January 28, 2013

On tour with the Fred Karno Co., Butte, MO, c. 1912-13


In his autobiography, Charlie recalled that the prettiest prostitutes in the West were in Butte:
Butte boasted of having the prettiest women of any red-light district in the West, and it was true. If one saw a pretty girl smartly dressed, one could rest assured she was from the red-light quarter, doing her shopping. Off duty, they looked neither right nor left and were most respectable.

5 comments:

  1. problem child, indeed! makes you wonder what he'd be able to write about them "on duty". but that might lure the weird commenters out in the daylight again. so i better not go into any more detail.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oh, I can handle them. Go into as much detail as you like! I'm pretty sure I know who was behind those weird comments and I doubt they'll be back now that they can't post anonymously anymore.

      Delete
  2. I bet he was a regular client. As far as we have read, he was very much into it. When he became famous, he just stopped paying for (this) fun.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Even before he was famous I bet he was popular with the ladies. I mean, wouldn't you do a double take if you seen an attractive man like him walking down the street.

    ReplyDelete
  4. In his book, he says he spent his first years as a grown man with prostitutes, and when Hetty appeared, it was clear he had difficulties about "relationship behavior" (I believe that's due to the fact he grew up alone, without any normal relationship). And I read he said he wasn't the "obvious choice" for Pola Negri, but she picked him anyway, so I guess he suffered from low self esteem in this area. After becoming rich and famous, even though he had so many affairs, he loved the younger ones, what could be a way to be the master before girls who knew nothing about life in general.
    But yes, I'd double take him, definitely. =)

    ReplyDelete


Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.