Thank you, Judith. The story had a distinct air of bunkum about it, and
the text you quote supports that. In my Illinois history course that I
teach at Harper College, I devote a fair amount of attention to the
Fair, and I had never seen a single reference to any moving picture of
the Fair, let alone one taken by Mark Twain. The reference to him having
a heart attack at the sight of Little Egypt's performance strikes me as
reminiscent of his description of his reaction to the Can-Can in "The
Innocents Abroad": "Twenty sets formed, the music struck up, and then--I
placed my hands before my face for very shame. But I looked through my
fingers."


<-----Original Message-----> 
>From: Lee, Judith [[log in to unmask]]
>Sent: 3/5/2014 9:54:46 PM
>To: [log in to unmask]
>Subject: Re: Mark Twain, the World's Columbian Exposition, and belly
dancing
>
>Larry and Jim, 
>
>Joe Slade opened his copy of Donna Carlton=92s Looking for Little Egypt
(Bl= 
>oomington, IN: IDD Books, 1994), so here is more of the paragraph that
is = 
>apparently excerpted out of context in the link. Carlton gives an
account = 
>of =93the hooch coochy Little Egypt=94 (as distinct from the
Horatio-Algere= 
>sque legend of Fahreda Mahzar) on p. 93: =93This Little Egypt belonged
to = 
>a sensualist, degenerate, pleasure-seeking demimonde of freaks and
cheap th= 
>rills. She was both harem queen and concubine to the sideshow sheiks .
. .= 
>Ladies and gentlemen, direct from the Chicago World=92s Fair, see the
hooc= 
>h coochy dancer! She walks! She talks! She crawls on her belly like a
rep= 
>tile! This Little Egypt strutted about wearing practically nothing. Her
n= 
>ame even became a slang expression for a loose woman. Finally, in a
fabri= 
>cated legend, her contortions resulted in a coronary for mark Twain,
who co= 
>llapsed after viewing a performance.=94 
>
>Carlton clearly cites the tale as a myth, although she appears to be
cited = 
>as if supporting it. 
>
>Judith 
>
>
>On Mar 5, 2014, at 6:21 PM, Lawrence Howe
<[log in to unmask]<mailto:LHowe= 
>@ROOSEVELT.EDU>> wrote: 
>
>Jim-- 
>
>I've never heard this story, but it has all the earmarks of a
fabrication. = 
>=3D 
>Your recollection that he was ill when visiting Chicago is correct. He
wa= 
>=3D 
>s here (Chicago's my current home) to negotiate with Paige on
separating hi= 
>=3D 
>s interests on the typesetter. In addition to the letters, David Fears
Mar= 
>=3D 
>k Twain Day-By-Day gives the details of his movements--or lack of them,
he = 
>=3D 
>was laid up in the the Blackstone hotel, if I remember correctly.
Clemens = 
>=3D 
>recovered enough from his illness to visit the fair on the afternoon of
the= 
>=3D 
>last day he was in the city. As for him shooting a film of Little
Egypt, = 
>=3D 
>I don't know of any accounts of him ever taking a photograph (though
certa= 
>=3D 
>inly more were taken of him than perhaps any other living person). We
know= 
>=3D 
>about his interest in the typewriter and the dictaphone. I suspect if
he'= 
>=3D 
>d actually used a movie camera, we'd know about it. =3D20 
>
>I've long been curious about whether he had ever seen a film. It's
widely = 
>=3D 
>known that the Edison crew made one of him at Stormfield, but I know of
no = 
>=3D 
>reference from him of ever having seen one. In "Italian Without a
Grammar"= 
>=3D 
>(1903) he includes some newspaper clippings that feature two ads for
films= 
>=3D 
>being shown in Florence, and they were adaptations of classic
stories--Qui= 
>=3D 
>xote was one, if I recall correctly. It's hard to imagine that he
wouldn't= 
>=3D 
>have been interested in a new way of telling stories. But nothing has
tur= 
>=3D 
>ned up. So the idea that he actually shot a film of an exotic dancer is
fa= 
>=3D 
>scinating, though it seems unlikely. If you learn anything about the
sourc= 
>=3D 
>e of this story, I'd be interested. 
>
>--LH 
>
>
>Larry Howe 
>Professor of English 
>Chair, Department of Literature and Languages 
>Roosevelt University 
>________________________________________ 
>From: Mark Twain Forum [[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] On
Behal= 
>f Of James Edstrom [jedst=3D 
>[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]>] 
>Sent: Wednesday, March 05, 2014 5:22 PM 
>To: [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
>Subject: Mark Twain, the World's Columbian Exposition, and belly
dancing 
>
>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=3D 
>
>Judith Yaross Lee 
>Professor & Director of Honors Tutorial Studies 
>Editor, Studies in American Humor 
>Co-director, Central Region Humanities Center 
>School of Communication Studies 
>Ohio University 
>Lasher Hall 
>Athens, OH 45701 
>
>T:740-593-4888 
>F:740-593-4810 
>[log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> 
>http://www.coms.ohiou.edu/judith-yaross-lee 
>
>My newest book: Twain's Brand: Humor in Contemporary American Culture
<htt= 
>p://www.ohio.edu/people/leej/Twains_Brand.html> 
>.