Quelque Chose #28

I've had an idea to write a post about lady wrestlers in the 40's and 50's knocking around my head for the last while, (as there were quite a few and they were all pretty amazing), but I just haven't gotten around to it due to being, in turns, either quite busy or very lazy. (Murder She Wrote and Jem aren't just going to watch themselves on Netflix now, are they?) But while looking for photos for such a post, I found these deadly ones of a vaudeville act in the 1910s, that comprised of two sisters who would box and wrestle onstage.


And they were called the Bennett Sisters, which is pretty cool.

Oh Mr. Collins, please just take no for an answer, would you?
No?
*BODYSLAM*

Hey Mr. Wickham, running off with my underage sister, are we?
*FACEPUNCH*


(Photos via)

Quelque Chose #27

It's Halloweeeeeeeen! I love this time of year, although this unseasonal heat can feck right off as far as I'm concerned. October is for boots and scarves and jumpers and crunchy leaves, not sweating your make-up off by the time you've walked into work. Boo and indeed, hiss.

Anyway, look at this great Halloweeny photo of tiny old witches sitting down for tea!


Except of course they're not witches, they're elderly ladies in a home for impoverished women in Norfolk in the 1920s. The refuge was set up in the early 1600s and the "sisters" who lived there dressed in traditional black hats and gowns when they went to church on Sundays. They look like witches because the typical pop culture idea of what a witch looks like was based on how old women that lived in the countryside used to dress.

It's still a pretty great photo though.

Have a super Halloween everybody, whether you're going out in fancy dress and covered in fake blood, or getting drunk on the couch and watching Hocus Pocus. Either one sounds like lots of fun.

Quelque Chose #26

You guys. I know I've been woefully remiss lately in terms of posting anything. At the end of June I ran off to LA and Vegas for a super amazing holiday, had tons of fun and then came back and had a HAPE of work to do, with a bit more work on the side. But I'm here now! And I have PLANS. PLANS, I TELL YOU.

But for the moment, join me in admiring this picture of a little known 1950s pin-up girl called Hilda, created by artist Duane Bryers and one of the only plus-size pin-ups to appear on American calendars.

So gorgeous!

More here.

Quelque Chose #25

One of these days, when A League Of Their Own is listed as I flick through the channels, it won't be the James Corden sports-based panel show that I keep getting tricked by, but the 1992 film with Geena Davis and Madonna that tells the story of the Rockford Peaches and the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League of the 1940s. However, I'm so used to being disappointed by the appearance of a tv studio and Freddie Flintoff that when that day comes I might end up skipping right past it.

But never mind that, look at this supercool photo of actual real-life Rockford Peach Dorothy Harrell being deadly on the baseball pitch. Her mother gave her a baseball glove and uniform when she was five years old and her grandmother nicknamed her Snookie when she was born. Snookie! But a really cool Snookie!

I love this picture. You go Snookie.

Photo via History.com

Quelque Chose #24

On one hand, it might be a teeny bit early for Halloween type talk, but on the other, don't be ridiculous of course it isn't. In any case, check out these amazing photos of Mae West working the living fuck out of both an incredible bat costume and spider costume. They're from Belle of the Nineties, a 1934 film that she wrote and starred in (of course, seeing as she was awesooooome).

Those bat wings would be incredible for Halloween, although getting through doorways might be a bit of an issue. As would holding a pint or a Long Island Iced Tea. It'd totally be worth it though.

Quelque Chose #23

The Bear: A Eurovision song needs to give you goosebumps.

Me: When was the last time a Eurovision song gave you goosebumps?

The Bear: ...

Me: Lordi?

The Bear: Yeah, Lordi gave me goosebumps. And a raging horn.

Me: Well, obviously.

Quelque Chose #22

Two weeks ago, my lovely, bold and brilliant grandmother died at the rather decent age of 93. She was Nanny Nonie to me, her thirty other grandchildren and her twenty-seven great-grandchildren. It's a frankly massive family tree that she's responsible for. Nanny was tiny, a demon for sweets and unfailingly honest. "Sit your big bum down here beside me, Kitty!" The picture above is from 1941 and she's with my grandad who died long before I was born. Her bobby socks are awesome.

As such, I hadn't really been in the form for blogging for the last while, but Sweet Valley snarking and general silliness will resume shortly.

Quelque Chose #21

From the 1940s right up until the 1970s, the surreal and gorgeous work of photographer Bruce Mozert was used to promote Florida's premier tourist atrraction, Silver Springs.

Mozert was a pioneer in the tricky world of underwater photography, building waterproof casings for his camera that allowed him to create amazing scenes with pretty girls, showing off the the unique clarity of the water in the area.

