Acting

Juliet Prowse

Juliet Anne Prowse was a dancer, whose four-decade career included stage, television and film. She was raised in South Africa, where her family emigrated after World War II. Known for her attractive legs, she was described after her death as having "... arguably the best legs since Betty Grable." In her early twenties, she was dancing at a club in Paris when she was spotted by a talent agent and eventually signed to play the role of Claudine in the Walter Lang film Can-Can. It was during the filming of Can-Can in 1959 that she captured the international spotlight. Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the set of the film and after Prowse performed a rather saucy can-can for the Russian leader, he proclaimed her dance immoral. The publicity brought Prowse considerable attention in the United States. Prowse met Frank Sinatra on the set of Can-Can. Time magazine did not rate the movie highly, but declared Prowse the best thing in it: "In fact, the only thing really worth seeing is Juliet Prowse, a young South African hoofer who puts some twinkle in the stub-toed choreography. And the only thing really worth hearing is the crack that Frank flips back at Juliet when she whips a redoubtable hip in his direction. "Don't point", he gasps. "It's rude." She would go on to appear with Sinatra and other notable guests such as Ella Fitzgerald, Peter Lawford, Hermione Gingold, the Hi-Lo's, Red Norvo, Nelson Riddle and his orchestra on the 1959 Frank Sinatra Show. She at times would sing in the chorus with other guests or Sinatra would sing to her. Sinatra invited Prowse to join him in Las Vegas, even though she was living with the actor Nico Minardos at the time. Sinatra and Prowse announced their engagement in 1962. Soon afterwards they broke up, reportedly because Prowse wanted to concentrate on her career. Prowse later admitted, "I was as much flattered as I was in love. He (Sinatra) was a complex person, and after a few drinks he could be very difficult."