Sally Rand
Born	Helen Harriet Beck (1904-04-03)April 3, 1904 Hickory County, Missouri, U.S.
Died	August 31, 1979(1979-08-31) (aged 75) Glendora, California, U.S.
Other names	Billie Beck
Occupation	Burlesque dancer Actress
Years active	1925–1979
Spouse	Clarence Robbins (?–?) Thurkel Greenough (1941–?) Harry Finkelstein (1949–1950) Fred Lalla (1954–?)

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Sally Rand (April 3, 1904^[1] – August 31, 1979) was a burlesque dancer and actress, most noted for her ostrich feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance. She also performed under the name Billie Beck.

Early life and career[link]

Helen Harriet Beck was born in Hickory County, Missouri, attending Greenwood Grammar School three years ahead of Robert A. Heinlein^[2]. 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 film, she became a dancer, known for the fan dance, which she popularized starting at the Paramount Club. Her most famous appearance was at the 1933 Chicago World's Fair entitled Century of Progress. She had been arrested four times in a single day during the fair due to perceived indecent exposure while riding a white horse down the streets of Chicago, but the nudity was only an illusion. 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.^{[citation needed]}

In 1936, she purchased The Music Box burlesque hall in San Francisco, which would later become the Great American Music Hall. She starred in "Sally Rand's Nude Ranch" at the Golden Gate International Exposition in San Francisco in 1939 and 1940.^[3]

She was arrested twice in succession San Francisco in 1946. While performing at Club Savoy, she was arrested by six police officers in the audience as she danced, seemingly nude, in silhouette behind a large white fan. While on trial, the judge granted her immunity should she be arrested for the same offense while on trial. She was arrested during a night of the trial while performing her act, despite her immunity and the fact that she was wearing long underwear and a note that read "CENSORED. S.F.P.D." while performing that time. In an unusual move, the judge viewed her performance at the Savoy and cleared her of all charges after deeming that "anyone who could find something lewd about the dance as she puts it on has to have a perverted idea of morals".^[4]

She appeared on television in 1957, on an episode of To Tell the Truth with host Bud Collyer and panelists Polly Bergen, Ralph Bellamy, Kitty Carlisle, and Carl Reiner. She did not "stump the panel" but was correctly identified by all four panelists. She continued to appear on stage doing her fan dance into the 1970s. Rand once replaced Ann Corio in the stage show, This Was Burlesque, appeared at the Mitchell Brothers club in San Francisco in the early 1970s and toured as one of the stars of the 1972 nostalgia revue "Big Show of 1928," which played major concert venues including New York's Madison Square Garden. Later, she appeared with Tempest Storm and Blaze Starr.^{[citation needed]}

Death[link]

She died in 1979 in Glendora, California, aged 75, from undisclosed causes. She was deeply in debt at her death. Rand's adopted son told an interviewer that Sammy Davis, Jr., stepped in and wrote a $10,000 check which took care of Rand's expenses.^[5]

In popular culture[link]

• In Tex Avery's cartoon Hollywood Steps Out (1941), a rotoscoped Rand performs her famous bubble dance onstage to an appreciative crowd. A grinning Peter Lorre caricature in the front row comments, "I haven't seen such a beautiful bubble since I was a child." The routine continues until the bubble is suddenly popped by Harpo Marx and his slingshot, with a surprised Rand (her nudity covered by a well-placed wooden barrel) reacting with shock. Rand is referred to as "Sally Strand" here.

• She was the model of several characters in Robert A. Heinlein's stories, such as the Mary-Lou Martin of "Let There Be Light".^{[citation needed]} Rand was also included in Heinlein's final book, To Sail Beyond The Sunset, as a friend of main character, Maureen Johnson Long, mother of Lazarus Long.

• In the 1979 book The Right Stuff, the author Tom Wolfe described Sally Rand fan-dancing for the first American astronauts and other dignitaries and referred to the astronauts observing this sixtyish woman's "ancient haunches". In the 1983 film version of The Right Stuff, Rand was portrayed by actress Peggy Davis.