(More here and hat tip to the lovely Margot for bringing it to my attention.)

Quelque Chose #20

Disneyland's backstage cafeteria for park staff in 1961. I love this photo. Sure where else would Snow White, an astronaut, Goofy and a cowboy grab some lunch?

(via)

Quelque Chose #19

Did you know that Veronica Lake, possessor of amazing hair and incredible face was only 4'11 tall? I only discovered it myself the other day, on the excellent Sibling of Daedalus blog. Look at how teeny tiny she was compared to 5'5 actresses Paulette Goddard and Dorothy Lamour.

via

You could put her in your pocket!

Quelque Chose #18

In 1932, at the age of 22, an Irish girl called Margaret Kelly was a showgirl and choreographer at the Folies Bergère in Paris. She was nicknamed "Miss Bluebell", because of her striking blue eyes and created her own dance group, called the Bluebell Girls. She employed the tallest girls she could find, often recruiting classical dancers who has grown too tall to become professional ballerinas. In 1948, she moved the Bluebell Girls to the Lido and was notoriously protective of them, as rich men quite liked the idea of having a Bluebell Girl for a wife. She often repeated the line "My girls are my girls." To this day, the Bluebell Girls still dance at the Lido, an apparently unmatched record of longevity in show business.

Quelque Chose #17

Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson were the soundtrack to my childhood, thanks to my parents and their musical tastes. Dad was always a huge Whitney fan. Mam loved Jacko, she even got to see him live twice. Twice! My brother and I never quite forgave her for telling us she was at a Civil Defence meeting when she was actually going to the Dublin date of the Dangerous World Tour in 1992 without us. Such betrayal!

Anyway, the cover of Whitney's eponymous debut album is one of my strongest memories from rifling through my Dad's vinyl collection. I loved looking at the picture of her on it, all regal and gorgeous in her peach dress with her hair slicked back.

Poor Whitney. R.I.P.

Quelque Chose #16

"20 year-old South African stripteaser Kathy Keeton (1939–1997), performs at London’s Embassy Club… while her mother, who moved to London “to keep an eye on her daughter” sits in the audience, sewing G-strings for her daughter. c. 1960."

Awesome.

(via bhof)

Quelque Chose #15

Every so often when a burlesque show came shimmying into town, theatre owners in the more conservative areas of 1940s/50s America were forced to work a little magic on promotional photos for newspaper ads and what have you. The solution to this little conundrum was adding clothes to the bodies of the brazen showgirls in question with pen and ink. This picture shows a performer in a bra and knickers that were added afterwards, with the untouched photo shown in the inset. I don't know about you, but I love the idea that it was someone's actual job to draw clothes on previously more nudey ladies.

(via bhof)

Quelque Chose #14

 
Random Fact: In the mid-seventies, a teenage Michelle Pfeiffer worked in Disneyland, playing Alice in Wonderland in one of the park's many parades.

(via Mental Floss) 
 

Quelque Chose #13

Unlucky for some, #13 goes out to 19th century Irish courtesan/dancer/saloon owner/temporary ruler of Bavaria and all-round hussy Lola Montez, about whom I've written a guest post for The Anti Room.

"Her aforementioned temper has become the stuff of legend, stories abound of her carrying a whip everywhere she went, like a sexed-up, slightly unhinged Indiana Jones and using it to strike men across the face if they annoyed her. In essence, you didn’t fuck with Lola Montez."

Her name was Lola and she actually WAS a showgirl.

Quelque Chose #12

River Song: Right then. I have questions, but number one is this - what in the name of sanity have you got on your head?

The Doctor: It's a fez. I wear a fez now. Fezzes are cool.

***

Incidentally, there happens to be a fantastic reason to wear a fez this weekend, as Film Fatale are organising a screening of Casablanca in The Sugar Club on Saturday night, followed by a 1940s party. Dressing up, interacting with a film, dancing and cocktails. What more could you possibly want? Tickets here and more info on their Facebook page here.

Quelque Chose #11

The Bear: Can I have a Stinger bar? Or will that ruin my dinner...

Me: Of course you can! Sure that's the beauty of being a grown up!

The Bear (returns with Stinger bar in hand): Did you just call me a grown up? How dare you.

Quelque Chose #10

"The problem with people who have no vices is that generally you can be pretty sure they're going to have some pretty annoying virtues."

Elizabeth Taylor

Quelque Chose #9

***
Mega super shiny congratulations to my cousin Ciara Conway, elected to the 31st Dáil, the first woman TD in Waterford in over fifty years. Outstanding.
***