In This Corner; Miss Ruby Tuesday

Whether known by her real name of Robin Lisa Kelly, her ring name the Red Snapper (among others), or her stage name Ruby Tuesday, this lady has had a colorful life and career under all of her names. Now a hairstylist in Southern California, Ruby (as I'll stick with here) is very open about her past, not that there's any reason for her not to be. She's got some stories to tell, along with some names to drop, and a jaw-dropping photo collection to document her escapades.

Ruby's show biz career began when she was a teenager and got a gig as a regular dancer on American Bandstand, which lasted six years. Then came her stint as the "Red Snapper," during the early-80s, when nightclub mud wrestling was in its heyday. She went on to wrestle under a couple of different ring names and later became an exotic dancer and adult magazine model.

This written interview is being published concurrently with the audio interview Ruby did tonight for Idol Features' podcast channel, where, besides Ruby's, you'll find several other of our audio interviews. Stay tuned for many more, among which will probably be a Part 2 with Ruby, in the near future. Above photo of Ruby as the Red Snapper at the Hollywood Tropicana, circa 1984, is from her personal collection.

2015 Christmas Compilation

As has now become an annual tradition at Idol Features, here are some ladies who we've interviewed and featured throughout the last couple of years and were gracious enough to send us photos of themselves dressed in the spirit of the occasion. Above is horror hostess Lilith Death (played by the lovely Jessica Felice, who will be seen further on in this article) in a still from the Tales of Horror Christmas Eve Special. Catch it Thursday, December 24th at 8:00 PM Eastern on Tales of Horror TV, exclusively at Vimeo on Demand. Merry Christmas!

Lady of the Commercial Drive Licorice Parlour

(The outline of the following article was in my "drafts" file since late October of 2013, when I first made contact with Mary Jean Dunsdon aka "Watermelon" and "Weed Diva" [and I'll show you here how she got both of those nicknames], the owner of Commercial Drive Licorice Parlour in Vancouver, Canada. 

While doing research on Tristan Risk for her July 2013 interview, I learned that her "day job" at that time, was as a sexy sugar baker at the Commercial Drive Licorice Parlour. Seeing the shop is/was owned and operated by an all-female staff, I made note of it at the time for a future article to be entitled "Ladies of the Commercial Drive Licorice Parlour." When I first proposed the idea Mary Jean, she said it sounded like a "sweet & salty idea."

Initially, I got answers from Mary Jean to a couple of my questions for her, but I had more, for her as well as Tristan and the other ladies who worked at her shop. So, I again contacted Mary Jean, keeping Tristan in the loop, in January of 2014 for a follow-up Q&A session. Hopefully, one that would include some of her colleagues. In short; it didn't happen and this article sat in the "drafts" file, which I don't intend to be a permanent home for any article I start. I contacted Mary Jean again in June of this year, to try to get together with her and complete this piece, but that again, ended up not happening. So, what follows is what I got from Mary Jean and what I dug up myself.)

Vancouver's locally-famous Commercial Drive Licorice Parlour is owned by the equally locally-famous Mary Jean Dunsdon. Also know as "Watermelon" and "Weed Diva," (and I'll show you why here) Mary Jean employs an all-female staff. She jokingly told me she considers herself a criminal mastermind because she read somewhere it was illegal to only hire smart, gorgeous, and reliable girls. The ladies creating the goodies at her shop include burlesque queen Tristan Risk, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing for this site in July of 2013.

Whatever Happened to the Texas Cowgirls, Inc.?

The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are arguably the most famous cheerleading squad in the NFL and have been since the early 1970s. They debuted in 1960 as a co-ed squad called the "CowBelles & Beaux," and by the late 60s, the Cowboys' then-general manager decided an image makeover for their cheerleaders was needed to boost game attendance. The male cheerleaders were dropped in 1969 and in 1970, the outfits were redesigned. Two years later, another outfit modification was made and that design is pretty much what is worn by the ladies today, save for a few minor alterations over the years.

