Marta Becket

on the edge of Death Valley an old woman lives alone in a rambling house full of her paintings. the only sounds are the cackles of peacocks who reside in a series of abandonnd adobe buildings nearby.

the woman walks the short walk to Amargosa Opera House. the walls are coverd with her paintings. for years the woman has been putting on costumes she makes herself to perform a show of her creation for people who come from all over the world just to see her.

Marta Becket is a legend. her age is a secret (altho we do know that she first appeard on Broadway in 1946). a recent fall has slowd her but she still can kick.

I first saw Marta perform in Death Valley Junction in 1983. my old friend Tom & I joind Garold Gardner & some of his dancer friends for the trip.

here Lloyd Pauze & some of "the boys" lift her.

a year or so ago a prize-winning documentary abt Marta made me want to see her again. my old friend Tom is dead but Garold still lives in Las Vegas & visits Marta. so Sal & Regina & I drove out to the desert where we found her kicking indeed.



Frank Piper -- who lives in nearby Pahrump -- joind us & after a tour of the opera house we were off to a casino in Amargosa Valley Junction for dinner. even there several of Marta's fans stoppd by the table to wish her well.

if you haven't seen the film   look for it. Marta Becket deserves to be calld a legend.