• A fictionalized version of Rand appeared in Toni Dove's interactive cinema project Spectropia, played by Helen Pickett of the Wooster Group.

• In the 1936 Merrie Melodie cartoon Page Miss Glory, a robustly proportioned matron performs a parody of Rand's fan dance.

• In the "Nathan Heller" mystery series by Max Allan Collins, Detective Heller meets Sally Rand.

Filmography[link]

Features:

• The Dressmaker from Paris (1925)
• The Texas Bearcat (1925)
• The Road to Yesterday (1925)
• Braveheart (1925)
• Bachelor Brides (1926)
• Sunny Side Up (1926)
• Gigolo (1926)
• Man Bait (1927)
• The Night of Love (1927)
• Getting Gertie's Garter (1927)
• The Yankee Clipper (1927)
• The King of Kings (1927)
• His Dog (1927)
• The Fighting Eagle (1927)
• Galloping Fury (1927)
• Heroes in Blue (1927)
• A Woman Against the World (1928)
• Crashing Through (1928)
• Nameless Men (1928)
• A Girl in Every Port (1928)
• Golf Widows (1928)
• Black Feather (1928)
• The Sign of the Cross (1932)
• Hotel Variety (1933)
• Bolero (1934)
• Sunset Murder Case (1938)

Short Subjects:

• The Czarina's Secret (1928)

References[link]

Source[link]

• Knox, Holly. Sally Rand, From Films to Fans. Maverick Publications (1988); ISBN 0-89288-172-0

External links[link]

• Sally Rand at the Internet Movie Database
• Sally Rand and The Music Box at Virtual Museum of SF
• Sally Rand at Find a Grave

Esther Muir (March 11, 1903 – August 1, 1995) was a character actress on Broadway and in Hollywood films.

Theatrical Reviews[link]

Muir was born in Andes, New York and began modeling in New York City while still a high school student. She soon won a role in a show called Greenwich Village Follies. She participated in the Earl Carroll Vanities and in the International Review. The latter show starred Gertrude Lawrence. Her major break as a theatrical performer came when she landed the title role in My Girl Friday!, in 1929. While in London, England performing in a musical Esther became a favorite dancing partner of Edward VIII, then Prince of Wales. She befriended Wallis Warfield.

Movie Actress[link]

She was introduced by columnist Walter Winchell to Hollywood director and choreographer Busby Berkeley, whom she married. They were divorced in 1931. In 1936 Muir toured with the Marx Brothers in a stage production of A Day at the Races (1937). The brothers searched for material for the film version while they traveled.

Muir described the Marx Brothers as diligent comic actors who sometimes worked days and weeks on a scene to perfect it. Her other screen credits include parts in I'll Take Romance (1937), City Girl (1938), and The Girl and the Gambler (1939). She continued in motion pictures until 1942. Her final role is Bonnie in X Marks The Spot. Her first motion picture appearance was in A Dangerous Affair in 1931.

Personal life[link]

In the 1950s the former actress became a real estate developer in southern California. She supervised the construction of more than 400 tract homes. Muir married composer/producer Sam Coslow in Mexicali, Mexico on November 1, 1934. The couple repeated their wedding vows a year later in Ventura, California. The marriage ended in divorce in 1948. Her daughter, Jacqueline Coslow, became an actress and married actor Ted Sorel.^[1]

Esther Muir died in 1995 at Northern Westchester Hospital in Mount Kisco, New York, aged 92. She had lived in Somers, New York.

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Fresno Bee, Marriage of Song Writer, Esther Muir Revealed, Wednesday, September 25, 1935, Page 6A.
• The New York Times, Esther Muir, 92, Character Actress, August 9, 1995, Page D20.
• The Oshkosh Northwestern, Hollywood Roundup, May 22, 1937, Page 10.

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Esther Muir at the Internet Movie Database
• Esther Muir at the Internet Broadway Database
• Esther Muir at Find a Grave

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Vince Barnett (July 4, 1902 – August 10, 1977) was an American film actor. He appeared on stage originally before appearing in over 180 films between 1930 and 1975.

