Dancing with John Wayne . . .

After my stint as one of Dean Martin's Golddiggers I became one of the Beautiful Downtown Beauties on the last season of "Laugh-In".

Working on Laugh-In with Dan Rowan and Dick Martin was amazing! I had the chance to work with incredible actors. Once again I was able to enjoy the comedic talents of Ruth Buzzi, who I had had the chance to perform comedy sketches with on "Chevrolet Presents the Golddiggers".

As most "Laugh-In" fans remember their was always a Flower Party at the end of the show. We would all Go-Go dance and then freeze to allow for some scintillating banter from the stars.

On one particular show John Wayne was the guest star and it was my privilege to dance with him! Mr. Wayne didn't really dance so it was decided that I would dance in a circle around him. John Wayne was a notorious drinker and true to form he had been happily "partying" before taping began. He was in a very good mood as we started the scene. At the first motion freeze, he "twirled" to follow my dance and started wobbling precariously. (can you even imagine John Wayne twirling?) I became very concerned. . . I think we re-shot the scene three times, with each take getting more wobbly. Thankfully I heard "that's a wrap" called just in the nick of time.

The possibility that I would end up in a heap with the 6'4, 200 lb plus, John Wayne had been averted.

Spartacus and the Crimson Pirate . . .

In the late sixties my fiancee (dancer Mark Hudson) got a job performing in a revival of the musical "Knickerbocker Holiday". It was set to star Burt Lancaster in the lead role of Pieter Stuyvesant and Mark was quite excited to be in the show. Rehearsals and previews took place in San Francisco and I would fly up to watch.

I've referred to my crush on David Niven in an earlier post, but with Burt Lancaster I was absolutely star struck! I had grown up idolizing him and had seen all his movies. Mr. Lancaster picked up on this and started teasing me about it. I would end up with a red face every time I was around him.

After the show opened in Los Angeles, Burt Lancaster threw a pool party at his house in Malibu. And of course Mark and I went.

Walking past the pool (in my lavender bikini), I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and came face to face Kirk Douglas! Reaching out to shake my hand he said "Hi, I'm Kirk Douglas". (like I wouldn't know) I almost fell in the pool. "Spartacus" is one of my all time favorite movies. At this point I could not talk. To make matters even more embarrassing Burt Lancaster came over to make introductions. (not missing an opportunity to tease . . .) There I was standing between Spartacus and the Crimson Pirate!

I think I spent the remainder of the party in a corner of the pool.