Tuesday, April 15, 2014

L is for LATE (and La Goulou)!


Just kidding. Altho this post is late - the last week or so has been crazy so I had the choice of writing a post....or sleep. Guess which one won? Things have calmed down a bit, so I'll be back on track now.

There is a ~tiny~ bit of nudity in this post. (don't worry - not mine!!)

French can-can dancer Lousie Weber (aka La Goulou or The Glutton) was born July 13, 1866 (d. January 30, 1929) to a Jewish family near Paris. 

Her mother was a laundress and Louise liked to dress up in customer's fancy clothing and pretneding to be a famous star. She started working at the laundry herself at age 16, but often "borrowed" customers clothes and would sneak out to nightclubs. 


Louise became popular, for both her dancing skills and "charming audacious behavior". She would embroider hearts on her panties and high-kick a man's hat off his head. She earned the nickname "the Glutton" since she had a habit of grabbing drinks off tables and downing them as she danced past tables. 


She eventually was introduced to a group of models who earned extra cash by posing for artists & photographers. 


She met Jacques Renaudin who danced at the famous Moulin Rouge when it first opened. They were immediately big stars and were booked as permanent headliners. Her name became one with the can-can and the Moulin Rouge. 


In 1895, Louise decided to leave the Moulin Rouge and invested into her own travelling show. It did not do well, and she disappeared from the public eye. 


Suffereing from depression, alcoholic & broke, Lousie returned to Montmartre (where the Moulin Rouge was located) in 1928 and made a living selling cigarettes, matches & peanuts on a streetcorner. No one recognized her. 

She died a year later. 



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