I don’t think I had even heard of Josephine Baker until Al Stewart wrote a song about her on his Last Days of the Century album in the 1980s - Josephine Baker
Oh, and one of the first things I see on the twits this morning is the Grauniad’s story on Josephine Baker entering the Pantheon.
Speaking of Miss Baker…
The Pittsburgh Press (December 5, 1942)
Josephine Baker is alive, popular in Casablanca
Georgia-born Negro singing and dancing star of Parisian stage resides in Arabian splendor
Casablanca, French Morocco (UP) –
Josephine Baker, the Negro dancing and singing star of the Paris stage, is alive and well here today, living in an elegant Arabian house in the native quarter.
Any sunny afternoon, Miss Baker, who was falsely reported to have died in a Casablanca hospital recently, can be seen riding through the streets in a handsome carriage, drawn by two fawn-colored horses.
Now in “quite good health,” although still recuperating from a recent illness, she moved to the quaint Arabian home three days ago from the Hotel Mamounia, one of the best in the city.
Miss Baker, who lives alone in Arabian splendor, came to Morocco after the fall of France, but she still hopes to return to Paris where she won her fame as a singer and dancer. She is held in high regard by foreigners and the native population here.
Here is where hundreds of Arabs from the Atlas Mountains bring their wares by camel train and sell them to a public, enthralled by snake charmers, trained baboons, magicians and storytellers.
On one of her trips through the market, Georgia-born Miss Baker saw for the first time the newly-arrived American correspondents.
As they passed by, she stood up in the carriage, waved her parasol and yelled “Vive l’Amérique.”
She kept waving until the correspondents were out of sight.