Our Legendary Line of Long-Legged Lovelies

At age 18

Leila Burgess

"Summer is about relaxing, going to the beach, laughing, eating, flirting--and, unlike in my youth, NOT going in the water and NOT getting suntanned."

As Company Dance Manager and Creative Consultant, Leila Burgess contributes to all Follies production numbers and wardrobe design, and manages the entire cast, no easy task considering the group's "seniority." She's also out front performing. At 76, she is in her 20th Follies season.

After attending New York's High School of Performing Arts, Leila danced professionally in New York's famed Latin Quarter, and made special appearances on television's Colgate Comedy Hour and Naked City. She was later the managing director of Latin Quarter Showgirls West and produced three Latin Quarter revivals from 1989 to 1992, the proceeds of which went to abused and missing children's charities.

She also established the Newport Beach Parks and Recreation Department children's dance program, where she taught and choreographed for 12 years.

Leila has two children and three grandchildren.

MORE FUN FACTS

Perhaps synchronous to her first professional job, "Latin" has remained her favorite style of dance.
Her mother revealed that, as a baby, Leila started walking on her toes as soon as she progressed from crawling, and she began taking dance classes at the age of four.
She grew up on the east side of New York and went to the West Side for dancing lessons. "There was never any doubt in my mind that I was going to be a dancer."
The physical challenge of being in the Follies is met "by getting extra rest during working days" and the mental by "not thinking about it much, just doing it. It's oh so natural." As for staying in shape, "the show is an automatic exercise program."
What she likes best about performing in the Follies: "I love dancing, wearing makeup and dressing up, with lots of laughter. What more can one want?"
Succinct answer to what would change if she had her life to live over: "Nothing."

Greta Albritton

"Playing 'kick the can' with the neighborhood kids and pushing a stroller with my cat Tommy in it, dressed in doll clothes, up and down the street are fond summer memories."

Greta Albritton began dancing at four years of age in her hometown of Steubenville, Ohio. While in junior high, she had . . . Read More!

Judy Bell

"Picnics, gardening, visiting family and friends, and not looking at the clock . . . freedom--that's my idea of summer!"

Since she came yodeling out of the hills of West Virginia, Judy Bell has enjoyed an impressive career spanning nearly her entire 74 years.

Her own musical comedy revue, The Judy . . . Read More!

Stephanie Eley

"The good ol' summertime to me means going to the beach, barbecues, lazy hot days, late afternoon thundershowers, early sunrises and late sunsets."

Joining the Follies this season is a petite lady with a show business resume that's anything but!

Born and raised in Tulsa, Oklahoma, her profession was . . . Read More!

Jill Gordon

"Going to the beach is still my favorite summertime fun. I fondly recall the smell of suntan lotion at the beach, family barbecues and swimming when I was a kid."

The Deputy Company Dance Manager of the Follies is Jill Gordon, who, at 68, is in her 15th year with the show. She started on stage in . . . Read More!

Glenda Guilfoyle

"My family renting a cabin in New Jersey and going to Palisades Amusement Park are my favorite childhood memories of summer."

She is the prototypical classic showgirl with a lifetime spent kicking up her heels in the chorus line. At 78, she is in her 17th season as a Fabulous Follies Long-Legged . . . Read More!

Joni Naber

"My husband and I enjoy taking fishing trips to Idaho where we stay in a cottage on Twin Lakes. But I definitely do not touch any live bait!"

Joni Naber, 75 years young, joined the Follies six years ago after owning and operating a dance studio in her native Washington, D.C., for 47 years. But that . . . Read More!

Jill Owens

"Summer was about going to my grandmother's house in a very small town. I'd practice acrobatics for hours in the front yard, and an audience would always gather to watch me."

The Dance Captain of the Follies is Jill Owens, 69, now in her 13th season as a Long-Legged Lovely.

She first made the jump . . . Read More!

Jane Owens

"Ladies with lace parasols, men in straw boater hats, lemonade in the park, ice cream socials . . . all those things before my time--that's the 'good ol' summertime' to me."

When you think about America's entertainment capitals, New York, Hollywood and Las Vegas immediately come to mind. But there . . . Read More!

Suzanne Vitale

"During the summer I love laying out in the sun and going every week to see a different Broadway show at Muny Opera (St. Louis, Mo.), the largest outdoor theater in the U.S."

Suzanne Vitale, 73, is returning to the Plaza Theatre stage for her fourth Follies season. Previously, she toured with . . . Read More!