''The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies'' was a

Ziegfeld Follies The ''Ziegfeld Follies'' were a series of elaborate theatrical revue productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 to 1931, with renewals in 1934, 1936, 1943, and 1957. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as '' The Ziegfeld Foll ...

style dance and musical review show that played at the historic Plaza Theatre in

Palm Springs, California Palm Springs (Cahuilla language, Cahuilla: ''Séc-he'') is a desert resort city in Riverside County, California, United States, within the Colorado Desert's Coachella Valley. The city covers approximately , making it the largest city in Rivers ...

, United States, seasonally from November to mid-May. The Follies was founded in 1990 by Riff Markowitz and Mary Jardin.

Impresario An impresario (from Italian ''impresa'', 'an enterprise or undertaking') is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, Play (theatre), plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film producer, film or ...

Markowitz also served as the show's managing director and emcee. The show was often credited with helping to revitalize and maintain the downtown area by bringing in patrons from around the globe. The Follies was unique in that it only featured performers 55 and older and holds Guinness World Records for this claim to fame. It was the subject of a short documentary titled '' Still Kicking: The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies'' which was nominated at the 70th

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence in ...

for Best Short Subject Documentary. A segment that aired on

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

television station

KOMO-TV KOMO-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Seattle, Washington, United States, affiliated with American Broadcasting Company, ABC. It is owned by Sinclair Broadcast Group alongside Bellevue, Washington, Bellevue-licensed The CW, CW affiliate ...

that featured the Follies received an Emmy in 1997. The shows attracted approximately 170,000 attendees yearly.
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On June 5, 2013, co-founders Markowitz and Jardin announced they would close the Follies on May 18, 2014.

Performers

The Follies had a cast of both featured and guest performers. Featured Follies performers included: * ''

Guinness Book of Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...

'' "World's Oldest Still Performing Showgirl" (at age 87) Beverly Allen * Original Broadway ''

West Side Story ''West Side Story'' is a Musical theatre, musical conceived by Jerome Robbins with music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a Book (musical theatre), book by Arthur Laurents. Inspired by William Shakespeare's play ''Romeo an ...

'' cast member Hank Brunjes * Actor, singer, dancer, writer and choreographer

Leonard Crofoot Leonard John Crofoot (born September 20, 1948, in Utica, New York) is an actor, singer, dancer, writer and choreographer. Crofoot has performed extensively on Broadway. His appearances include his Drama-League Critics Award-winning role of "Tom ...

* Broadway musical ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. It is based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and others, and p ...

'' cast member Stephanie Eley * Dancer Randy Doney, who performed with

Mitzi Gaynor Francesca Marlene de Czanyi von Gerber (September 4, 1931 – October 17, 2024), known professionally as Mitzi Gaynor, was an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her notable films included ''We're Not Married!'' (1952), ''There's No Business ...

* Popular singer

Gogi Grant Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg (September 20, 1924 – March 10, 2016), known professionally as Gogi Grant, was an American pop singer. She had a No. 1 hit in 1956 with " The Wayward Wind". Life and career Grant was born Myrtle Audrey Arinsberg in P ...

* Dancer and showgirl

Dorothy Kloss Dorothy Dale Kloss (born October 27, 1923) is an American dancer. Life Kloss began dancing when she was three years old. While working with a young Bob Fosse in a Chicago class, she won a tap dance contest and soon gained her own act at the Em ...

* Bud and James Mercer, long time vaudeville performers and musicians * Sitcom ''

Blansky's Beauties ''Blansky's Beauties'' is an American sitcom television series and ostensible spin-off of ''Happy Days'' that aired on ABC from February 12 to June 27, 1977. The main character of the series was introduced on an episode of ''Happy Days'', then ...

'' cast member Jill Owens *

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

and television actress Kit Smythe * Dancer, skater, entertainer Lou De Grado * Dancer and former Radio City Rockette Ann Murphy * Legendary dancer, choreographer and actress

Sylvia Lewis Sylvia Lewis is an American actress, dancer and choreographer. Career Sylvia Lewis first performed as a young child in the last days of vaudeville in Baltimore, Maryland. She received her first classical training as a scholarship student at th ...

Guest performers (headliners) included: * Brad Cummings and Rex – a comedic ventriloquist variety act (2011–2012) * John Davidson – singer and comedian (2011–12) *

The Diamonds The Diamonds are a Canadian vocal quartet that rose to prominence in the 1950s and early 1960s with 16 ''Billboard'' hit records. The original members were Dave Somerville (lead), Ted Kowalski (tenor), Phil Levitt (baritone), and Bill Reed (ba ...

– a Canadian

Doo-Wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

quartet (2011–12) *

Maureen McGovern Maureen Therese McGovern (born July 27, 1949) is an American singer and Broadway actress, well known for her renditions of the songs " The Morning After" from the 1972 film '' The Poseidon Adventure''; " We May Never Love Like This Again" from ' ...