Besides cheering on the Cowboys on game days, the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders make personal appearances at shows and events all over the world. Yours truly has caught some of their abbreviated touring squads during their USO tours of military bases in South Korea and Japan. I could go on at length about the DCC, but this article isn't about them. This is about the Texas Cowgirls, Inc., a long-defunct Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders' faction formed by ex-Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Tina Jimenez, that first gained (in)famy in the late 1970s. Above is the (in)famous shot for their poster, that ran in the December 1978 issue of Playboy magazine.

Burlesque Queen Noel Toy

The above circa 1940 video of Chinese-American burlesque queen Noel Toy performing her famous fan dance, makes it clear to see why she was was often billed as “The Chinese Sally Rand.”

Undoubtedly the most famous Asian-American Burlesque performer of her time, Miss Toy began her show biz career as a photographer’s nude model at the Golden Gate International Exposition in 1939. Since Asian nude models were a rarity at the time, word soon spread around the San Francisco Bay Area and Noel was contacted by the owner of “Forbidden City,” a once-popular nightclub in San Francisco’s Chinatown. Believing Noel was just what he needed to spice up his club, the owner offered her 50 dollars a week (good money for that time) to headline at Forbidden City, which was where she first became known as the Chinese Sally Rand. There, she made famous her fan and “bubble dances,” the latter in which she used large balloons, rather than fans. According to Miss Toy, some customers were successful in popping her balloons with their cigarettes, “but they also go it on their bill.”

What would have been Claudine Marra's interview

I first caught former model Claudine Marra on a segment of KSAZ in Phoenix's Fox FYI, entitled "Are You a Facebook Addict?" The segment originally aired in December 2010 but it reran several months later on my Bay Area Fox affiliate. In fact, above is where I would have posted the video for the entire segment, instead of the five-second SMPTE color bar test pattern.

I subsequently found Claudine on Facebook (where else?), sent her a message, told her where I saw her, and asked her if she's be willing to do a brief interview, to which she replied; "def." Claudine, who lives in New Jersey, also told me of some modeling gigs, pageants, and bikini contests she'd done when she was younger, so this would have been a good opportunity to shine some light on all that. However, she never followed through and replied to my questions. So, I'll just welcome you to read on and enjoy my unanswered questions to her.

JAV Idol Mana Aoki Makes the Cover of Basic Mathmatics

Earlier this month, Thai publishing company Muangthai Book released a public school math textbook featuring a shot of JAV Idol Mana Aoki as their “cover girl.” The photo is originally from the promo shoot for Costume Play Working Girl, in which Miss Aoki (naturally) stars as the costume play working girl. The authors’ names on the image of the cover (at right) that’s been floating around the net to accompany this story, have been blurred out to protect the embarrassed.

Of course, Muangthai Book didn’t know who Miss Aoki was when her photo was found on the net and selected by one of their employees, but when they found out, they stopped publication of the book until a new cover is chosen. As for the reported 3,000 copies that had been released, it’s a good bet that they’re already collectors’ items, so some astute math students and teachers will probably hang on to theirs, despite a recall.

This has been all over the net for a couple of weeks now, so for more details, a simple Google search will take you to many other articles covering this, such as this one at Rocket News 24.

Charlo Greene says "F*ck it" and Quits

Above is KTVA reporter and sometime anchor, Charlene Egbe, known professionally as Charlo Greene, giving her final news report as an employee of the station, in which she announces on the air that she's the owner of the Alaska Cannabis Club (which probably wasn't such a big secret, anyway, and may explain why she chose her professional surname).

“Yoga Goddess” Yan’s First Pitch

Above is Taiwanese yoga instructor, know as Yoga Goddess Yan, opening up the July 6th CPBL game at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium between the Brother Elephants and Lamigo Monkeys (yes really, I did not make those names up) with a ceremonial first pitch that was less impressive than her flexibility and the outfit she wore.

