Happy Obit

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Really. I dare you not to smile.

From the L.A.Times (Dec. 21, 2007):

Beverly Allen, dancing in her 80's.

Beverly Allen, a longtime professional dancer who joined the Fabulous Palm Springs Follies late in life and at 87 was the oldest showgirl regularly performing in a chorus, according to the 2005 Guinness World Records, has died. She was 90.

"Beverly Allen was . . . a bright and sparkling gem of a dancer," Riff Markowitz, producer of the Palm Springs Follies, said in a statement Wednesday.

The [Follies] dancers are 55 or older. Allen joined the company at 80 and retired at 87. During that time, "she reigned supremely over nine three-hour performances a week," Markowitz said.

"At 82 she was cartwheeling across the stage and being tossed from the arms of a 60-year-old male dancer to another who was 70," [her daughter Lora] Le Maire recalled of her mother. "I said, 'Mom, are you sure these guys are going to catch you?' She said, 'Sure, honey. They're kids.' "


Bryan Ferry - More Than This - The Best of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music - Don't Stop the Dance ... is currently playing: Don't Stop The Dance from the album Boys and Girls by Bryan Ferry.
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