He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania the son of Luke Barnett, a well-known comedian who specialized in insulting and pulling practical jokes on his audiences (Luke's professional nickname was "Old Man Ribber" and "the King of Ribbing".) Vince remained in the family business by hiring himself out to Hollywood parties, where he would insult the guests in a thick German accent, spill the soup and drop the trays—all to the great delight of hosts who enjoyed watching their friends squirm and mutter "Who hired that jerk?" The diminutive, chrome-domed Barnett also appeared in the 1926 edition of Earl Carroll's Vanities. He began appearing in films in 1930, playing hundreds of comedy bits and supporting parts until retiring in 1975. Among Vince Barnett's more sizeable screen roles was the moronic, illiterate gangster "secretary" in Scarface (1931).

Former vaudevillian, who acquired a solid reputation as a practical joker and master of insult, second only to the great Groucho Marx. Celebrity hosts would often hire Vince to perform gags and put-on jokes at their lavish parties, where he would insult the guests and create mayhem in his wake. He often posed as heavily-accented journalists with names like 'Timothy Glutzspiegel'. Among the many victims of his pranks were such luminaries as Winston Churchill, Charles Lindbergh, Henry Ford and the Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen.

After studying at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Vince, who was an avid amateur pilot, flew mail planes for a couple of years before making his stage debut with 'Earl Carroll's Vanities' in 1926. The following year, he acted on Broadway in 'George White's Scandals'. Movie roles soon followed.

From 1930, Vince appeared, usually as comedy relief, in films and on television in a career spanning 45 years. Among his best-regarded early roles were 'Scarface' (1932,as a dumb gangster), 'The Big Cage' (1933), 'Thirty Day Princess' (1934) and, in a perfectly-suited Runyonesque part, 'Princess O'Hara' (1935). In later years, Vince often relinquished his comedy image and was seen in innumerable small roles, often as careworn little men, undertakers, janitors, bartenders and drunks in pictures ranging from films noir ('The Killers',1946) to westerns ('Springfield Rifle',1952).

In one of his last public appearances, Vince showcased his unique brand of humour with a monologue, delivered at Madison Square Garden in the vaudeville revue 'The Big Show of 1936'. Barnett died in Encino, California August 10, 1977.

Selected filmography[link]

• All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) uncredited
• Scratch-As-Catch-Can (1931)
• Scarface (1932)
• The Death Kiss (1932)
• The Prizefighter and the Lady (1933)
• Thirty-Day Princess (1934)
• Now I'll Tell (1934)
• Kansas City Princess (1934)
• Young and Beautiful (1934)
• Don't Bet on Blondes (1935)
• Riffraff (1936)
• Captain Calamity (1936)
• Heroes of the Saddle (1940)
• East Side Kids (1940)
• Seven Sinners (1940)
• Captive Wild Woman (1943)
• High Powered (1944)
• Swell Guy (1946)
• Carson City (1952)
• Dr. Goldfoot and the Bikini Machine (1965)
• Andy Griffith Show as "Elmo" (1967–1968)
• Mayberry R.F.D. as "Elmo" (1968–1970)

External links[link]

• Vince Barnett at the Internet Movie Database
• Vince Barnett at AllRovi
• Vince Barnett at Find a Grave

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Nina Nastasia is a New York City-based singer-songwriter born in Hollywood, California.

Biography[link]

She began writing songs in 1993,^[1] and released her first album, Dogs, in 2000. Only 1,500 copies of the album were initially pressed, with Nastasia putting together the album packaging herself in her apartment. Nastasia sold them at her shows, quickly selling all of them. By the end of the year 2000, the album was out of print. Famed DJ John Peel took notice to the album (calling it "astonishing") after having been given a copy by Steve Albini. Peel began playing songs from it constantly on his radio show on BBC Radio 1. The album, as well as Nastasia, gained a cult following.

