The Sexiest Vietnam War Zone Show With Ann Margret - 1968

Most of my subscribers watching this were not alive during the Vietnam War. I ask you to watch this imagining how those men felt that day. The clip is from Bob Hope's Vietnam Christmas show performed for American soldiers at Long Binh, Vietnam in 1968. This took place shortly after the Tet offensive, a brutal battle in a city that was fought in the fall of that year.

The Christmas show was one of many that Bob Hope and his troupe performed for American military personnel during the war. It featured a cast of entertainers including actress Raquel Welch, comedian Jerry Colonna and singer/dancer/actress Ann Margret. The show was broadcast on national prime time television and it became one of the most memorable and iconic events of the Vietnam War era.

Bob Hope went to Vietnam to do shows for the troops as part of his longstanding commitment to supporting American troops serving overseas. Hope was a strong supporter of the U.S. armed forces and he saw his USO tours as a way to bring a little bit of home to American troops stationed far from their families and loved ones.

For many American troops in Vietnam Bob Hope's visits were a welcome break from the stresses and dangers of war. His shows brought star-studded talents (including Ann Margret shown in this video) who provided a much-needed boost to morale.

Ann Margret's performance with in this 1968 Christmas show was widely praised by the press and the public. Her performances were known for their energy, enthusiasm and dedication to those fighting in Vietnam. She often wore provocative outfits like what is shown in this video and was known for her sultry singing voice and sexy dance moves. Press reviews described Ann-Margret's performance as "spectacular" and "sensational," and she was praised for her willingness to perform in a war zone as she faced real danger by traveling to Vietnam during a time of war.

In 1961, she filmed a screen test at 20th Century Fox and was signed to a seven-year contract.[13] Ann-Margret made her film debut in a loan-out to United Artists in Pocketful of Miracles with Bette Davis. It was a remake of the 1933 movie Lady for a Day. Both versions were directed by Frank Capra.

Then came a 1962 remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical State Fair in which she played the "bad girl" role of Emily opposite Bobby Darin and Pat Boone. She had previously tested for the part of Margie, the "good girl" but she seemed to be too seductive for that role according to the studio bosses. The two roles represented two sides of her real-life personality – shy and reserved offstage but wildly exuberant and sensuous onstage. In her autobiography, the actress wrote that she changed "from Little Miss Lollipop to Sexpot-Banshee" once the music began.

Ann-Margret met Elvis Presley on the MGM soundstage when the two filmed Viva Las Vegas (1964). A reviewer said "She had so much energy and pep that she had blown her previous three male co-stars off screen but Elvis could match her”.

While she was working on the film Once a Thief (1965) she met her future husband Roger Smith who after his successful run on the private-eye television series Sunset Strip was performing a live club show at the Hungry i with Bill Cosby and Don Adams.
Her incredibly successful singing and acting careers spanned six decades. Initially she was billed as a female version of Elvis Presley. She is most known for her roles in Pocketful of Miracles (1961), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Viva Las Vegas (1964), Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Train Robbers (1973), Tommy (1975), 52 Pick-Up (1986), Newsies (1992), Grumpy Old Men (1993), Grumpier Old Men (1995), Any Given Sunday (1999), Taxi (2004), The Break-Up (2006) and Going in Style (2017). She has won five Golden Globe Awards and been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and six Emmy Awards. In 2010, she won an Emmy for her guest appearance on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Her early life gives a sense of where her values and her success came from. She took her first dance lessons at the Marjorie Young School of Dance showing natural ability from the start. Her mother made all of her costumes by hand. To support the family, Ann-Margret's mother became a funeral parlor receptionist. While still a teenager Ann-Margret appeared on the Morris B. Sachs Amateur Hour, Don McNeill's Breakfast Club, and Ted Mack's Amateur Hour. She was part of a group known as the Suttletones which went to the Dunes in Las Vegas. George Burns heard of her performance and she auditioned for his annual holiday show in which she and Burns performed a softshoe routine. Variety proclaimed that "George Burns has a gold mine in Ann Margret”.

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David Hoffman filmmaker