Betty Rowland obit

Betty Rowland, One of Burlesque's Last Queens, Dies at 106

Known as “the Red Headed Ball of Fire,” she began performing at age 14, became a headliner on two coasts, and outlived most of her peers. 

She was not on the list.

Betty Rowland was a legendary burlesque dancer during the “Golden Age of Burlesque” who was known as the “Red Headed Ball of Fire.”   

Died: Sunday, April 3, 2022 (Who else died on April 3?)

Details of death: Died in Culver City, California, at the age of 106.

We invite you to share condolences for Betty Rowland in our Guest Book.

Red Headed Ball of Fire   

Betty Rowland and two of her sisters started out as dancers in vaudeville before moving into burlesque. Betty became a performer at the famous Minsky’s Theater in Times Square in New York City. She moved to Los Angeles where she was a burlesque star known as the “Red Headed Ball of Fire.” Her signature dance piece was called “Bumps in the Ballet,” in which she spoofed a ballet routine. In 1952, she was arrested for putting on a lewd performance and sentenced to four months in jail. A local columnist defended her publicly, saying the sentence was unfair and she was released after 3 weeks. In 1943, she sued Samuel Goldwyn for using her stage name “Ball of Fire” for the title of a film but was unsuccessful. She was featured in the 2010 documentary film “Behind the Burly Q,” which told her story and the story of other famous burlesque dancers.

Notable Quote 

“People whisper, for heaven’s sake, they say, ‘Do you know what she used to do?’ And they’re saying it like I was a porno worker or something. Well they shouldn’t whisper — I was a dancer. It was the only thing I knew how to do, and I was a success at it.” – She told Liz Goldwyn, according to the New York Times

Tributes to Betty Rowland

Betty Rowland, One of Burlesque's Last Queens, Dies at 106https://t.co/GkFhIX6I5U pic.twitter.com/RczpGy5d1b

— Jacqueline Antonovich (@jackiantonovich) June 30, 2022

Betty Rowland performed in Pittsburgh for the city’s burlesque baron, George Jaffe. https://t.co/CzfFiWE62H

— David Rotenstein (@iVernacular) June 30, 2022

"Let’s put a little juice in the Ballets Russes, and give the dying swan a goose. In a classical sort of way, might I put a bump in this ballet?"#BettyRowland #RIP #TheRedHeadedBallOfFire #burlesque @greenpnyt https://t.co/fqPai0eBNR

— Daniel Paisner (@DanielPaisner) June 30, 2022

An epic Ohio girl has passed – Betty Rowland, One of Burlesque's Last Queens, Dies at 106 https://t.co/9cfx4U5zdR

— Omnivorous Cravings (@nomnomnivore1) June 30, 2022

Filmography

Films

Let's Make Music (1940) – Betty, Chorus Girl

Spavaldi e innamorati (1950) – Dorothy

Love & Kisses (1965) – Dancer

A Time for Dying (1969) – Dancer

Sunset Strip (2012)

Forbidden Cinema: Volume 5 – Lost Blue Classics (2014)

 

Documentaries

The Last First Comic (2010)

Behind the Burly Q (2010)

Pretty Things (2005)

Striptease: The Greatest Exotic Dancers of All Time (2004)

Gypsy (TV Series 1965)

International Burlesque (1950)