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| Dancer Candy Johnson performing with the Exciters. |
In recent months I have received emails from a relative of Candy Johnson after this relative had read a blog post I wrote about my remembrances of Candy Johnson from last February 2, 2011. This relative was kind enough recently to share some of Candy's personal photographs and memorabilia with me that I could share on my blog. One can imagine how thrilled I was to receive these precious photos and clippings. Two very special photos of Candy were for me personally, not to be shared on the internet. What a special and treasured gift! I had always been a fan of the dancer Candy Johnson after seeing her perform in Beach Party with Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello. (At the end of this blog post, please click on my link to read my previous Candy Johnson blog post) Candy's niece wanted Candy's fans to know she "is really flattered that people still remember her aunt and wants to thank them all for keeping that era alive and her contribrution to it."
For those fans wondering what happened to her, she would just like to say after her career ended, her life did not. She has enjoyed living a quiet but fulfilling life enjoying the things she loves and being with her family. She never remarried after Red her manager but has many friends with whom she spends her time. She still loves to dance, although at her age she doesn't twist anymore but loves a good slow dance every now and then.
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| Candy celebrating 400 hours of dancing at the El Mirador Hotel in Palm Springs. |
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| A smiling and dancing Candy with the Exciters. Could she ever WoW a crowd! |
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| A magazine article about Candy performing in Muscle Beach Party, 1964. |
Thanks again to the niece who graciously sent me the photographs and other memorabilia of her aunt. Candy's niece also has this message for me to share with all the Candy Johnson fans:
Thanks for keeping my aunt alive in your blogs, she got a raw deal in life and when I told her about you and all her other fans she was absolutely thrilled. So Thank You and your other bloggers, you can pass that along.
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| A detail from the above magazine article. What a description of Candy, the writer referring to her as this "Phenomenon of the Century". |
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| Candy started taking tap dancing lessons while in high school. |
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| Candy giving an up close dancing demonstration. One-of-a-kind, I can't imagine anyone else being able to dance like Candy. |
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| Candy performing with the Exciters on Halloween 1963. |
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| Candy between takes of filming on the set of one of the beach movies. Notice the onlookers in the background. |
Here is my favorite YouTube of Candy dancing. Crank up
the sound and get ready to smile.
Please take a moment to see my original blog post posted last February, 2011, by clicking on the link below. In it I shared
some remembrances of Candy Johnson:
I like what "Drew" said in the comments on my previous Candy Johnson post: "If you are not grinning from ear to ear after watching Candy dance, my friend ... something inside you is broken.
I could not agree more, Drew!
♥ We all love you, Candy Johnson! ♥
11 comments:
She is one-of-a-kind. Pure original Americana. If we could have found a way to put her in our gas tanks, we would have had endless energy. She mad those beach movies rock. I love you, Candy!
Never heard of her! Guess I'm much too young, lol! But I enjoyed reading about her and watching her do the twist! :D Thanks for sharing!
I remember reading your original post about Candy at the beginning of our friendship, Cindy. It's fun to see more pics and learn more about her today. We can all learn from Candy's diet plan. Get plenty of sleep. Eat several small meals each day and keep your body in motion as much as possible during your waking hours. Thanks for the memories Candy and Cindy!
Never heard of her before...thanks for sharing the post, pictures and the video.
Have a beautiful start in the new week and greetings ♥
Cindy! I absolutely loved reading your email! It really truly made my day! I was waiting patiently to read your post about Candy and after watching some videos on youtube of her dancing I felt like I needed to lie down! What unbelievable energy and charisma!
I will try to find that film Muscle Beach Party to watch!
It's amazing that her relative found your post and was kind enough to send you those photos, what a treat for you.
I hope you're having a lovely day,
Emma xx
Thank you, dear friends, for your comments, thoughts and visits! It seemed just like yesterday when I did the first blog post when I wrote about Candy Johnson. Time is passing too quickly and I know of no way to slow it down. (smile)
I've watched Candy dance since I was little girl (my mom LOVES the Frankie and Annette movies). I tried like hell to copy her and, as a child in the single digits, I'm sure it was hilarious to watch! I'm 36 now and still trying to match the moves. Unfortunately, I smoke cigarettes and weigh about 30 pounds more than she did! LOL
I've watched Candy dance since I was little girl (my mom LOVES the Frankie and Annette movies). I tried like hell to copy her and, as a child in the single digits, I'm sure it was hilarious to watch! I'm 36 now and still trying to match the moves. Unfortunately, I smoke cigarettes and weigh about 30 pounds more than she did! LOL
Candy still drives me crazy with the amount of energy that she put into her dance routines, no one has ever come close to matching her exuberant and highly contagious beachy keen dance moves, and that fringed dress, if it is still around should be put into the Smithsonian as a national treasure. And let's not forget she did all this fantastic dancing in her bare feet. You are forever in my heart Candy, you're a very special lady...LA DA DA DA DA DA LA DA DA DA DA DA LA DA DA DA DA DA DADADA
Yes a special THANK U to Cindy Ellison for her special page remembering Candy, It's great to see others who appreciate her as much as I do, let's keep her memory alive. BEACH LIFE 4 EVER!
I adored Candy Johnson as a kid, watched the beach movies over and over and her wonderful, athletic, joyful dancing communicated so much to me as a young girl: how wonderful the human body was, how expressive dancing could be, how it could go so well with music. She was just terrific and it's great to see there are folks who remember her with the love she deserves! I agree, her dancing belongs in the Smithsonian, for what a great record of a time and place in American history, and of how women were such a positive part of our social history. I host a 45 rpm dance party at a local bar in Providence once a month, folks bring their 45s and I have a big box for them to use, too, and we play them on a record player hooked up to the big Marshall speakers, and we dance, like we used to in the old days. It's free, it's so much fun, and believe me, there's a part of that party that is a tribute to Candy Johnson because her dancing was just so terrific--it inspired me to do my party and keep that spirit alive even in a small way.
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