Hopefully, This Version of "Showgirls" Is Not Rated NC-17

How is 103-year old Doris Eaton Travis, the last surviving Ziegfeld girl, doing these days? Glad you asked...

Three times a week, she dances the fox trot, rumba and swing and is always ready to entertain, which is exactly what she did Friday night as grand marshal of a parade that kicks off the annual Art Deco Weekend in South Beach.

"It's a great honor. It makes me feel that there was some quality in my life," she said of her role in the parade down the famed Ocean Drive.

Travis made her name as a dancer in the chorus line of Florenz Ziegfeld's annual Follies stage show. Which begs the question: what exactly were the Ziegfeld Follies?

Ziegfeld Follies was part Broadway show, part Vaudeville, featuring top entertainers such as W.C. Fields, Eddie Cantor, Fanny Brice and Will Rogers. Beautiful female dancers performed elaborate chorus numbers composed by Irving Berlin and wore costumes by Art Deco designer and illustrator Erte.

Ah, yes. Basically the same way beautiful female dancers make money these days.

[Miami Herald]