Joan Rhodes was very famous in the 1950s and 60s as a strong woman. She performed in cabaret, variety and vaudeville, stunning audiences with her amazing feats of strength. She could bend heavy steel bars that no man in the audience could even dent, she could break six inch nails with her hands, and she could tear the 1000 page London phone book not merely in half, but into quarters. She could lift men with ease, and loved to do so.
This is the famous incident when Joan and Bob Hope were entertaining the troops, Joan was lifting Bob over her head, she lost her balance, and they both fell in a heap on the floor. There's also a video clip of this.
The quality of these pictures is very poor, but I reckon we're lucky to have this at all!
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