Gilda Gray
Toronto Daily Star, 11 July 1924
Gilda Gray (1901-1959) was best known for popularizing a dance known as the "shimmy" in 1920s films and theatre productions. She appeared in a number of films in the 1920s, and was part of the Ziegfeld Follies in 1922.
Miss Gray's real name was Marianna Michalska; born in Poland, she did much to help the country of her birth during the Second World War. After the war, she brought six Polish citizens to America and subsidized their education.
She had health problems relatively early in life, including suffering a heart attack in 1931. She passed away from a second heart attack in 1959.
YouTube has several videos of her, including footage of her doing the shimmy and of her on Liberace's show in 1954.
Created June 9, 2025.