– singer and Broadway actress (2011–12) Headliners included: *

Anna Maria Alberghetti Anna Maria Alberghetti (; born May 15, 1936) is an Italian-American actress and soprano. Alberghetti sang in concert from the time she was a child and performed at Carnegie Hall at age 13. Alberghetti began working in American films at age 15 ...

– operatic singer and actress *

Kaye Ballard Kaye Ballard (November 20, 1925 – January 21, 2019) was an American actress, comedian, and singer. Early life Ballard was born Catherine Gloria Balotta in Cleveland, Ohio, one of four children born to Italian immigrant parents, Lena (née Nac ...

– actress, comedian and singer *

The Four Aces The Four Aces are an American male traditional pop quartet popular since the 1950s. Over the last half-century, the group amassed many gold records. Its million-selling songs include " Love is a Many-Splendored Thing", " Three Coins in the Foun ...

– male pop music quartet *

Buddy Greco Armando Joseph "Buddy" Greco (August 14, 1926 – January 10, 2017) was an American jazz and pop singer and pianist who had a long career in the US and UK. His recordings have sold millions, including "Oh Look A-There Ain't She Pretty", " Up, Up ...

and spouse Lezlie Anders – singer and pianist; singer *

Howard Keel Harold Clifford Keel (April 13, 1919November 7, 2004), professionally Howard Keel, was an American actor and singer known for his rich bass-baritone singing voice. He starred in a number of MGM musicals in the 1950s, including ''Show Boat'' (195 ...

– actor and singer *

Frankie Laine Frankie Laine (born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio; March 30, 1913 – February 6, 2007) was an American singer and songwriter whose career spanned nearly 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performa ...

– singer, songwriter and actor *

Carol Lawrence Carol Lawrence (born Carolina Maria Laraia; September 5, 1932) is an American actress, appearing in musical theatre and on television. She is known for creating the role of Maria on Broadway theatre, Broadway in the musical ''West Side Story ( ...

- singer, actor, dancer and Broadway star *

Peggy March Peggy March (born Margaret Annemarie Battavio, March 8, 1948) is an American pop singer. In the United States, she is primarily known for her 1963 million-selling song "I Will Follow Him". Although she is sometimes remembered as a one-hit wonde ...

– pop singer *

Peter Marshall Peter Marshall may refer to: Entertainment * Peter Marshall (entertainer) (1926–2024), American game show host of ''The Hollywood Squares'', 1966–1981 * Peter Marshall (author, born 1939) (1939–1972), British novelist whose works include ' ...

– television and radio personality, actor and singer *

Barbara McNair Barbara Jean McNair (March 4, 1934 – February 4, 2007) was an American singer and theater, television, and film actress. McNair's career spanned over five decades in television, film, and stage. McNair's professional career began in music dur ...

– singer and actress *

The Mills Brothers The Mills Brothers, sometimes billed The Four Mills Brothers and originally known as Four Boys and a Guitar, were an American jazz and traditional pop vocal quartet who made more than 2,000 recordings that sold more than 50 million copies and g ...

– jazz and pop vocal quartet *

The Modernaires The Modernaires were an American vocal group, best known for performing in the 1940s with the Glenn Miller Orchestra. Career The Modernaires began in 1934 as "Don Juan, Two and Three," a trio of schoolmates from Lafayette High School in Buffa ...

– vocal group *

Donald O'Connor Donald David Dixon Ronald O'Connor (August 28, 1925 – September 27, 2003) was an American dancer, singer and actor. He came to fame in a series of films in which he co-starred, in succession, with Gloria Jean, Peggy Ryan, and Francis the Talki ...

– dancer, singer and actor *

Trina Parks Trina Parks (born Trina Frazier; December 26, 1946) is an American actress, vocalist, choreographer, principal dancer and dance instructor. Parks is best known for portraying Thumper in the 1971 James Bond film '' Diamonds Are Forever''. Movies ...

– actress, vocalist, choreographer, and dancer; known for playing "Thumper" in '' Diamonds are Forever'' *

Kay Starr Kay Starr (born Catherine Laverne Starks; July 21, 1922 – November 3, 2016) was an American singer who enjoyed considerable success in the late 1940s and 1950s. She was of Iroquois and Irish heritage. Starr performed multiple genres, such as p ...

– pop and jazz singer * Ralph Young – of singing team Sandler and Young

Production

Musician Johnny Harris served as the conductor for the entire run of the show. Connie Furr Soloman served as the primary costume designer for seasons 11–16.

References

External links

The Fabulous Palm Springs Follies: Legacy Site
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Fabulous Palm Springs Follies Theatre companies in California Tourist attractions in Palm Springs, California La Plaza, Palm Springs Culture of Palm Springs, California 1990 establishments in California