Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Wednesday, December 04, 2024
"The most beautiful woman in the world. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment." It wouldn't be Christmas without Camp Courageous Fruit Cakes, and they're now available in stores across Iowa and at Camp Courageous.org/fruitcakes. Camp Courageous Fruit Cakes are generously filled with cherries nuts, pineapple coconut, and just the right amount of cake batter to hold it all together. Most of all, proceeds go to support Camp Courageous near Monticello, Iowa. For a list of stores or to order online, go to Camp Courageous.org/fruitcakes. Helen Louise Leonard was born in Clinton on December 4, 1861. Her father was an editor of the Clinton Herald newspaper, her mother, a leader of the suffrage movement. They nicknamed her "Nellie." When Nellie Leonard was a child, the family moved to Chicago. By the time she was 15, she had moved to New York, and soon became noticed. Her facial features were termed perfect, her figure voluptuous, and her soprano voice beautiful. The father of Vaudeville, Tony Pastor, discovered Nellie in 1879 and made her a star, but not as Nellie Leonard, rather by the stage name Lillian Russell. She became known as the Great American Beauty, earning up to $5,000 per week in the early 1900s. She'd take the stage in a $3,900 diamond-studded corset and sing her signature song "Come Down My Evening Star." She was often seen with her friend Diamond Jim Brady riding bicycles in New York's Central Park. She'd be on a gold-plated bike set with diamonds and emeralds, which cost $1,900. But even as the lavish Lillian Russell, there was still a part of the Iowa girl left. Her favorite food was always Corn on the Cobb. From a humble beginning in Clinton, as Helen Louise Leonard, the glamorous early 20th century performer Lillian Russell, was born on this date in 1861. And that's Iowa Almanac for December 4th. There's more online at IowaAlmanac.com. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.