Some 10,000 showgirls have
high-kicked night after night on Paris's Champs Elysées since Irish-born dancer
Margaret Kelly, known as Miss Bluebell, brought her troop from the Folies
Bergères to the Lido in 1948. Kelly was born on June 24, 1910 in Dublin,
Ireland. She never knew her parents. An Irish priest entrusted her to Mary
Murphy, a spinster who worked at home as a dressmaker. In 1916, following the
Easter uprising, both moved to Liverpool, where, on the direction of a doctor,
Kelly was registered in a dance class to strengthen her frail legs. Quickly, it
appeared that she had a great talent.
At the age of fourteen,
Kelly left school and joined a Scottish dance troupe, the Hot Jocks. Nine
months later Alfred Jackson, a famous producer who ran teams of precision
dancers, the Jackson Girls engaged her at the Scala in Berlin. Kelly danced
there for 5 years.
In 1930 Kelly danced in
Paris at the Folies Bergère and, decided to remain there. In 1932, when she was
22, she created her own dancing group called the Bluebell Girls, they are still
dancing today in the Lido in Paris. This is an unmatched world record of
longevity in the history of show business. Kelly died in Paris, France on
August 11, 1994. She was 94 years old.
The Bluebell Girls have
appeared in many motion pictures including three Euro-westerns. Among the
dancers were two who became actresses and appeared in Euro-westerns: Gloria
Paul [1940- ] and Alexandra Wescourt [1975- ]
The Bluebell Girls (Les Bluebell Girls, Le
Bluebell Girls du Lido) [French] - founded by Margaret Kelly [1910-2004] in
1932 for the Lido de Pari. Members included Gloria Paul [1940-
], Alexandra Wescourt [1975- ].
Texas Serenade – 1958
(saloon dancers) [as Les Bluebell Girls du Lido]
The Girls of the Golden
Saloon - 1973 (saloon dancers)
Lucky Lucky and the Daltons
– 1974 (saloon dancers)
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