| In the summer of 1940, Herbert J. Yates, the head of Republic Pictures saw Dorothy Herbert perform while the circus was in Los Angeles. Wearing a silver dress and riding on a big black horse, she first made one complete turn around the hippodrome track at a full run, her blond hair streaming out behind her. As she passed by a big five-foot spread jump, it burst into flames. She then laid back on the horse as it made another turn around the track, headed for the flaming jump, and sailed over the top of it. Suitably impressed, Yates instructed his staff to arrange for Dorothy to appear in the studio’s next serial, which was due to start production shortly. |
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Dorothy Herbert 1930 RBBB poster (From Eric Beheim)
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2 comments:
Depending on your point of view, his poster also could be considered rather suggestive.
Roger Smith
I've always thought this act was inspired by the poem (and play and opera) "Mazeppa" which were based on the life of Ivan Mazepa (sic), a Polish-born Cossack who opposed the tsar.
Mazeppa was at one point stripped of his clothing and then strapped or tied to the back of a wild horse that was set free.
The part was generally played by a woman in flesh-colored tights- Adah Isaac Menken made the part her own and created a sensation.
You may remember George Cukor's movie "Heller In Pink Tights" in which a voluptuous Sophia Loran was seen as an actress who played Mazeppa.
Incidently that movie was based on a book by Louis L'Amour: "Heller with a Gun."
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