A Question Thrown Out Into the Aether
Perambulating around the web recently, I came across a piece of information that I'd long been puzzled about. It starts with Kenneth Anger's two books of Hollywood historical exposes, Hollywood Babylon. In the Babylon, Anger does a chapter on Liz Taylor, focusing on her history of yoyo dieting: at one point, just to be snarky, he prints a photo from an old b-&-w circus movie that depicts what has to be the circus fat lady coming into view. "Sideshow Liz?" Anger asks in a caption, though, of course, the former Mrs. Richard Burton never came close to approaching this voluminous femme's size. For years, I've wondered where this image came from – and who the seen-from-behind performer was, and, recently, while googling Depression Era fat ladies for my Carnivale posting, I found the answer.
The still's from Frank Capra's 1930 circus comedy, Rain or Shine, an early sound film by the legendary movie director. The fat lady in question is Ethel Greer, an actress who portrayed circus performers in other movies as well (she can also be seen in the Hope & Crosby buddy comedy, Road to Zanzibar). Unfortunately, I've so far been unable to uncover any frontal photos of Miz Greer, and since Rain of Shine doesn't appear to be on tape or DVD (rather odd when you consider that it's a work by a director as historically significant as Capra), there are no screen caps available to my knowledge.
Looking up circus fat ladies with the first name of Ethel, though, I find "Jolly Ethel," a well-known sideshow performer of the period, also appeared in movies (e.g., The Mighty Barnum) during the same time. Are Ethel Greer and Jolly Ethel the same woman? I wonder. If that's the case, I have a decent sense of what this faceless figure in Hollywood Babylon II looked like, since Jolly Ethel's photo can be found on the web (see: Shocked & Amazed's gallery). Can anybody out there confirm or deny this?
A QUICK ANSWER: After seeing the above, the redoubtable BeakerFA writes to tell me that Ethel Greer and Jolly Ethel were indeed two different women. Apparently, Rain or Shine includes a couple of sequences featuring the former, incidentally, which do more than simply utilize her as background fodder. I've definitely got to see that movie. . .
The still's from Frank Capra's 1930 circus comedy, Rain or Shine, an early sound film by the legendary movie director. The fat lady in question is Ethel Greer, an actress who portrayed circus performers in other movies as well (she can also be seen in the Hope & Crosby buddy comedy, Road to Zanzibar). Unfortunately, I've so far been unable to uncover any frontal photos of Miz Greer, and since Rain of Shine doesn't appear to be on tape or DVD (rather odd when you consider that it's a work by a director as historically significant as Capra), there are no screen caps available to my knowledge.
Looking up circus fat ladies with the first name of Ethel, though, I find "Jolly Ethel," a well-known sideshow performer of the period, also appeared in movies (e.g., The Mighty Barnum) during the same time. Are Ethel Greer and Jolly Ethel the same woman? I wonder. If that's the case, I have a decent sense of what this faceless figure in Hollywood Babylon II looked like, since Jolly Ethel's photo can be found on the web (see: Shocked & Amazed's gallery). Can anybody out there confirm or deny this?
A QUICK ANSWER: After seeing the above, the redoubtable BeakerFA writes to tell me that Ethel Greer and Jolly Ethel were indeed two different women. Apparently, Rain or Shine includes a couple of sequences featuring the former, incidentally, which do more than simply utilize her as background fodder. I've definitely got to see that movie. . .
posted by Wilson B. at 1:09 PM
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