Sally Rand Trial: 1946 - Up The Runway … To "clair De Lune"

At the Golden Gate International Exposition on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay in 1939 and 1940, "Sally Rand's Nude Ranch," featuring Sally and her troupe of females (all wearing nothing but holsters and badges), was a big hit. But one November evening in 1946, while she was appearing at the Club Savoy on O'Farrell Street in San Francisco, six members of that California city's police department watched her dance slowly and, apparently, naked up a dimly lit runway as she maneuvered a giant white fan in rhythm to Claude Debussy's romantic "Clair de Lune." Professing shock at what they viewed as an indecent performance, they arrested her. Section 311 of the Penal Code, they said, barred "indecent exposure, corrupting the morals of an audience, and conducting an obscene show."

Sally immediately called Jake Ehrlich, a leading San Francisco attorney who was well-known as the defender of celebrities and criminals. He had successfully defended singer Billie Holiday and drummer Gene Krupa against drug charges.

Dancer Sally Rand behind her ubiquitous fan. (Hearst Newspaper Collection, University of Southern California Library)

Prosecutor Frank Brown opened the trial by putting police Captain Joseph Walsh on the stand. The captain testified to the onerous duty his six officers had performed in watching Sally Rand disrobe, behind her fans, from full costume to a single tiny fleshcolored triangular patch—an item which, in the excitement of making the arrest, they had failed to seize as evidence. The captain was able, however, to report specific details: The patch had 10 beads sewn at each corner.