Abstract
Oral history interviews with Barbara Davis conducted by Joanne Goodwin on December 18, 1996 and March 25, 1997 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Davis opens her interviews by discussing her audition for the Folies Bergere as a dancer with limited experience. Davis describes working with the Folies Bergere as a touring showgirl in the 1940s. She discusses touring the United States in the Folies Bergere, touring South America for three years, and going to college at night while performing during the day. Davis then talks about the city of Reno, Nevada and working as a showgirl there. Davis addresses common rumors about showgirls, such as being involved in prostitution or being addicted to gambling. She then discusses her interest in education in her later years including earning various post graduate degrees. Davis ends her interview with a discussion on classic entertainment of the 1940s, including vaudeville and entertainment hotspots of the time.
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Scope and Contents Note
Oral history interviews with Barbara Davis conducted by Joanne Goodwin on December 18, 1996 and March 25, 1997 for the Women's Research Institute of Nevada (WRIN) Las Vegas Women Oral History Project. Davis opens her interviews by discussing her audition for the Folies Bergere as a dancer with limited experience. Davis describes working with the Folies Bergere as a showgirl in the 1940s. She discusses touring the United States in the Folies Bergere, touring South America for three years, and going to college at night while performing in the day. Davis then talks about the city of Reno, Nevada and working as a showgirl there. Davis addresses common rumors about showgirls, such as being involved in prostitution or being addicted to gambling. She then discusses her interest in education in her later years including earning various post graduate degrees. Davis ends her interview with a discussion on entertainment of the 1940s, including vaudeville and entertainment hotspots of the time. Digital audio available; no transcript available.
Access Note
Collection is open for research. Where use copies do not exist, production of use copies is required before access will be granted; this may delay research requests. Advanced notice is required.
Publication Rights
Materials in this collection may be protected by copyrights and other rights. See Reproductions and Use on the UNLV Special Collections and Archives website for more information about reproductions and permissions to publish. Some transcripts do not exist in final form, therefore any editing marks in a transcript (deletions, additions, corrections) are to be quoted as marked. Interviewee(s) verbally consented to research use of this oral history during the interview.
Preferred Citation
Barbara Davis oral history interviews, 1996 December 18 and 1997 March 25. OH-03610. [Cite format consulted: Audio recording or Transcript.] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nevada.
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Acquisition Note
This interview was conducted by the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada, part of the UNLV College of Liberal Arts Department of History. Materials from this oral history project were transferred to UNLV Libraries Special Collections and Archives on an ongoing basis ending in 2017; acquisition number 2017-017.
Processing Note
Interview materials were processed by Karla Irwin in 2019. Access copies were created for digitized and/or born-digital audio and transcript files. Hana Gutierrez wrote the collection description. The audio cassette(s) for this interview have been reformatted by the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada into a digital format.