Margaret Kelly

AKA:

Miss Bluebell

Birth Name:

Margaret Kelly

Birth Date:

June 24, 1910

Birth Place:

Rotunda Hospital, Dublin, Ireland

Death Date:

September 11, 2004

Place of Death:

rue de la Faisanderie (16th arrondissement), Paris, France

Age:

Cause of Death:

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Cemetery Name:

Cimetière de Montmartre

Claim to Fame:

Show Business

Margaret Kelly, known as Miss Bluebell, was an Irish dancer who was the founder of the Bluebell Girls dance troupe. At the age of 14, Kelly left school and joined a Scottish dance troupe called the Hot Jocks. Nine months later, she was contracted to the Scala in Berlin by noted producer Alfred Jackson, manager of the Jackson Girls. Kelly remained at the Scala for 5 years. Beginning in 1930, Kelly danced in Paris for the Folies Bergère. In 1932, when she was 22, she created her own troupe there called the Bluebell Girls. Bluebell found her greatest triumph in the Nevada desert when she and Donn Arden brought the Bluebells to the Las Vegas strip. Miss Bluebell caught Vegas fever, and her show exploded into an extravaganza that included live camels, jugglers, Roman gladiators, illusionists, ice skaters, strong men and waterfalls. She sold out the Stardust Hotel and the MGM Grand. In six decades she left a legacy that recruited and trained 14,000 Bluebells, set up troupes over the world, received countless awards including the Legion d’honneur and the Order of the British Empire (OBE), had an audience with the pope, and was the subject of a book and BBC documentary.

Fun Facts

In March 1939, at Trinité church (place de la Trinité, 9^th arrondissement) Bluebell married a stateless Jew of Romanian origin called Marcel Leibovici, who led the house orchestra at the Folies Bergères. They lived close by, at 83, rue Blanche (9^th arrondissement), overlooking the Moulin Rouge.

Cemetery Information:

Final Resting Place:

Cimetière de Montmartre

20 Avenue Rachel

Paris, , 75018

France

Europe

Map:

Map of Cimetière de Montmartre in Paris, France

Grave Location:

Division 13

Grave Location Description

As you enter the cemetery from Avenue Rachel, make an immediate left and walk down Avenue Saint-Charles until it ends. Turn right onto Avenue Montmorency and walk 50 feet to the intersection of Avenue Guersant on your right. Look to your left and you will see the final resting place of Irish/French dance legend Margaret Kelly.