Classic Beauty: Eva Tanguay

What kind of woman would sing songs with titles like these?

“It’s All Been Done Before, but Not the Way I Do It”
“I Want Someone to Go Wild with Me”
“Go as Far as You Like” and
“That’s Why They Call Me Tabasco”

Okay, now let me change the question slightly.

What kind of woman would sing songs with titles like these, in the early 20th century?

There’s only one, and not for nothing was Eva Tanguay known as “The Queen Of Burlesque” — or, as she modestly titled herself, “The Girl Who Made Burlesque Famous”.  (Follow the link first, for some shocked laughter.)


(that’s the infamous “penny” dress)

Well, I would have bought a ticket to see her on stage.  I think she’s magnificent.

Classic Beauty: Rosalind Russell

Rosalind Russell was one of those impossibly-beautiful and classy women of Hollywood’s Golden Era.  When I first started putting this piece together, though, I couldn’t remember if I’d ever seen her in a movie.  But as I looked at her pics, it all came back to me:  His Girl Friday with Cary Grant, Mourning Becomes Electra with Michael Redgrave, and of course The Women — where she more than held her own against such divas as Joan Crawford, Norma Shearer, Ruth Hussey and Joan Fontaine.  (All three movies come highly recommended, if you haven’t seen any of them before.)

And then there was that beauty and class:

I think I’m going to look for some of her other movies to watch, and marvel.