This laughing pair are burlesque dancers Bobbie Reynolds and Donna Mae Brown, aka Busty Brown. Their seeming rapport isn’t fake—according to historical sources they were roommates for a time. Dates on these types of shots are difficult because they weren’t really published anywhere, but it’s probably from 1955 or so. Reynolds danced on film loops for sure, but we haven’t actually seen any burlesque photos of her. However it’s reasonable to assume she performed in nightclubs or burlesque venues—in her loops she had the moves, and her vaguely Monroesque looks would have made her a draw on stage.
Brown, on the other hand, was documentably a public shaker. We’ve shared her before several times, including in divorce court, of all places, sporting the most demure look you can imagine. As far as the salt and pepper header we dreamt up, in reality the hair colors of burlesque dancers changed often, except for the most famous of them. Both Reynolds and Brown went through the spectrum, so don’t be surprised if you check around the web and other photos show Reynolds as a brunette and Brown as a blonde, or both of them as blondes. You can get a gander at them in color below. That shot is earlier than the one above, 1950, or forward a year or two.
