I see where Annie Get Your Gun is going to be playing at the Palms Theatre in Mesa, AZ, until the 14th of February. That isn't very long to take your chances and watch this musical performance.
Over the years from 1935 to 2014 there have been many musical performances, movies and TV series with the subject being Annie Oakley. In 1935, Barbara Stanwyck played Annie in a fictionalized film called Annie Oakley, In 1946, it was Ethel Merman in Annie Get Your Gun, and others who have played in Annie movies, plays, and TV are Betty Hutton, Mary Martin, Gail Davis, Angela Douglas, Geraldine Chaplin, Diane Civila, Jamie Lee Curtis, Reba McEntire, Bernadette Peters, Susan Lucci, Cheryl Ladd, Crystal Bernard, Mary Lou Henner, Elizabeth Herridge, and all the others, amateur and professional who have represented her through the years.
Annie wrote a letter to President William McKinley offering to round up a company of fifty women sharpshooters who would furnish their own weapons and ammunition to fight in the war against Spain should it occur. And she trained at least 15,000 women in gun handling and sharpshooting over the years.She was a strong advocate for women being able to defend themselves with firearms. Sitting Bull named her Watanya Cicilla, Li'l Sharp Shooter, when she was in Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show.
She married Frank Butler August 23, 1876 when she was sixteen years old and they went into business in their Sharpshooting show. She won 54 libel lawsuits against newspapers that cost her more than she got out of them. Huh. I thought that newspapers don't lie???
Anyway, I culled this out of Wikipedia, which has a fairly long bio and history of this lady of the targets who was always dead center with her shooting. A gun owner par excellence.
I have seen several versions of this over the years, my favorite was a high school version way back in the 70s. If I could go back in time I would stop by for the Wild West Show
ReplyDeleteI'd be there, too.
DeleteA fascinating historical figure
ReplyDeleteShe did her part to uphold the women's point of view.
DeleteHaving that many different people act out her life, shows she must have been an interesting character.
ReplyDeleteShe was, being the first woman to get all this publicity for shooting a gun.
DeleteThanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteYour welcome, Michael. I enjoy your pins on my Pinterest site, too.
DeleteCount me among those who have appeared in stage versions of her story. I was in the cast of ANNIE GET YOUR GUN in high school.
ReplyDeleteI'll be darned, who would have known, an actor, too. I bet that was a good deal of fun.
ReplyDelete