April 8, 2006
This week’s podcast grapples with the unbelievable legend of Lola Montez, the gorgeous Irish peasant girl with the soul of a grifter and the heart of a despot. She lived about three lifetimes’ worth of adventure, turning Europe upside down and provoking a revolution in Bavaria before conquering Gold Rush-era San Francisco with her scandalous “Spider Dance”.
Join me as I bravely trail this tempestuous adventuress across the world from London to Paris to Munich to San Francisco. Lola Montez was the inspiration for the phrase that’s probably already ringing in your head — “whatever Lola wants, Lola gets. She was self-created diva royalty who, in her own words, was “always notorious, never famous”.
For further edification:
» Research files from Bruce Seymour’s Lola Montez : a Life, an incredible resource
» Biography and photos
» Gravesite information
» Lola’s Grass Valley house
» George Macdonald Fraser’s “Harry Flashman”
» King Ludwig I of Bavaria– Wikipedia
» Ein Koenig und Seine Anregungen – Berliner Zeitung, 1998
- SFist — whiskerless waiters at the palace hotel
- Zoe the Pirate returns to Treasure Island
- sparkletack interrupted… an update
- SFist — tippling with kipling, san francisco 1889
- #59: Starr King and the California Civil War (pt. 1)
Musical support:
Thanks to Torchomatic for this week’s music, “Glass Roof” – provided through a Creative Commons license.
9 responses to “#54: The Notorious Lola Montez”
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Pingback from #53: the bella union and the barbary coast » Sparkletack - the San Francisco History Podcast
November 2, 2008 at 4:44 pm[…] legends shared her stage and its Barbary Coast history, among them Oofty Goofty, Big Bertha, Lola Montez, Emperor Norton and little Lotta Crabtree. Today’s podcast tells the story of the 60 years in […]
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Pingback from #56: lotta crabtree — the san francisco favourite » San Francisco History Podcast - Sparkletack
January 10, 2009 at 4:34 pm[…] marvel at beautiful Lotta Crabtree, quintessential star of the late 1800s. She was the protege of Lola Montez, the highest paid performer on Broadway, the darling of the entire nation, and the most popular […]
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Pingback from San Francisco Timecapsule: 01.12.09 » San Francisco History Podcast - Sparkletack
January 18, 2009 at 4:02 pm[…] you missed the Sparkletack podcast about this amazing character, you might want to rectify that little […]
April 9, 2006 at 3:02 pm
Wow. An excellent episode about an utterly fascinating woman. Your shows just keep getting better. Keep up the great work.
April 11, 2006 at 4:31 pm
excellent episode! I now know where the song lyrics “whatever Lola wants, Lola gets…” comes from.
April 13, 2006 at 5:40 pm
fascinating story! I had never heard of her but now I will always remember.
April 17, 2006 at 11:58 am
Richard,
Excellent job with this material about a mad, bad and dangerous-to-know woman. How can we get this movie made? Maybe KZ Jones and Michael Douglas will take it on. And Natalie Portman as Lotta Crabtree? The fact that it is (mostly) true would create great interest, not to mention the wardrobe opportunities.
June 5, 2006 at 11:14 am
Thanks for using my music!
June 5, 2006 at 11:21 am
no, thank *you* for making it available.. it’s gorgeous, and perfect for lola’s story, don’t you think?