It’s not uncommon for sexy female celebs to open up professional baseball games in the Chinese, Japanese, and Korean leagues (as this artile shows), but it seems Miss Yan’s recent appearance here has garnished the most media attention since Korean rhythmic gymnast Shin Su-ji’s pivotal pitch last year.

 

Park Seo-yeon – Gastronomic Exhibitionist

Sexy broadcast jockeys (known as BJ’s and yes, I know), who dance for and flirt with their viewers in exchange for tips, are nothing new in Korea. However, in the last couple of years, a new breed of pretty female BJ has emerged, who simply eat for their viewers’ enjoyment.

Elisa Lam Mystery

The mysterious death of 21-year old Vancouver university student Elisa Lam was ruled an accidental drowning by the Los Angeles County coroner’s office, but it’s a case that will probably go down in history as one of the eeriest unsolved mysteries on the LAPD’s books. I can’t tell you anything about the details of Miss Lam’s death that hasn’t already been covered, speculated about, and theorized at hundreds of other blogs and websites around the net, but this is a refreshingly morbid piece for the Halloween season.

One of the photos released by the LAPD
that appeared on missing person flyers
before Elisa's body was found.

Above is the actual elevator surveillance footage from LA's somewhat infamous Cecil Hotel, where Miss Lam was staying at the time of her disappearance, just a short while before she was never seen alive again. Behaving strangely in this viral 4-minute video, she acts as if she’s hiding from and later interacting with, someone who isn’t there or, at least, wasn’t caught on camera. Also strange is the elevator doors staying open so long.

Miss Lam was reported missing on February 5th. Her body was found by hotel maintenance workers on February 19th, in one of the hotel’s rooftop water tanks, which supplies the rooms with potable water. Guest complaints of low water pressure was what prompted the maintenance workers to check the tanks.

Selected articles in chronological order:
Reported Missing
Body Found
Ruled Accidental Drowning
Cecil Guests File Lawsuit Against Hotel
Lam Family Files Lawsuit Against Hotel

March 15th, 2014 Addendum (and we knew this was coming):
Mysterious death of Elisa Lam inspires Sony film project (Los Angeles Times)

Remembering Shim Mina, "Miss World Cup" of 2002

First off; she's still alive and well, but it's hard to believe it's been nearly 11 years since Shim Mina was discovered while showing her support for her national soccer team during the 2002 World Cup. After being dubbed by the Korean media as "Miss World Cup" and gracing the covers of all the major sports newspaper in the country, Mina shortly thereafter released her debut album and quickly became a K-pop sensation.

Harisu for Dodo Cosmetics

As a filler piece, here's the 2001 Dodo cosmetics TV commercial that gave Korean transgender model, singer, and actress Harisu her big break. Her name was taken from the English words "hot issue" and she sure was after this 30-second spot cast her in the Korean public eye. She went on to become, and still remains, a household name in Korea and even a few other parts of Asia. The Korean text that appears on the screen at 0:25 reads "downright lie."

Michelle Bella - Witness for the Prosecution

Stripper Exotic Dancer Michelle Bella met Michael Jackson's doctor, Conrad Murray, at her place of employment, the "social-type club" Speament Rhino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Miss Bella was called to testify during Dr. Murray's trial because she was one of the ladies in his harem whom he texted the day he left a drugged-up Jackson alone to die in bed. As I implied in yesterday's entry, I find nothing humorous about the case of a doctor so derelict in his duties, that it resulted in his patient's death, so I'm not making light of the trial. However, it has turned into quite a media spectacle with an intriguing cast of characters, Miss Bella being one of them, so I am going to place this one under "humor." Oh, yesss.

