Sally Rand
| Sally Rand | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Born |
Helen Gould Beck April 3, 1904 Elkton, Missouri, U.S. |
| Died | August 31, 1979 (aged 75) Glendora, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Billie Beck, Helen Gould Beck, Hattie Helen Gould Beck |
| Occupation |
Burlesque dancer vedette Actress |
| Years active | 1925–1979 |
| Spouse(s) | Clarence Robbins (?–?) Thurkel Greenough (1941–?) Harry Finkelstein (1949–1950) Fred Lalla (1954–?) |
Sally Rand (April 3, 1904 – August 31, 1979) was a burlesque dancer, vedette and actress, most noted for her ostrich feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance. She also performed under the name Billie Beck.
Hattie Helen Gould Beck was born in the village of Elkton, Hickory County, Missouri. Her father, William Beck, was a West Point graduate and retired U.S. Army colonel, while her mother, Nettie (Grove) Beck, was a school teacher and part-time newspaper correspondent. The family moved to Jackson County, Missouri while she was still in grade school.
Helen got her start on the stage quite early, working as a chorus girl at Kansas City's Empress Theater when she was only 13. An early supporter of her talent was Goodman Ace, drama critic for the Kansas City Journal who saw her performing in a Kansas City nightclub and wrote glowing reviews. After studying ballet and drama in Kansas City, the teenage Helen decided her future lay in Hollywood. For a short time as she worked her way to the west coast, she was employed as an acrobat in the Ringling Brothers Circus. She also performed in summer stock and traveling theater, including working with a then-unknown Humphrey Bogart.
During the 1920s, she acted on stage and appeared in silent films. Cecil B. DeMille gave her the name Sally Rand, inspired by a Rand McNally atlas. She was selected as one of the WAMPAS Baby Stars in 1927.
After the introduction of sound films, she became a dancer, known for the fan dance, which she popularized starting at the Paramount Club, at 15 E. Huron, in Chicago. Her most famous appearance was at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair, which was entitled Century of Progress. She would play peek-a-boo with her body by manipulating her fans in front and behind her, like a winged bird as she swooped and twirled on the stage, usually to "Clair de Lune". She was arrested four times in a single day during the fair due to perceived indecent exposure after a fan dance performance and while riding a white horse down the streets of Chicago, where the nudity was only an illusion, and again after being bodypainted by Max Factor, Sr. with his new make-up formulated for Hollywood films. She also conceived and developed the bubble dance, in part to cope with wind while performing outdoors. She performed the fan dance on film in Bolero, released in 1934.
...
Wikipedia