Follies Theatre

[redbarn...@gmail.com]

Is there a way to find out the names of the girls who danced there?
Among my great aunts possesions when she died was a photo album of her
with other girls Taken when she was 17 and 18 years old, She was on
the roof of the follies was the caption. She lived in Los Angeles at
the time. 1922,1923 era. No one knows much about this time period in
her life.They were dressed in costume. She lived on Echo Park ave at
the time. . I don't know anything about L A as to whether this would
have been a long distance to travel or if the two locations were
close. I think she would have had to rely on herself to get anywhere
and almost likely did not own transportation. I am my families
historian. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks, Jean

[Kim Cooper]

Hi Jean,

Is there any way you could share the images from your aunt's photo album, along with any writing on the pages? Perhaps we will recognize some of the people or scenes. You can upload photos to the "Files" section of this group, or send a link to a photo posted elsewhere.

It would have been very easy to get between Echo Park and downtown Los Angeles at that time, as public transportation was excellent in Los Angeles until the 1950s.

Kim

[redbarn...@gmail.com]

I just uploaded three photos.The captions in the album are Mr Reid is
the Harem Leader, Anniversary 1923 On Ville Follies roof,One picture
reads Ville Follis In Folly Land, The girl in the black dress with the
long neck tie is Ruth Atha, The girls names are Alma, Babe, Doris
Turner, Bettie and Ruth Atha, Ruth Was my Great Aunt. On some of the
pictures you can clearly see other buildings, One is Brockman Building
"New york Store" The Other is Union Oil Building, The other is
Pantages Theatre. If anyone can help I would like to try to identify
at least what she was doing at the time, Whether it was a dance girl,
Or a Play, Or Vaudeville? Thank you.
Jean

On May 21, 8:25 am, Kim Cooper <amsc...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi Jean,
>
> Is there any way you could share the images from your aunt's photo album,
> along with any writing on the pages? Perhaps we will recognize some of the
> people or scenes. You can upload photos to the "Files" section of this
> group, or send a link to a photo posted elsewhere.
>
> It would have been very easy to get between Echo Park and downtown Los
> Angeles at that time, as public transportation was excellent in Los Angeles
> until the 1950s.
>
> Kim
>

> On Tue, May 19, 2009 at 7:29 AM, redbarn.kenn...@gmail.com <

>
>
>
> redbarn.kenn...@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> > Is there a way to find out the names of the girls who danced there?
> > Among my great aunts possesions when she died was a photo album of her
> > with other girls Taken when she was 17 and 18 years old, She was on
> > the roof of the follies was the caption. She lived in Los Angeles at
> > the time. 1922,1923 era. No one knows much about this time period in
> > her life.They were dressed in costume. She lived on Echo Park ave at
> > the time. . I don't know anything about L A as to whether this would
> > have been a long distance to travel or if the two locations were
> > close. I think she would have had to rely on herself to get anywhere
> > and almost likely did not own transportation. I am my families
> > historian. Any help would be appreciated.

> > Thanks, Jean- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Kim Cooper]

Hi Jean,

Thanks for uploading these nifty photos. They are a little mysterious,
as they are quite early and the costumes are modest and a bit
amateurish for what one would expect when they hear the word
"Follies."

The Follies that LA history fiends know best was the girlie show that
had a couple of homes along Main Street. While the wildest shows were
put on in the 1940s and '50s, there were occasional vice busts at the
Follies going back into the late 1920s. The original Follies Theater
dates back to 1919, and while it is some blocks east from where the
rooftop photo was taken (the Brockman is at 7th and Grand), perhaps
this was where your aunt and her friends performed. The link below
includes a very interesting discussion with many links.

http://cinematreasures.org/theater/2202/

But clearly the term Follies had a long life in the theater, and it's
possible this show was not associated with the Follies Theater on Main
Street. See Wikipedia for a cross section of uses:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Follies_(disambiguation)

And here's a link to our 1947project blog with some info on the
Follies Theater in the 1920s and beyond:
http://www.1947project.com/tags/burlesque

I looked in the historic LA Times and found no references to a Ville
Follies.

Hope this is helpful. Do let us know if you find any more information!

Kim

On May 21, 9:08 am, "redbarn.kenn...@gmail.com"

[Nathan Marsak]

Jean -- my name is Nathan, and I'm part of the offbunker group, and I think I've a 180-degree take on the whole affair.

I think she may not have been a Follies dancer at all.  It's just a theory, hinged upon your use of one word:  "Ville". 

That is, you said "One picture reads Ville Follis In Folly Land."  Ok. 

Here's the thing:  I can say with certainty -- there aren't many things I can do on this spinning orb, but this I can proclaim with authority -- in that image with the Brockman Building signage in the background?  -- everybody's standing on the roof of the 1917-built Ville de Paris department store.  In fact, every building in that photo is still there, and you could replicate that same shot today (the only difference being, the structure in the distant background, extreme left, center, had a 30s remodel and no longer has quite that facade).

So anyway, that's the basic upshot.  You mention there's a caption that includes "Ville" and these folk're definitely atop the Ville de Paris.  But Ville de Paris wasn't a theater -- it was a department store.  Were I to make a judgement based only on the evidence before me, I'd gauge that she and her comrades were "follying" atop the Ville department store, perhaps where they worked (?), perhaps trying on some of the latest and more over-the-top fashions and finery?

That's my theory, anyway. 

Love to see more pix and in high resolution, perhaps with more we can further puzzle this one out.

Regards,

Nathan