Dr. Thao Nguyen - Witness for the Prosecution

First of all, even though this entry may have a humorous tone, I'm not placing it under the "humor" category. After all, the reason UCLA Med Center cardiologist, Dr. Thao Nguyen was brought to the media spotlight, was because she testified at the trial of a doctor whose irresponsibility cause the death of his patient, who was one of the greatest entertainers ever. With that said; I'm not surprised that I'm not the first to have noticed the unique charms and fashion sense of Dr. Nguyen and yes, I'm going to say what I'm sure some of you will be thinking as you watch the above video: It does look like she got that jacket from Michael Jackson's closet.

Korean Ero Icons

Of all the ladies who've set foot in the Korean soft core porn or "ero" (short for "erotic") video industry over the past 20 years, whether as a stepping (or stumbling) stone to other avenues of show biz or just to carve a niche for themselves as an ero actress before fading into obscurity, there are only a handful who have arguably earned icon status in the field.

One who can certainly be considered an ero icon is Jin Do-hee, who made her mark in the classic Milk Cow Lady's Love Affairs series. Pictured above is Do-hee adorning the video box cover for the 1995 original.

Subway Pole Dancer, Feifei



21 year-old pole dance instructor Feifei recently gained some notoriety in the Mainland Chinese city of Nanjing, for practicing her art aboard the local subway trains. Thanks to her skills on the pole and a some passengers uploading videos of one her performances to the Internet last month, Feifei, has now become a local celebrity in the Nanjing 1912 district, where she teaches and performs. Dubbed by Chinese netizens as "Steel Pole Sister," Feifei has been reported as saying she just wants to make pole dancing more popular .... and I'd say she's the perfect poster girl to accomplish that mission.

Pastor Melissa Scott née Barbie Bridges

The unusually-sexy-for-her-occupation pastor Melissa Scott was once known as adult video star Barbie Bridges. In fact, I met Melissa/Barbie at the Deja Vu Showgirls in Nashville, Tennessee in late 1994. I'd never heard of her before then. She just happened to be appearing there when I visited. She was billed as a former Playboy Playmate in one of their foreign editions. I got a chance to briefly speak with her there after one of her performances and when I did, I asked which issue she'd appeared in. I remember she replied in a stereotypical dumb blonde voice; "all of 'em." As I thanked her for the signed photo (above right), she said, "Sure hon. Can I have a hug?" Of course, I obliged.

More Wardrobe Malfunctions

A term coined by Justin Timberlake to describe the infamous 2004 Janet Jackson Super Bowl halftime incident, it's only surprising that "wardrobe malfunctions" don't happen more often, given the outfits many female celebs and models wear onstage and on the red carpet.

Above, we see Japanese-born K-pop singer Ayumi Lee head off stage for assistance after literally shaking off one of her adhesive bra cups during a 2007 lip-synced performance of her single "Wrongful Meeting." Taking it in stride, Ayumi returned to the stage to finish the number after adjustments were made, probably realizing that it could have been worse, as some other ladies will attest to.

Han Jang-hee

Even though there weren't any girls who stood out during the 2006 World Cup like the media-named "Miss World Cup," Shim Mina did in 2002, Han Jang-hee aka "Elf Girl" came the closest. After a photo of her wearing a nicely modified "Red Devils" t-shirt (the official name of the Korean national soccer team's fans) hit the Internet, she was quickly dubbed Elf Girl, due to her resemblance to a popular anime character.

Unlike Mina, who came out with her debut CD before the furor from the 2002 World Cup had a chance to die down, it's taken Jang-hee almost three years to release hers. She got plenty of offers from entertainment agencies shortly after her photo hit cyberspace, but she reportedly wanted to stay out of the limelight, even though she was no stranger to show biz. (Her mother was a fairly successful "trot" singer, and got Jang-hee featured on the cover of a CD in 2005.)

However, she changed her mind and decided she wanted to become a singer late last year and, according to the Korean entertainment media buzz, her debut disc is due for release any day now. Even though it's been reported that she's been taking dance and vocal lessons for the last few months, I don't think her singing will be what sells her.