Do I count as ‘Asian American’? What the history behind the term taught me TODAY 5/1/2021 Maura Hohman
During Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, TODAY is sharing the community’s history, pain, joy and what’s next for the AAPI movement. We will be publishing personal essays, stories, videos and specials throughout the entire month of May.
When I saw the photos of the six Asian American women who died in the Atlanta spa shootings in May, I saw my mother, my grandmother and my godmother. The victims may have come from different places from my family and lived their own unique immigration stories, but poring over interviews and GoFundMes, I imagined their excitement amid loss when trying to build a life in a new country, and their dedication to their children felt deeply familiar.
Vikki Dougan: Seductive Sex-Bomb Whose Daring Backless Dresses Inspired the 1950s Women’s Fashion
Actress and model Vikki Dougan earned her nickname “The Back” thanks to the dangerously low-back, curve-hugging dresses she wore in the 1950s and 1960s. Dougan’s alluring back has even inspired a song written by folk music legends The Limelighters whose lyrics passionately request that she “turn her back” on them.
Dougan would begin her modeling career at the age eleven in 1940. In 1948, nineteen-year-old Dougan (who had changed her name from Edith Tooker to “Vikki Stappers Dougan”) was named the winner of the New York Skate Queen competition. This success landed Dougan a spot in what sounds like the greatest fashion show of all time held by the Roller Skating Institute of America (RISA) which showcased the latest in roller rink fashions.
April 21, 2021Updated 10:09 a.m. ET
The evening of Feb. 28, 1957 in Los Angeles was a balmy one, and the 14th annual Golden Globes awards were in progress at the Ambassador Hotel. Inside, a nervous Hollywood newcomer named Vikki Dougan was about to present the award for Best Supporting Actor to Earl Holliman for his performance in “The Rainmaker.”
Ms. Dougan had slipped on a pink satin backless dress for the special occasion one of several she’d had custom-made after signing a contract with John Wayne’s production company, Batjac and covered her shoulders with a mink stole.
Before making her way to the stage to present, she realized she wouldn’t be able to hand off the award, shake Holliman’s hand and hold up her shawl at the same time. She gently let the mantle fall from her shoulders to the ground, revealing her toned, taut and impossibly shapely back as she made her way to the stage.
Published:
April 21, 2021 at 3:00 pm
The Academy Awards were first held in 1929, and each year the film industry awards gold-plated statuettes – commonly called Oscars – in a glittering and star-studded ceremony. But how much do you know about its history? Discover some fascinating stories about past ceremonies here…
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1929: The first Academy Awards ceremony takes place
Founded by Louis B Mayer, head of MGM studios, in 1927, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was intended as a non-profit organisation with the goal of advancing the film industry. The first Academy Award Ceremony took place two years later at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, on 16 May 1929. Tickets for the private dinner cost $5 and the presentation ceremony hosted by Douglas Fairbanks [actor and first president of the Academy] lasted just 15 minutes.
I hiked to California s mythical Giant Rock, the purported largest freestanding boulder in the world
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“Where is it?”
I’m in the back middle seat of an SUV sandwiched between my two oldest daughters ping-ponging my head between windows, scanning California’s Mojave Desert for a giant rock, not any giant rock, THE Giant Rock.
The purported largest freestanding boulder in the world, Giant Rock stands seven stories tall, weighs an astonishing 30,000 tons and covers an astounding 5,800 square feet on the ground. It’s probably not
actually the largest there are some other contenders in Western Mongolia and South Africa but it’s certainly in contention globally.