Legend: Sally Rand

Sally Rand: Featured Legend of Red Hots Burlesque

It may be gloomy here in the Bay Area, but Red Hots Burlesque knows how to brighten up your Mondays. It’s the legend of the week!

SALLY RAND
b. April 3, 1904

Sally Rand sure stirred up a lot of trouble with her signature ostrich feather fans. Sally started her career as a chorus girl at the tender age of thirteen, and during the ’20s could be seen acting on stage or in silent films. She appeared at the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair and between her suggestion of nudity during her fan dances – rumor has it that there was either a body stocking or cleverly placed white paint involved – and her stunt as Lady Godiva, she was the talk of the fair. Ms. Rand also spent a good amount of time in San Francisco: she bought the Music Box Theatre (now the Great American Music Hall) in 1936. In the ’40s Sally was arrested twice in San Francisco for her risque dances. The second time she was arrested, she was really wearing long johns and a sign saying “censored by the SFPD” behind her fans! The cheek. A judge dismissed all charges, saying, “Anyone who could find something lewd about the dance as [Ms. Rand] puts it on has to have a perverted idea of morals.” Sally continued to dance and make appearances well into her 70s. She passed away in 1979.