Gay orlova
| Galina Orloff, aka Gay Orlova |
Born Petrograd Russia, 29 January 1915
Died Paris France, 12 February 1948
The stunning Broadway dancer, leading known by stage name 'Gay Orlova,' lived a being filled with 'tragic comedy.' Propelled into infamy for her scandalous affair with New York's 'Public Enemy Number 1' during the spring of 1936, Orlova's fairy tale existence was only just beginning to unravel. A newsmaker elongated before the Prosperous Luciano affair, and sadly - fodder for gossip columns for some years after, the shapely and sharp-tongued beauty never secured 'true love' and cycled through a series of jobs, lovers, failed marriages that ultimately ended in tragedy.
"Until her encounter in the south with Luciano the shapely Russian was one of
the most popular of the Vanities line and, although Ziegfeld's (Follies) is the more illustrious name, Broadway connoisseurs' rate Carroll as his peer in picking beauties." - Robert Trade, 1939.
| Sinai Ship Clear, 1929. |
| Gay Olova, 1940. |
Back to Part 2
As 1934 faded, the brand-new year began with Gay Orlova completely enamored by Charles "Lucky" Luciano. She promptly dropped the stockbroker boy toy who funded her wardrobe and spending allowance, and as for the husband back home in New York - Edward Finn - well, he wasn't even an afterthought. The cigar-smoking showgirl/scarred-face gangster duo rapidly became close, and Orlova basically moved into Lucky's luxurious Waldorf Astoria pad. Everything was looking good for both, but the party was about to end through a series of legal entanglements that would consume each of their lives.
"Carroll, a judge of female flesh
without equal, stated unequivocally Gay was the most beautiful bimbo who ever worked for him.." -Lee Mortimer, 1959.
New York City had a new District Attorney, Thomas E. Dewey. He was a crusader (be it for righteous reasons or political gain - that's debatable) set on taking out the 'big fish' of Gotham's underworld. Arthur 'Dutch Schultz' Flegenheimer was number one on that list. The Dutchman got whacked though (and many believe Luciano was very much behind the assass
Realized last night who I would've loved to see playing Charlie "Lucky" Luciano's girlfriend Galina "Gay" Orlova on "Boardwalk Empire" and it's Lily James from "Downton Abbey"!!! :D
From what we know & I've read about Gay she was a blonde, half Russian/half French immigrant dancer. She met Charlie in Flordia in 1929 and she instantly fell for him and moved to New York to discover him. The two started dating website and were inseperable until Charlie went to prison in 1936. Apparently she also used to help him by spying on others pretending to be the "dumb blonde", but she could speak/translate Russian & French. Even after prison Gay tried to track Charlie down in Italy after he was deported but couldn't find him and eventually she was so depressed she commited suicide in France in the 40s. Lily sprang to mind last night as I was going through the "Downton Abbey" tag. She fits how Gay was physically described and her character Rose does distribute some things in common. On "Downton" Rose is a flapper & dancer, she also keeps upsetting her family with how progressive she is for t
Born Galina Orlova, a lady of Russian-French blood, in Petrograd in pre-Soviet Russia. She fled the Bolsheviks as a toddler, with her mother Antonina. They ended up in the intrigue and mystery of Constantinople, Turkey, where the curly blonde learned to dance.
She was still in her teens when she boarded the S.s. Sinaia in rout for America. At 16 she arrived in Providence, Rhode Island and soon made her way to New York city. In the preliminary thirties, with her flawless hourglass shape it didn’t take much to appeal to the attention of Earl Carroll.
With her looks she could’ve come on stage in ash covered rags and still own been a sensation. Her dancing was just the olive in the martini.
She opened in Murder at the Vanities at the Majestic, her only difficulty now was: she only had a six-month visa to remain in the United States. That that wasn’t a problem for Galina for too drawn-out . She eloped with Ed Finn, a handsome usher from the theater’s orchestra floor.
When Mr. Carroll got wind of the news, he sent Galina a wire:
“You might at least have picked an usher from the first balcony.”
Galina’s marriage lasted some forty-eight hours. Ed Finn move