Laverie Vallee (née Cooper; July 18, 1875 – February 6, 1949), best known by her

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Charmion, was an American

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

trapeze artist A trapeze is a short horizontal bar hung by ropes, metal straps, or chains, from a ceiling support. It is an aerial apparatus commonly found in circus performances. Trapeze acts may be static, spinning (rigged from a single point), swinging or ...

and

strongwoman A strongwoman is a woman who performs feats of strength in a show or circus, or a woman who competes in strength athletics. Traditionally, strongwomen have had a special appeal, as women involved in demonstrated feats of strength were exceptions ...

. One of her risqué trapeze acts was captured on film in 1901 by

Thomas Edison Thomas Alva Edison (February11, 1847October18, 1931) was an American inventor and businessman. He developed many devices in fields such as electric power generation, mass communication, sound recording, and motion pictures. These inventions, ...

Career

According to the ''Journal of Sport History'' article "Flying, Flirting, and Flexing: Charmion's Trapeze Act, Sexuality, and Physical Culture at the Turn of the Twentieth Century", she made her debut on December 25, 1897, at Koster and Bial's vaudeville theatre in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. A native of

Sacramento Sacramento ( or ; ; ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the seat of Sacramento County. Located at the confluence of the Sacramento and American Rivers in Northern California's Sacramento Valley, Sacramento's 2020 p ...

, Charmion built her act around a memorable routine which opened with her on-stage entrance dressed in full

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

street attire. She subsequently mounted the trapeze and disrobed down to her

acrobat Acrobatics () is the performance of human feats of balance, agility, and motor coordination. Acrobatic skills are used in performing arts, sporting events, and martial arts. Extensive use of acrobatic skills are most often performed in acro d ...

leotard A leotard () is a unisex skin-tight one-piece garment that covers the torso from the crotch to the shoulder. The garment was made famous by the French acrobatic performer Jules Léotard (1838–1870). There are sleeveless, short-sleeved, and l ...

s in the midst of the trapeze's swinging motion. She appears to have begun performing while in her late teens, and this was part of her repertoire at least as early as May 1, 1898, and possibly before 1896, when her act was seen by critic

George Jean Nathan George Jean Nathan (February 14, 1882 – April 8, 1958) was an American drama critic and magazine editor. He worked closely as an editor with H. L. Mencken bringing the literary magazine ''The Smart Set'' to prominence and while co-founding ...

while he was a boy. Charmion performed a version of this then-

risqué Risqué may refer to: * Material deemed slightly indecent or liable to shock, especially sexual suggestiveness * ''Risqué'' (album), 1979 recording by American disco band Chic * Risque (comics), mutant character first appearing in Marvel Comic ...

striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper", "exotic d ...

for an Edison short film, ''Trapeze Disrobing Act'', on November 11, 1901. Two men are pictured in the film as an on-screen audience, applauding Charmion, and catching her clothes. This was deemed necessary so that the men in the actual audience would have a visual cue to enjoy the performance, instead of reacting with

disgust Disgust (, from Latin , ) is an emotional response of rejection or revulsion to something potentially contagious or something considered offensive, distasteful or unpleasant. In ''The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals'', Charles D ...

, as polite society then demanded.Musser (1991), pp. 179–180

Death

Vallee died in

Santa Ana, California Santa Ana (Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a city in and the county seat of Orange County, California, United States. Located in the Greater Los Angeles region of Southern California, the city's population was 310,227 at the 2020 census. As ...

, at the age of 73.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Charmion 1875 births 1949 deaths Actresses from Sacramento, California American silent film actresses Strongwomen American strength athletes Trapeze artists American vaudeville performers 20th-century American actresses Articles containing video clips People associated with physical culture