Nastasia has released six albums, one in collaboration with Jim White. Her first album, Dogs, was initially released in 2000 on Socialist Records. Her subsequent albums, The Blackened Air (2002) and Run to Ruin (2003), were released on indie label Touch and Go Records, which also re-released Dogs in 2004. In 2006, On Leaving was released on Fat Cat Records. In 2007, an album on which she collaborated with Jim White entitled You Follow Me was released through Fat Cat. All of Nastasia's albums to date were recorded by Steve Albini, who has ardently praised her music in a number of interviews.

Nastasia recorded six sessions for late BBC disc jockey John Peel's show. The last one was recorded with the help of Tuvan throat singing group Huun-Huur-Tu. Two of Nastasia's songs were included in Peel's annual Festive Fifty: "Ugly Face" (ranked 4th in 2002) and "You, Her & Me" (ranked 13th in 2003).^[2]

	"Stormy Weather" noicon Album version, as it appeared on Dogs
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

A 7-inch single, titled "What She Doesn't Know" was released on February 25, 2008. The single featured the title track, along with the song "Your Red Nose". Both tracks were recorded by Steve Albini during the On Leaving sessions. Nastasia has called the single "a good complement to You Follow Me".^[3] A solo American and European tour coincided with the release of the single.

The single "Cry, Cry, Baby" was released on May 10, 2010 internationally and May 18 in the US.^[4] Her sixth studio album, Outlaster, followed on June 7, 2010.^[5]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• 2000 Dogs (Socialist)

• 2004 re-released (Touch and Go)

• 2002 The Blackened Air (Touch and Go)
• 2003 Run to Ruin (Touch and Go)
• 2006 On Leaving (Fat Cat)
• 2007 You Follow Me (Fat Cat) - collaboration with Jim White of Dirty Three
• 2010 Outlaster (Fat Cat)

Singles[link]

• 2008 What She Doesn't Know (Fat Cat)
• 2010 Cry, Cry, Baby (Fat Cat)
• 2010 You Can Take Your Time (Fat Cat)

Contributions[link]

• 2001 "I Will Never Marry", on the compilation album Comes with a Smile, Volume 3 - Pretty Together
• 2005 "The Matter (of Our Discussion)", on the Boom Bip album Blue Eyed in the Red Room (Lex)
• 2005 "Bird of Cuzco", song on John Peel: A Tribute compilation (WEA)
• 2009 "Repulsion", on the compilation album Black and White, given free with issue #12 of Esopus^[6]

Band members[link]

• Nina Nastasia, voice & guitars
• Steven Beck, piano (Run to Ruin, On Leaving)
• Jay Bellerose, drums (The Blackened Air, On Leaving, Outlaster)
• Paul Bryan, bass, orchestral arrangements (Outlaster)
• Joshua Carlebach, accordion (Dogs, The Blackened Air, Run to Ruin)
• Oto Carillo, french horn (Outlaster)
• Stephen Day, cello (Dogs, The Blackened Air, Run to Ruin, Outlaster)
• Kennan Gudjonsson, piano (Dogs)
• Anne Mette Iversen, double bass (Run to Ruin)
• Juliann Klopotic, violin (Dogs)
• Rubin Kodheli, cello (On Leaving)
• Gerry Leonard, guitar, mandolin (Dogs, The Blackened Air, Run to Ruin)
• June Matayoshi, oboe, english horn (Outlaster)
• Gonzalo Muñoz, saw (Dogs, The Blackened Air)
• Jeff Parker, guitar (Outlaster)
• Dave Richards, bass (Dogs, The Blackened Air, Run to Ruin)
• Jason Stein, bass clarinet (Outlaster)
• Matt Szemela, violin (Outlaster)
• Amie Weiss, violin (Outlaster)
• Jim White, drums (Run to Ruin, On Leaving, You Follow Me)
• Dylan Willemsa, viola, violin (The Blackened Air, Run to Ruin, On Leaving)
• Peter Yanowitz, drums (Dogs)
• Lev 'Ljova' Zhurbin, viola (Outlaster)

References[link]