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# Betty Rowland: Former burlesque dancer now tends her own bar in SM
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/communityprofiles-betty-rowland-former-burlesque-dancer-now-tends-her-own-bar-in-sm/
- Published: 2007-04-23T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:37:28.000Z
- Author: Kevin Herrera
- Tags: local, Santa Monica, #archive-import

Cairo, where “the Sphinx winked at me.” She hung around with movie stars like Mae West, and listened to Barry Manilow and one of the Beach Boys jam at their pad.

It was a very exciting life, even if wasn’t what she envisioned when she was a young girl in Bexley, Ohio.

Growing up, Rowland thought she would be a clothing designer, but when the Great Depression hit, dancing became the only job that paid.

At first, Rowland and her sisters performed in amateur shows, a product of her father insisting that they take ballet to learn how to be graceful.

“My father said, ‘If we want these four little girls to be ladies, we better teach them how to walk and carry themselves,’ which is what we learned in ballet school,” Rowland said.

When they got older, Rowland and her sisters were forced into burlesque as vaudeville fell out of style and it became difficult for entertainers to put on elaborate productions. Rows of theaters were left vacant, Rowland said.

“I never thought of being in show business but with the depression it became a necessity,” she said.

“People don’t realize how bad it was, how rough we had it. My mother and father always managed to put food on the table, but it was a hard time for everyone.”

Dancing did get monotonous, Rowland said, but she saw many women move upward because of their talents, including her own sister Roselle, who became a baroness when she married a Belgian baron.

Rowland too found love, married and moved to Brentwood where she still has her own apartment.

These days she spends her time at the bar, writes poetry and “does the things a lady should do, like get my hair and my nails done,” Rowland said.

“I get up and dance every once in awhile, for my own amusement and others’ amazement,” she added.

Rowland credits her longevity to not having smoked cigarettes or indulged in alcohol. Her parents played a big part too.

“I have to thank my mother and father for giving me a good start.”

As for Santa Monica, Rowland said she has grown very fond of the city where she has spent most of her days.

“I love Santa Monica, and I hope Santa Monica loves me,” she said.

“Even if they don’t, I’m still here. They haven’t run me out yet.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on April 23, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/042307.pdf?ref=smdp.com)