FROM LA GOULUE TO THE FRENCH CAN CAN

   Photo: The legendary actress and iconic beauty Maria Felix

 It is the plural of “La Follie” meaning madness. And part of its universal madness was “La Folie de Jeanne Avril”, the Madness of Jeanne Avril and La Goulue co-queens of the original Can Can. In short, Can Can invaded and dominated America’s theatrical entertainment and amusement world for decades. No doubt, French Can Can was at the origin of the creation of the American Rockettes concept and their early performances/ productions. The group first kicked to life in 1925 as the "Missouri Rockets" and made their grand show business debut in St. Louis,  Missouri , the materialization of a long-time dream of their genius creator, Russell Markert. "I had seen the Moulin Rouge Can Can dancers and the John Tiller girls in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1922," Markert once reminisced. "If I ever got a chance to get a group of American girls who would be taller and have longer legs and could do really complicated tap routines and eye-high kicks... they'd knock your socks off!" At Radio City's opening night, on December 27, 1932, they did just that. The Rockettes, discovered and brought to New York by consummate showman S.L. (Roxy) Rothafel who first dubbed them the "Roxyettes," shared the stage with 17 diverse acts, among them the Flying Wallendas, Ray Bolger and Martha Graham.

Can Can got another national/international boost when it was visually re-created by Jean Renoir in his backstage musicals. Renoir’s early stage sets depicting the golden days of the Moulin Rouge which began  with its street girls and virgins from the French province became the backdrops for beautiful, striking high-kicking chorus girls and their swirling petticoats movies set and theatrical productions. The most famous picture on Can Can was the 1955 “French Can Can” starring Jean Gabin, the lover of Marilyn Dietrich and my very beloved friend, the iconic beauty Maria Felix Berger  who immortalized Can Can with her beauty, music, esthetic elegance and acting. (Maria de Los Angeles Felix Guerena, one of 16 children of a wealthy family was born in Alamos, on April 8, 1914 and died at the age of 88 on April 8, 2002). A stunning, mesmerizing, super talented star of Mexican and European films. She was the reigning beauty and female star of the French and Spanish speaking cinema for three decades.

     

Diva Maria Felix Berger (French-Mexican Cinema Super Star) who immortalized French Can Can.

 

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