A Tribute To The Original Dumb Blond
After seeing Marilyn Monroe in ‘Gentlemen Prefer Blondes’ as a child, I have always assumed that Monroe, who arrived in Hollywood as a brunette, was the original dumb blond. But a little research revealed that that honor – or dishonor, if you wish – belongs to somebody who lived two centuries earlier.
Rosalie Duthe, a famous fair-headed ballet dancer and popular escort to French royals and other elite, was also beautiful and slow-witted. She was not a good conversationalist and was known for long vacant pauses during conversations. I could not help to wonder why she was such a popular escort if not for the interesting conversations. So I dug a little deeper.
This extraordinary woman bedded at least two kings and was the mistress of the wealthy English financier George Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont (1751–1837), whom she financially ruined.
In an incident around 1788, Louis Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, presented Duthé to his fifteen-year-old son Philippe (later King Louis Philippe I) to ‘learn the facts of life’.
She was often seen in Philippe's royal carriage on the Champs-Élysées. As only princes normally rode in royal carriages, some young aristocrats started singing a popular tune using lyrics that roughly translated to ‘La Duthé must have suckled royally’ and very soon dumb blond jokes became the latest craze in Paris.
So there you are; you don’t need brains to be famous.
I wish you all a very good day!
Comments (42)
I think I can expand on that but I won't
And I bet her horse was a blond too!
And Helen of Troy, for that matter.
Catfoot!!
You need to be dumb as well. Dumb tablets also come in a bottle like blond hair, you need a prescription though.
Ah, now I understand.
If you are bright enough to know that you don't qualify. You're gonna need some training. Not just everybody can become a dumb blond.
OK, send you bank card and pin number so I can enroll you in our next course.
I've never been in a carriage but once upon a time I did bed Elvis
if king of rock N' roll counts does that make me an original as well
A good day to you there Fluffy foot
Yes, methinks that MM is the most famous of all blondes; even if it came out of a bottle.
Elvis who? The name rings a bell but I cannot place it.
I was so shook up by him I never thought to ask for his surname
Now am I dumb or what
Maybe just a little dumb, but then nobody is perfect and you are blond.
Made me wonder did she just not know what to say,or was she really smart collecting her thoughts on what to say
I could learn a lesson here
Have a good one my friend
You can bet your bottom dollar on that!
Yep life would be very dull without blondes; with or without their jokes.
I bet you would have rated her better if she had taught you the facts of life.
She was intelligent and well-read. But had t keep up a public persona of dumb blonde as that is what the audience wanted.
Maybe your Rosalie was far from stupid as well. She played the game smartly by the sounds of things.
Men, especially back then, wanted a woman who would look good, not discuss current affairs. Therefore, she became what they wanted, and won.
I agree about MM but I'm not so sure about Rosalie. On the other hand, she might have been and actor of MMs quality.
Come on, don't be like that. Give her something for effort. Molly may have something there.
Yes, way too young. And we'll never know the true cause of it. An OD, an accident or foul play.
Great question!
Great to be back. How are you doing?
When someone knows how to be famous and then becomes famous that person has brain.
I think that depends on what you become famous for. Manson also attained fame...
True, we'll never know but then she is being described as dimwitted and we don't know what she came up with after 'rethinking' her words.
Then, as an afterthought, the French are less inhibited than the British - even today, so who will know? And those French kings were a breed of their own..