I see Google is currently honoring the 116th birthday of one of the most innovative fashion designers of all time...the amazing Edith Head! I say we do the same!
Happy Birthday, Edith! ...I wish I knew ya...
And with her spirit in mind, I just know YOU are going to love this clip featuring a young, innocent and utterly charming Audrey Hepburn
screen-testing a few of Edith's creations from Roman Holiday!Ciao, darlings!!
It's been six months now since we've lost one of my absolute idols...Phyllis Diller...someone who's always been on my list of 'people living-or-dead I'd like to have over for dinner', and still is! And not just for her pretty face, bad wig and infectious cackle...but because she's a comedy pioneer, a legend and just an amazing person all the way around!
So, if you love her too, and you have an hour to spare, I suggest you take that time to watch this HBO special from 1977! The hilarious Miss Diller pulls out all the stops on this one...not only do you get to hear all her favorite gags, but she also performs two piano pieces at the end of the program! I loved it from start to finish, and I know you will, too! Enjoy, darlings!
R.I.P. Pauline Phillips...aka Abigail Van Buren... Dear Abby!
There's never been any other advice columnist for me!! I grew up with Dear Abby's advice in the daily paper, and I'm sure, during those impressionable years of my adolescence, her sage advice unwittingly shaped my perception of most every imaginable social and romantic do and don't, right and wrong, flaw and faux pas! She helped build my bitch muscles! Although, at the time, I don't think I really understood the subtlety and depth of Abby's wit! Case in point...here are a few intriguing letters taken from her book, The Best of Dear Abby, and her sassy responses!
Dear Abby: I've been going steady with this man for six years. We see each other every night. He says he loves me, and I know I love him, but he never mentions marriage. Do you think he's going out with me just for what he can get? GERTIE
Dear Gertie: I don't know. What's he getting?
Dear Abby: My boyfriend is going to be twenty years old next month. I'd like to give him something nice for his birthday. What do you think he'd like? CAROL
Dear Carol: Never mind what he'd like. Give him a tie.
Dear Abby: I know boys will be boys, but my 'boy' is 73 and he's still chasing women. Any suggestions? ANNIE
Dear Annie: Don't worry. My dog has been chasing cars for years, but if he ever caught one, he wouldnt know what to do with it.
Dear Abby: I am 44 years old and I would like to meet a man my age with no bad habits. ROSE
Dear Rose: So would I.
Dear Abby: What's the difference between a wife and a mistress? BESS
Dear Bess: Night and Day.
I'm a huge fan of biographies, but never really understood why someone would want to go to the trouble of researching and writing 500-some pages of facts about a person they never knew. That is, until...
Sometime last year, my personal hairdresser, Mr. Angelo, handed me an old newspaper clipping about a vintage burlesque queen known as Gay Dawn...
...along with a few small, candid snapshots of her, taken by a fan (who shall remain nameless), some years after she retired her pasties and g-string...
I've been smitten ever since! According to the article, Miss Dawn hails from a little lumber town near the Washington coast called Hoquiam, which butts right up against another little town known as Aberdeen, almost famous now for being the hometown of a young man named Kurt Cobain...
Not just another pretty peeler, Gay Dawn had a career in burlesque spanning over 15 years, starting in 1950 at the Follies Theatre in L.A...
...playing burly-q theatres in the USA from Minsky's in Newark, NJ to The Rivoli in Seattle...
...and everywhere in between: Boston, St.Louis, Baltimore, Cleveland, San Francisco, Oakland, and more. So popular was she, in fact, that she even starred in a movie called "Everybody's Girl"...
...and had plenty of press coverage, if not clothing coverage...
...as well as some cheeky cheesecake! Isn't she lovely?
But whatever happened to lovely Miss Gay Dawn? I see she passed away in 1998, in Juneau, Alaska. The newspaper article references a daughter whom she named Gayleen and groomed to be a pageant princess, however, I think the former Miss Tujunga may have given up on pageants to join the police force. Further searches for either of them were fruitless. Does anyone out there have any clues or other information to help me with my Search For Gay Dawn? For some reason, I feel an affinity towards her, and finally, I know how it feels to be passionate enough and curious enough to attempt writing a life story about a perfect stranger. I'm not saying I'll ever write it...but hey, she loved show biz and money! Now, that's what I call Blonde Ambition, darlings.
I was lucky enough to find this video clip from good ol' Something Weird...so now, for your pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, may I present Everybody's Girl, Miss Gay Dawn!
Kiki de Montparnasse...Muse to many an infamous artist, sculptor and photographer...party girl, chanteuse and a bit of an artist herself! My obsession with Kiki began quite a few years ago, when I found the book Kiki's Paris ~ Artists and Lovers 1900-1930 ~ at the library, and my imagination was forever captured! This book is a such a treasure trove of fascinating facts, colorful characters and gossip galore, I simply had to own a copy (and you should too, mon choux!) Since then I've spent many a pleasurable hour immersing myself in the bohemian lives of Montparnasse café society, wishing I hadn't been born so late! I'm sure I'd have felt right at home in that time and place...spending my evenings at The Jockey, La Coupole or Le Dôme...posing for the likes of Man Ray, Modigliani, Foujita, Kisling and Picasso...attending "Soirées de Paris" like the Quat'z'Arts ball, which always ended in a swim in the fountain at Place de la Concorde!
Here's a pretty little video I made showcasing some photos and beautiful works of art inspired by The Queen of Montparnasse...along with one of my favorite Josephine Baker songs, J'ai Deux Amours...
Thank you for visiting! I am your hostess, Gams Galore...a glamorous gal with an eye for the finer things in life, from vintage to visionary! Here you'll find a variety of images and ideas, lovingly compiled to delight and inspire your imagination. Enjoy!
