Happy Birthday, Sally Rand
Sally Rand is an American icon, best known for her famous “fan dance.” But, as with so many other celebrities, Miss Rand had a multifaceted career and personality that deserves (*ahem*) further exposure.
“Sally Rand” was born as Harriet Helen Gould Beck in the Ozark Mountain town of Elkton, Missouri on Easter Sunday, the 3rd of April, 1904. She was the daughter of Nettie Grove, a Pennsylvania Dutch Quaker, and Corporal William Beck, a veteran of the Spanish-American War. Teddy Roosevelt was President of the United States and there would come a time when little Helen would fall asleep in the great man’s lap.
Sally was interested in dance from an early age and, literally, ran away with a carnival as a teenager. She later pursued such career opportunities as night club cigarette girl, artist’s model, and cafe dancer.
It is tattoo Tuesday . . .
In a delightful story picked up by the Total Tattoo news radar, Guinness World Records has recently declared Charlotte Guttenberg and her partner Chuck Helmke from Florida to be the world’s most tattooed senior citizens (and it was only 11 years ago that Charlotte got her first ink). The couple got together 10 years ago, having met in a tattoo studio. Their tattoos are mostly Asian spiritual in theme, and they are keen for the designs they each wear to tell their own stories. In press interviews, they said they planned to use the opportunities given to them by the Guinness titles to promote a better understanding of tattooed people, especially those of the older generation.
Gunsmoke and Knitting 