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 The Recovered Entertainment Archives
Chapter #5
Entertainment of the Future!
C. Spotrunn knew that he needed more than his
dream of bringing the future to the masses to get them to travel
to the middle of the California desert. With Gloria Spotrunn
as the entertainment coordinator, The World of the Future Exposition
was kept alive and fresh with an endless parade of entertainments,
both large and small. Everything from trained dogs, jugglers,
puppets and fire-eaters, to some of the biggest names in show
business appeared there.
To support herself in college, Gloria had worked nights as
a "exotic dancer" in many of the more prestigious clubs
in and around Los Angeles. This work brought her in contact with
a variety of agents, producers, actors and entertainers of the
day, a great many of whom were more than happy to assist Gloria
by appearing - often for little or no compensation - during the
Exposition.
The list below is only a sample of the many performers who
graced the theatres and open-air stages around The World of
the Future Exposition:
Frank Sinatra
(solo)
The Rat Pack: Sinatra, Joey Bishop,
Sammy Davis, Jr., Dean Martin, and Shirley MacLaine
Sammy Davis Jr.
(solo)
Louis Prima and Keely Smith
Ringling Brother's Circus
Bob Hope
General Motors Motorama 1959
(General Motors Motorama of 1959 appeared for at
least a week and possibly more after its official US tour. Unlike
previous years, in which the Motorama had been presented in many
cities, in 1959 it made only two "regular" stops: the
noted "motor cities" of New York and Boston. GM, as
well as C. Spotrunn, were happy to have this opportunity to show
off the cars of today...and tomorrow, including the astonishing
Firebird Mark III)
The June Taylor Dancers
(who had also appeared as a part of Motorama 1959)
Cole Porter
Lilly St. Cyr
Groucho, Chico and Harpo Marx
Buffalo Bob Smith and Howdy Doody
Bert Lahr
Bill Haley and the Comets
The Three Stooges
(Moe, Larry, and Joe DeRica)
Sally Rand
Jerry Lewis & the Nelson Riddle
Orchestra
Dean Martin & the Nelson Riddle
Orchestra
(though both men were still smarting from their
professional breakup, both appeared during the same six day period,
on the same stage, using the same backing orchestra, and shared
the same dressing rooms...though did not appear on stage together
at the same time)
Rusty Warren
The New York Philharmonic Orchestra
The exact dates of all these performanceas are, unfortunately,
not yet known to us.
- © 2000 Kevin W. Whitaker
- The Recovered Entertainment Archives
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