Feuding Fan Dancers, Leslie Zemeckis
Feuding Fan Dancers, Leslie Zemeckis
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

Feuding Fan Dancers
Faith Bacon, Sally Rand, and the Golden Age of the Showgirl

Author: Leslie Zemeckis

Narrator: Christa Lewis

Unabridged: 7 hr 37 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/02/2018

Synopsis

Some women capture our attention like no others. Faith Bacon and Sally Rand were beautiful blondes from humble backgrounds who shot to fame behind a pair of oversize ostrich fans, but with very different outcomes. Sally Rand would go on to perform for the millions who attended the 1933 World's Fair in Chicago, becoming America's sweetheart. Faith Bacon, the Marilyn Monroe of her time—once anointed the "world's most beautiful woman"—would experience the dark side of fame and slip into drug use.

It was the golden age of American entertainment, and Bacon and Rand fought their way through the competitive showgirl scene of New York with grit and perseverance. They played peek-a-boo with their lives, allowing their audiences to see only slivers of themselves. A hint of a breast? A forbidden love affair? They were both towering figures, goddesses, icons. Until the world started to change. Little is known about who they really were, until now.

Feuding Fan Dancers tells the story of two remarkable women during a tumultuous time in entertainment history. Leslie Zemeckis has pieced together their story and—nearly one hundred years later—both women come alive again.

About Leslie Zemeckis

Leslie Zemeckis is an actress, filmmaker, and the author of Goddess of Love Incarnate: The Life of Stripteuse Lili St. Cyr and Behind the Burly Q, the definitive history of burlesque. She wrote, produced, and directed the critically acclaimed documentary based on the book, which has been championed by USA Today and the New Yorker.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Russell on September 05, 2019

When I was barely out of high school in the mid-1960s, I saw Sally Rand do her famous fan dance. I was enraptured. This woman, then in her sixties, was absolutely beautiful (and, of course, I was seeing a totally nude woman on stage, something I probably never thought I’d see.) All these years later......more

Goodreads review by Freya on October 06, 2018

Well researched, fun read about two showgirls and their rise (and decline) in fame. Not only paints a picture of the fan dancers, but gives great context to the times and the relative "importance" of showgirls and adult entertainment at the time. Highly recommend if you're into Hollywood history sty......more

Goodreads review by Amanda on January 10, 2019

I absolutely loved this book, well researched, well written and so honest!......more

Goodreads review by Mademoiselle_jn on March 05, 2024

L'histoire de ces deux femmes était intéressante et donne une toute autre vérité à la vie derrière les strass et les paillettes des showgirls d'hier et sans doute d'aujourd'hui, MAIS c'était un calvaire à lire...entre les erreurs de syntaxe, celles de grammaires et les changements intempestifs de no......more

Goodreads review by Dianna on November 19, 2018

I just finished Feuding Fan Dancers. Leslie Zemeckis, you have outdone yourself. You loving inscribed the history and story of their lives and this era. So beautifully written and done so precisely. I didn’t want to miss a moment or beat. I didn’t want their stories to end. Some moments made me laug......more

Add to Cart
Add to Wish List