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Marta Becket

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Dancer

The Resume

    (August 9, 1924-January 30, 2017)
    Born in New York City, New York
    Member of the corps de ballet at Radio City Music Hall
    Appeared on Broadway in ‘Show Boat’ and ‘Wonderful Town’
    Established and operated the Amargosa Opera House in Death Valley Junction, California (1968-2012)
    Nicknamed ‘the Diva of the Desert’

Why she might be annoying:

    She roomed with her mother until her mid-30s.
    After repairing the dilapidated community center in Death Valley Junction, she decided to call the building an opera house even though she only performed ballet in it.
    For the first few years of the Amargosa Opera, she often performed her one-woman shows to an empty house.
    Although she also owned a 14-room hotel next to the Amargosa Opera, she lived in a small shack that she shared with a dozen cats, two burros, and several peacocks.

Why she might not be annoying:

    Since customers were scarce to non-existent in the early days, she painted murals of a large and colorful audience on the walls of the opera house.
    She wrote her own songs and dialogue, sewed the costumes and painted the sets.
    After she and the opera house were profiled in Life and National Geographic in the early 70s, tourists began visiting from Death Valley National Monument, with her shows regularly selling out by the 1980s.
    Red Skelton was a repeat customer, and had her decorate his favorite room in the hotel with murals of circus performers.
    She continued dancing en pointe into her 70s.
    As one reviewer commented, ‘When you can hold the attention of more than 100 people in rapt silence, you’ve got something. When you can inspire them to drive 150 miles into the desert to do it, you’ve really got something.’

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 3 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 114 Votes: 54.39% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 96 Votes: 46.88% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 68 Votes: 72.06% Annoying