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GA THE CTHAWA. TIMES, Sotusdey, Jonesey 22, 1965 eres THEN: BARREL-RACING CHAMPION Ann O'Conner Rides Quarter-Horse 'Red Ant' Equestrian Star Shines In New Career As Dancer Unusual stories about how entertainers got their start are a dime a dezen, but Ann O'Con- nor's yarn takes the cheese- cake. Had it not been for her horse, she may mever have entered the exotic dancing field, net would she have been the first in her business to perform im an Osh- awa cocktail bar. It seems that Ann, who was working as a-dentist's assist- ant, decided to ship her eight- year-old quarter-horse mare, "Red Ant," to England and she was supposed te join her equestrian friénds in Blackpool three weeks later. A barrel - racing champien, Ann was to perform in a horse show there at substantial finan- cial gain to her. But the show folded before it even got on the road and she was stuck wiilt a horse in England and a huge transportation bill. Ann was told it would cost her some $1,000 to get the horse back. Since her job did not offer this kind ef money, she decided to look for more lucrative work so she could ship '"'Red Ant" home to Rexdale, in suburban Toronto. ; She had no previous training in the entertainment field, but was 'well endowed with the prequisites of the trade, 36-22- 36. She was sent to Calandar, Ont., last summer for her debut as an "oriental dancer" and all she knew about this sort of dancing was what she had seen in a recent James Bopd movie. *T felt silly the fitet night," she said, '"'and I was going to quit, but as the weeks went by and my dancing improved, I felt more confident and now I hope to be singing with the group in the near future." She is part of the Dave Yuen Show, a musical group stars Dave Yuen on trumpet. Ann, known to her fans as "Chi Chi;' doesn't like being called a stripper. She admitted she takes her clothes off down to "what anyone could see on a beach,"' but "a lady can remain a lady even in the exotic danc- ing business.*' She finds Oshawa's night-life that | EXOTIC DANCER NOW: Ann Stars On Stage crowd receptive to her act and has yet to be subjected to foul language or rude patrons. Her specialty is the "A-Go- Go" which is a combination of all the modern dances such as the monkey, frug, jerk. mashed potato, shinny and swim, She is fond of photography and has done some figure modelling. She deesn't particu- larly like cities, being a farm girl frem Nova Scotia, and likes "the wide open spaces where you can breathe. fresh air." She taught some of the cast in the television series "Forest Rangers" at Kieinburg on the _art of horseback riding. "RED ANT'S" PLIGHT BECAME KNOWN And, oh.yes, 'her herse. Well, the British umane Society shipped it back to Canada without charge to Ann. REPAIRS to all mokes of TYPEWRITERS Electric AGENTS FOR... 1.B8.M. Rebuilts @ Odhner Adding Machines @ Lathem Time Record- ers @ Comptometer Rentals @ Adler Typewriters JENKINS . Business Machines 728-7783 -- Standard -- Portables A-hLeaw- : wSsiSwe 'Mary Lou's Road To Sacceas Free Of Detours Of Tears, Woe TORONTO (CP)--Mary Lou Collins is studying dancing and acting this winter because she wants to feel more relaxed when appearing before the tele- vision cameras. But if her experience in show business is any indication, it wouldn't be at all surprising for the attractive 21-year-old bru- nette from St. John's, Nfld., to end up with a stage career. Miss Collins originally in- tended to be a teacher. That was in the fall of 1964. Then she got another idea. "T thought maybe I'd like to sing instead. So I went sing- ing."' It appears to have been just as easy as that--no tears, no waiting outside producers' of- fices, no tale of hardship and | woe. She did a few TV shows Halifax, then came to Toronto a year ago and has been fairly busy since then with night club tours and eight appearances on television. ? About the only hardship she | can claim is having to be sep- arated from her husband, Er- rol Rowe, a junior executive with a finance company, for varying periods of time. "In the 15 months we've been married I've been away--Ot- tawa, Montreal, Edmonton, Puerto Rico, places like that-- about 24% months. That's more than. you like to be away when you're married first. But it's not bad for this business. "I flew back from Edmonton just in time for Christmas Eve. I had to be away New Year's Eve working in Montreal." in Mary Lou has been Singing since she was nine years old, 'starting on a children's radio show in St. John's. She gave it up while attending high school but started again in a small way while at university. It was while in Halifax visiting friends that she got to do a few songs on TV and that started her think- ing about show business as a career. She is tentatively scheduled fer an appearance on the CBC's Saturday night Juliette show and says that's the sort of thing she would like to do. "She (Juliette) stays in one place enough to concentrate on her work, but she has a loose enough schedule to get around, too. » <D The mart Traveller makes his reservations for ye AIRLINES * STEAMSHIPS + TOURS % HOTELS--by calling: | 723-9441 MEADOWS TRAVEL SERVICE 25 King St. E. FINAL NITE TONITE t The New eorgian MOTOR HOTEL "Sons of the Saddle" THE VAL JAYS "VINTAGE ROOM" VisIT THEIR NEW DINING ROOM @ SPECIAL » BUSINESSMAN'S LUNCH DAILY FOR YOU in beautiful braemor gardens Enjoy all the benefits of peaceful relaxed living in this prestige but economical oren, just minutes from the heart of Oshowa, with all the advantages of well-planned community living. 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