Betty Jane Rowland (January 23, 1916 – April 3, 2022) was an American

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

Columbus, Ohio Columbus () is the state capital and the most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio. With a 2020 census population of 905,748, it is the 14th-most populous city in the U.S., the second-most populous city in the Midwest, after Chicago, and t ...

. Her father was an

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certifi ...

who lost his job during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Betty and her sisters Dian and Roz Elle all started out as dancers in vaudeville before making the transition into

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

Career

Betty Rowland performed at the famous club

Minsky's ''Minsky's'' is a musical by Bob Martin (book), Charles Strouse (music), and Susan Birkenhead (lyrics), and is loosely based on the 1968 movie ''The Night They Raided Minsky's''. Set during the Great Depression era in Manhattan, the story cen ...

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, where she earned the nickname "Ball of Fire" from both her flaming red hair and hot and fast style of dancing. She moved to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

in 1938. By 1941, the fresh-faced Rowland was established as a burlesque star. Unlike other exotic dancers who cultivated an aloof, statuesque attitude on stage to project a distant sort of glamour, Betty Rowland had a much more vivacious style, in which she was constantly smiling and prancing across the stage. She attempted to sue producer

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor a ...

for using "Ball of Fire" as the title for a

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A v ...

film starring

Barbara Stanwyck Barbara Stanwyck (; born Ruby Catherine Stevens; July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress, model and dancer. A stage, film, and television star, during her 60-year professional career she was known for her strong, realistic sc ...

and

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, quiet screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, a ...

. She also appeared in some

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such as ''

Let's Make Music ''Let's Make Music'' is a 1941 American musical film directed by Leslie Goodwins starring Bob Crosby, Jean Rogers and Elisabeth Risdon. It was produced by RKO Pictures and written by Nathanael West. The film's songs include the classic "Big No ...

'' (1940), ''Spavaldi e innamorati'' (1959), ''

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'' (1965), ''

A Time for Dying ''A Time for Dying'' is a 1969 American Western film written directed by Budd Boetticher with a cameo role by Audie Murphy, who also produced the film, as Jesse James. It was Murphy's last film, as well as the final dramatic feature for Boetti ...

'' (1969). In the 1960s, Rowland assumed ownership of a bar in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

; the bar was bought and renamed by investors in the 1990s, but she continued to work there as a hostess until at least 2009, when she was 93. She appeared in numerous documentaries in 2004 and 2010, also in a video named Forbidden Cinema: Volume 5 – Lost Blue Classics (2014).

Personal life

Rowland was married to businessman Owen S. Dalton from 1956 to their divorce in 1963. She was in a relationship with burlesque and film comedian

Gus Schilling August "Gus" Schilling (June 20, 1908 – June 16, 1957) was an American film actor who started in burlesque comedy and usually played nervous comic roles, often unbilled. A friend of Orson Welles, he appeared in five of the director's films � ...

, and they were often referred to as spouses, but Rowland later said that they never married. In her later years she helped run various bars, worked as a hostess at the French restaurant Anisette in

. In 2009, Rowland was living in an apartment in

Brentwood, Los Angeles Brentwood is a suburban neighborhood in the Los Angeles Westside, Westside region of Los Angeles. History General Modern development began after the establishment of the Sawtelle Veterans Home, Pacific Branch of the National Home for Disab ...

. She died at a care facility in

Culver City, California Culver City is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 40,779. Founded in 1917 as a "whites only" sundown town, it is now an ethnically diverse city with what was called the "third-most d ...

on April 3, 2022, at the age of 106. Her death was announced nearly 3 months later on June 30.

Filmography

Films

* ''

'' (1940) – Betty, Chorus Girl * ''Spavaldi e innamorati'' (1950) – Dorothy * ''

'' (1965) – Dancer * ''

'' (1969) – Dancer * ''Sunset Strip'' (2012) * ''Forbidden Cinema: Volume 5 – Lost Blue Classics'' (2014)

Documentaries

* ''The Last First Comic'' (2010) * ''

Behind the Burly Q ''Behind the Burly Q'' is a 2010 film documentary examining the golden age of American burlesque in the first half of the 20th century. Synopsis This documentary film about the heyday of burlesque includes interviews with exotic dancers of the t ...

'' (2010) * ''Pretty Things'' (2005) * ''Striptease: The Greatest Exotic Dancers of All Time'' (2004) * ''Gypsy'' (TV Series 1965) * ''International Burlesque'' (1950)

References