In the course of reading an item on Salon today with the arresting
title, "Why I Can't Stand White Belly Dancers" (
http://www.salon.com/2014/03/04/why_i_cant_stand_white_belly_dancers/),
this sentence caught my eye:  "(fun trivia: Mark Twain made a short film
of a belly dancer at the 1893 fair)."  This was a new one to me.
Although he was in Chicago during the Fair, I don't think Twain had a
chance to visit, as he was ill (if my recollection is correct).  As for
the story that he filmed Little Egypt--I'd be curious to learn the
source of that myth.  Another source--a book titled "Looking for Little
Egypt," which is excerpted at
http://www.allaboutbellydance.com/book.html --claims that Little Egypt
"supposedly caused Mark Twain to suffer a coronary and starred in one of
the first motion pictures, filmed at the fairgrounds by Mark Twain
himself."  Wikipedia repeats the story as well and cites a 1965
documentary titled The Love Goddesses as its source.  Has anybody ever
heard this story before?
 
Jim Edstrom