Mary Arnold

For oft, when on my couch I lie

In vacant or in pensive mood,

They flash upon that inward eye

Which is the bliss of solitude;

And then my heart with pleasure fills,

And dances with the daffodils. William Worsdworth – I Wondered Lonely As a Cloud

Today I found out that my long-time friend Mary Arnold died last Monday. We all called her Little Mary as she was no taller than 5ft.

I first met her around 1978 at the No 5 Orange Street club. This was what we used to either call a stripper bar or an exotic dancer bar. We did not use that deprecative term peeler. We did not know at the time that in the 19^th century, the first organized police organization had been started by Sir Robert Peel in 1829 in England. We (or at least this guy) did not connect the lovely painting at the Cecil Hotel that featured London Bobbies. They were called peelers.

Mary Arnold, second from left

In this 21^st century, the concept of pornography has hit social media and their often strict “community standards” have all but disappeared. I am tired of seeing red carpet shows where clothing is at a minimum and rear end twirling is a must. Nipples and Brazilians have taken over.

The above is but my explanation that the ecdysiast (a nice little known word that defines peelers) boom that happened in the late 70s  in Vancouver. It started when club owner Gary Taylor went to the BC Supreme Court and won, so that his joint, The Castle Pub could serve men hamburgers and beer for lunch, while they watched lovely women take off their clothes.

As an amateur fan of modern dance and ballet I can attest that those Vancouver dancers knew how to dance. They had some sort of inner energy that gave them pride in what they did. The clubs they worked in were spotless. I drank lots of soda water.

These exotic dancers, who were all my friends, were patient when this bumbling photographer tried to take their photographs. In the end my reputation was such that I was invited to take photographs in the previously verboten dressing rooms. I can attest that I am a better photographer today thanks to these women.

With all that preliminary info out of the way, I can now go to the task at hand, which is to tell you what a lovely woman (girl, too!) Mary Arnold was. While their was competition between dancers they all joined and agreed that Little Mary was gem. What were her talents?

At 5ft she had a perfectly proportioned body. Everything was just right. What nobody was ever able to explain is that she could fill BC Place with her voice without a sound system.

Little Mary could drink anybody under the table. She had a fondness for Grand Marnier. Perhaps it is that fondness, that through the years, we all thought she was doomed to die soon. She did this at age 67 in her sleep.

Little Mary pioneered the concept of wearing leg warmers when she began her act. In 1979, ahead of everybody else, she danced to  music of Vancouver bands, especially the punk ones. I was completely her audience slave when she would dance to my favourite Police song, Message in a Bottle.

After she stopped dancing, I did not know too much about her family life. She had two brothers who were short, too, who were jockeys at Exhibition Park. I would visit with her for lunch at her favourite restaurant, La Bodega on Main Street.

There was a talent she had that few know she had. She was a formidable seamstress. The paradox is that this small breasted woman designed outfits for the fantastic modern dancer, Corey Caulfield who was plagued with large breasts. With Arnold’s outfits everything stayed in their place. Not too long ago she came to my house for a portrait (my Rosemary adored her) so that she could get a city license to do her clothing business. It was not to be.

Health problems took over her life and in the end we all knew that her end was inevitable.

All I can say is that I will never forget that little woman coming down the stairs to the stage at the Number 5 Orange, with Frank Sinatra singing. The little woman had big style. 

My last photograph of Mary Arnold 8 years ago

Many years as part of the Outreach Program of Emily Carr I went to teach for a weekend at a place that was new to me called Kyuquot. When I arrived at my hotel the front desk clerk desk told me,"Sir a friend of yours has given me this number. You are to call her." The woman who answered was Mary Arnold. She told me that both of us were going to a Halloween Party (it was February). When she arrived to the hotel she had lots of makeup. I asked her what she was dressed as. Her answer wast total Little Mary, "I am a Ukrainian slut."