Happy birthday to the sexy, sensational, actress-singer-dancer and all-around diva, Ms. Ann-Margret!
I’ve had the biggest girl crush on Ann-Margret ever since I saw Bye Bye Birdie for the first time as a small kid. I wanted to be Ann-Margret. Shit, I still want to be Ann-Margret.
However, as awesome as Bye Bye Birdie is, Viva Las Vegas is my favorite. Because Elvis. And because Ann-Margret does some of the most bizarre choreography ever. And because her character, Rusty, manages to be sans pants for about 80% of the movie. Seriously. Hot pants. Swim suits. Leotards.
Whatever this ensemble is:
NOT. PANTS.
And this:
Tights are not pants, missy.
But anyhoo, in honor of the sauciest of all Swedish-American stars, I bring you a little libation I made up all on my own.
Ann-Margret Cocktail
- Lingonberry concentrate (that’s what makes this Swedish)
- vodka
- cherry bitters
- seltzer
Fill stem of a hollow-stemmed champagne flute with lingonberry concentrate.
In an ice-filled shaker, mix 1 jigger vodka with a few dashes of cherry bitters.
Pour the vodka over the back of a spoon to “float” over the berry concentrate. Top with seltzer if desired.
Doesn’t that look cool?
Now I’m just going to share some Ann-Margret album art, because they’re just wackadoo….
This is some Price is Right realness:
I don’t really know what’s going on here. She’s ensconced in some sort of fog-filtered chrysalis.
Showing her penchant for being sans-pants. Now with finger guns!
OK, this one is actually really good. And super-hot.
This is a sartorial puzzle. Are those gloves built into the turtleneck? I can’t imagine trying to get in and out of that thing. Especially with that hair.
This one is just flat-out insane. I can’t believe that her people signed off on this.
But I am thankful that they did.
Happy birthday, lady! You are a delight.
I’m currently painting a Rusty and Lucky inspired painting and I came across your delightful post. I wasn’t old enough to have been around in 64 but I was born in 72 and immediately started a crush on Ann Margret. I’m using a spilled glass in the painting and I’m thinking of going with your AM cocktail.
You can find it on Texas_Stax@IG
I should be done with it in a week or two
I want to see it!!!
I’m not sure I can post an image on this forum. You can email me for a sneak peek or visit my IG. Texas_Stax
Best – post – ever. I want hair like Ann-Margrets and some hollow stemmed champagne glasses…
I tried to find an ACTUAL Ann-Margret recipe and the only one I came across was for cookies. So I just made my own!
Ah, yes…good to know you’ve not been affected by the craziness (I speak from past–and very recent–experience). Drink up!
If I’m not mistaken, Ann-Margret went to the same high school (New Trier) as Rock Hudson. For some reason, New Trier and Erasmus Hall (Shemp, Moe, and Curly Howard, as well as Buddy Hackett, among others, passed through those doors) has buttloads of famous graduates. The only thing close in my neck of the woods is my former workplace (University City High School, which can boast Tennessee Williams and Nelly.) My own high school? Uh, there was a guy that graduated with us that blew up his grandma’s house making meth. Does that count?
Anyhoo, I love the album covers! I miss the olden days of album art and liner notes that didn’t require magnifying glasses!
I adore Viva Las Vegas. My favorite bit of bizarreness is the array of costume changes that Elvis and Ann-Margret evidently brought with them on their first date.
Oh, and the crazy hair one was during a dance back then, got to flip the hair around. and it was probably the Twist or Watusi or something! Just about as strange as some of the ones I’ve seen in the last twenty years!
Actually she has pants on in the “Here she is…” album, just very tight and like Capri’s. And the one up there with Elvis was a style that was very popular back then. A lot of singers/dancers would wear shirts or bodysuits with tights, I’ve seen Judy Garland in them and several others. Always liked Ann Margaret, she seemed like a much classier lady than some others.
The big hair is why 60’s tops had half-zips at the neck-there was no way to pull it over your head without ruining the hair. I really hope the gloves were an all-in-one.
I can picture you now sitting in your apartment drinking these delicious cocktails while the city burns down around you.
The rioting is dreadful stuff indeed. But, the cause of it is just as awful. There is some rebalancing to be done.
Stay safe,
C
The whole situation is so frustrating. Because of the actions of a small-ish group, the message is getting completely lost. This isn’t how you fix the problem. Demolition doesn’t equate change.
You are quite right. Demolition will only make things worse for everybody. Attitudinal change, education and understanding would go a long way. Dine in tonight.
Why yes, I did read this post calling her Ann Margrock the whole time because The Flintstones rock. Stay safe!
I believe my father went to high school with Ann-Margret, although she was a number of years older, and they didn’t know each other. (Their school had ten thousand students and was insanely massive. I visited it when I was a senior in high school. It had more gym space that was semi-permanently disused than my school—the largest in my modest-sized home city—had in total.)