Lilo de la Passardiere (aka Liselotte Johanna Lewin) passed away on Sept. 26, 2022 at the age of 101. Although somewhat eclipsed by Gwen Verdon in Can-Can, nonetheless her performance as Pistache was quite memorable, and her performance of those tongue-twisting Porter lyrics astounds me even today:
If an English Dapper Dan can,
If an Irish Callahan can,
If in Cannes, ev'ry tan courtesan can,
Baby, you can can-can too
If the Louvre custodian can,
If the Guard Republican can,
If Van Gogh and Matisse and Cezanne can,
Baby, you can can-can too
Lilo's impeccable diction allowed me to catch every single word of those delicious lyrics. Her final Broadway credit was as Solange in Duke Ellingtion's short-lived Pousse-Cafe. |
