![\"\"](\"http:\/\/caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/1954-Cadillac-Dagmars-500x467.jpg\" "\\"1954")
<\/a><\/p>\nDagmar bumpers, also known simply as <\/strong>Dagmars (D-HAG<\/em>-mar) is a slang term for the artillery shell shaped styling elements found on the front bumper\/grille assemblies on some Cadillacs.\u00a0 Artistically, the bumpers were probably supposed to suggest a feature from an aircraft.\u00a0 However, to the Viewer they suggested a popular actress of the day, Virginia Lewis (Dagmar).<\/p>\n Standing 5 feet 11 inches in her heels, Dagmar combined ”the voluptuous curves of a Venus, the provocative grace of a young Mae West and the virtue of a Girl Scout,” Murray Schumach wrote in The New York Times in 1950.<\/p>\n NY Times’ Douglas Martin wrote<\/a>:<\/p>\n Dagmar’s significance transcended [television,] beating Cher and Madonna to first-name-only status. Her necklines were debated on the floor of the House of Representatives, and when her salary soared from $75 a week to $3,000, the government’s Wage Stabilization Board took public notice.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Wikipedia<\/a> has this info on Virginia Lewis (Dagmar):<\/p>\n In 1950, when Virginia Lewis was hired by Jerry Lester for NBC’s first late-night show Broadway Open House<\/em> (1950-52), he renamed her Dagmar<\/strong>. Lester devised the name as a satirical reference to the huge success on television of the TV series Mama<\/em> (1949-57), in which the younger sister, Dagmar Hansen, was portrayed by Robin Morgan.<\/p>\n As Dagmar, Lewis was instructed to wear a low-cut gown, sit on a stool and play the role of a stereotypical dumb blonde. With tight sweaters displaying her curvy 5′ 8″ figure (measuring 42″-23″-39″), her dim-bulb character was an immediate success, soon attracting much more attention than Lester. Lewis quickly showed that regardless of appearances she was quite bright and quick-witted. She appeared in sketches, and Lester made occasional jokes about her “hidden talents.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Virginia Lewis’ success as a performer was stated eloquently in an article in Huntington Quarterly<\/em><\/span> magazine (Issue 35<\/a>) which read:<\/p>\n “The secret of Dagmar\u2019s success was a star quality that transcended sex appeal. Beneath the bust line and the punch line beat the heart of the nicest hometown girl you would ever want to meet. And to a generation of men separated from home \u2014 and from mothers, and sisters, and wives and sweethearts \u2014 Dagmar was American womanhood in its most appealing outward form. She was the farmer\u2019s daughter and the Pretty Girl come to life. She was nothing less than an icon \u2014 a living, breathing example of the pinups painted on the noses of U.S. military aircraft during World War II and Korea.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Says Milton Berle: “She was extra-talented. She could sing, she could dance, she knew how to throw a line, and she was a good ‘feed,’ like a straight woman. She was a pro.”<\/p>\n Certainly this is one classic Cadillac anthropomorphic detail that should make a return in the modern cars.\u00a0 Celebrating the beauty of a Woman who found her own voice in early media as a genuinely talented comedic actress would be a good thing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Cadillac automobiles have often featured a lot of chrome.\u00a0 From early on Cadillac has been a premium American brand, and that meant a lot of chrome to buyers.\u00a0 The more the better. Dagmar bumpers, also known simply as Dagmars (D-HAG-mar) … Continue reading ![\"\"](\"http:\/\/caddyinfo.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/01\/23.jpg\" "\\"23\\"")
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