film role. A true superstar in the making whose global reputation as a highly professional and talented artiste is building rapidly.

Previously serving in the Royal Air Force, Khandie’s ability to captivate audiences with her riotous and spectacular routines has drawn a following worldwide as her reputation continues to sky rocket. Appearances by invitation at the Australian Burlesque (and subsequent 12 day tour), Paris Burlesque and British Science Festivals, not to mention numerous show stopping, audience captivating performances cross the globe, have seen her step out from the ranks and cement her place in the limelight.

A confident speaker Khandie has been asked to speak about her profession and lifestyle by invitation for a variety of audiences such as the WI, BBC radio and East Side Radio in Australia. Her regular columns for various publications have been referenced and shared world wide. She also regularly contributes to 21st Century Burlesque, BleedingCool.com, as well as being the UK correspondent for Pinup America with regular guest spots on their live TV show.

Khandie challenges media stereotypes with her voluptuous figure and sparkling smile, making her an asset to any stage and the words on everybody’s lips.

Khandie is both Equity registered and agency represented by Spirit Model Management and Burlesque Baby.

Visit: http://www.khandiekhisses.com/

THE INTERVIEW
By Vivica Liqueur
Welcome! Today we are lucky to have an amazing and brilliant International Burlesque Star from the UK known as The Queen of Burlesque and rising actress Khandi Khisses! Today you are in for a treat of a special kind lovies, a special kind indeed! Khandie Khisses Star of many spades is also a renown Mermaid, fire performer , Writer, MC and DJ! Wow! Quite a talented and gorgeous woman.

There is something instant about Khandie where you know she is a Star and then it is confirmed. I am ecstatic that she was gracious enough to take time to answer some questions from an inquisitive hostess. So, let’s take a journey into the majickal world of Khandie Khisses.

QUESTIONS (Watch video for answers)
--First I wondered, Khandie Khisses, what is the origin of your inspiration to become a Burlesque Star?

--You are also a Mermaid and a fire performer. Fire and water, that’s nice balance there. Tell me more about being a Mermaid. It’s almost every little girls dream, was it yours as a little one?

How does it feel when you are underwater? What’s going through your mind?

It must feel so completely real being underwater with a luxurious tail. Do you ever get so swept away in the moment you feel there’s a tribe of Mermaids waiting around the bend to whisk you away from it all?

Now about the fire performance, the way you manipulate the fire is masterful and quite beautiful, very tribal sense to it. Being out in the night, dancing with fire, where does that take your soul? As in, is there an energy you connect to when working with the fire, or a thought that stays present in your mind?

--Khandie Khisses you are also and Actor. I watched the recent film you are in ‘Jimmy’s End’, which is available on youtube created/directed by Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins, and I loved it! At only 32 minutes long it was an epic tale. I was so drawn into the story and absolutely captivated by the scenes, the cinematography, the ambiance and characters. Absolutely brilliant! I wanted to talk about one of the scenes you are in where you are laughing quite infectiously and for a long time. How did you breath in that scene? And did your face hurt after?

Your laughter was so contagious I found myself going into a bout of riotous laughter. You managed to make me laugh and yet sound a touch evil all at once. Brilliant. You played one of the ‘Bad brides’. How were you approached to be a part of this movie? And what made you say yes?

--You also model. Love your work. You can see Khandie Khisses' gallery on KhandieKhisses.com. You are absolutely gorgeous and have the perfect classic Burlesque figure. Which came first for you Burlesque or Modeling?

Have you thought of putting together a book of your Modeling?

You have so many talents, what are your favorite and least favorite memories so far as an International Burlesque Star?

You travel a lot, you have a lot of spirit and have adoring fans. How does your family respond to you being a Burlesque Icon?

--Khandie Khisses, you also a writer and clearly a very intelligent woman it shows in your creativity and your column on 21st Century Burlesque Magazine [which can be found online]. Have you ever had any issues with people in your life not being able to accept you as a beautiful face and figure, a wild unbreakable creatrix and a gorgeous brain as well? Do you feel people are often intimidated by this mixture? And what is your response, if any, to those who are intimidated by your energy?

You are very real and authentic I love that about you as a performer. This comes across your photos quite easily. I’ve read your column and love your article about keeping Burlesque personal and remembering to bring your spirit to your art and your fans. What advice would you give new Burlesque performers on how to steer away from becoming two dimensional photogenic beings?

I find it very important as being a Burlesque Performer to encourage new comers and established Stars alike to work harmoniously and keep the Diva attitude for the stage. I’ve also seen in your column at said magazine how you really feel the same and put thought into how to encourage new BurlyQ comers. What is the most important advice you would like to share to, as you lovingly call them, “fledgling performers”?

Being an international Burlesque Star must be very intense non-stop work. People sometimes forget that each routine must be choreographed and perfected. Some people do not understand how much time and grueling physical and creative hard work goes into choreographing each 30 seconds of pure Burlesque gold. After all this hard work what does Khandie Khisses do to unwind after a performance or a tour? What do you treat yourself with after such intense labor?

--You have your own Burlesque Academy called Hidden Hearts Academy, which everyone watching can find more about on Khandie Khisses website KhandieKhisses.com [spell out], what was the most challenging for you on the startup of this business?
What is the motto, if you will, or goal of Hidden Hearts Academy?

Where has been your favorite place to perform thus far?

What is next for Khandie Khisses? Any projects in the mix?

Can we expect to see you here in the USA in the near future?

Thank you Khandie Khisses for being on After 10 with yours truly Vivica Liqueur. We hope to catch in the USA soon! Much appreciation to the authentic vibrant Burlesque Star you are, all that you have already brought forth to transform Burlesque already and to all that is to come from you. Remember to check out Khandie Khisses.com where you can find out how to book Khandie Khisses for your next Hen party or bring her out for a tour in the USA. I know I would love to see her here! Thank you Khandie Khisses International Burlesque Star!

I’m Vivica Liqueur, thanks for watching and remember, ‘Well behaved women, seldom make history.’