Just "Click the Pix" to see a larger view.
- From my archives.
She was originally child star Shirley Jean Rickert (then Shirley Jean Measures), and is best known for her role in The Little Rascals series.
Shirley was born in 1926. Sadly, she passed away recently.
Here's the info from the wikipedia page on Gilda:
"... Shirley Jean Rickert (March 25, 1926 – February 6, 2009) was an American child actress who was briefly the "blonde girl" for the Our Gang series in 1931, during the Roach talkie period.
Rickert's most notable appearances were in the films Love Business and Bargain Day, in which her spit curls were the centerpiece of her precocious performance. After Rickert left the Our Gang series, she had a brief movie career, followed by a string of jobs including driving trucks for the U.S. Army Air Corps during World War II. She also worked in burlesque as Gilda and Her Crowning Glory. ..."
- From my archives, with newspaper ad.
- Gilda has her own website, "Gilda and her Crowning Glory", where she writes:
"After my stint on the Little Rascals, I became "Gilda and her Crowning Glory" in the heyday of burlesque. I performed all over the United States and Canada and was a regular at Minsky's. "
- You can see more pix of Gilda's Burlesque days, and even buy autographed pix from her.
- From my archives.
- Checkout Streetswing's bio & filmography page on Gilda. She was in several films, including one with John Wayne.
A little bio/history:
Shirley Jean Rickert was a child actress with "Our Gang". She later appeared in "Neath Arizona Skies" with John Wayne and "Singing in the Rain" with Gene Kelly . When the Hollywood studios stopped making musicals Shirley went to "The Follies" burlesque theatre to dance in the chorus. She then became "Gilda, and her Crowning Glory" where she spent quite a few years traveling the burlesque theatre and night club circuit all over the states and Canada.
- Here's a couple shots of her advertising promo poster (from my archives):
- She's on the Burlesque Wall of Fame site, as a Living legend.
- From my archives.
There was an art gallery show at Parkdale Gallery, titled BURLESQUE, featuring artwork of Gilda, by artist Dennis Cardiff.
See more of my great prints today in my online shop-- BURLESQUE BABES, with 100's of Sexy Burlesque Stripper photos printed from my huge vintage photograph collection.
The Burlesque Babes Blog is published by burlesquebabesshop.com
