One of our favorite activities in Dawson City was the Can-can show at Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall. It’s a gambling hall, a saloon and an entertainment venue with three Can-can shows every evening in the summer. This non-profit place is run by the Klondike Visitors Association, and the revenue is reinvested in the local community.
High-rollers outside Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall
Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall
We went for the second show at 10 pm. The doorman asked Kenric if he had a season pass. Exclusive! Our $15-tickets are the “season pass” – unlimited entries. The show was lively; the dancers were great and the singer who’s supposed to be Diamond Tooth Gertie had a powerful voice.
“Gertie” has a great voice.
Can-can show at Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall
The dancers brought four gentlemen onstage for a tongue-twister challenge. The gentleman from Georgia was the crowd’s favorite, but all four got a prize – “to remove your dancer’s garter however you want”. One guy immediately got on his knees to remove the garter with his teeth. His friends back at the poker table cheered him on.
The guy on the left was so quick to get on his knees to remove the garter with his teeth! ??? All the others were delicately using their hands.
Can-can show at Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall
We should have stayed for the midnight show
At the end of the show, the performers invited the audience for photos. When Gertie saw Kenric approaching with our alter egos, her expression was priceless. It would have been nice to stay for the midnight show which is supposed to be more risqué, but we had to start driving early the next day.
Can-can show at Diamond Tooth Gerties Gambling Hall
When “Gertie” saw what Kenric was holding, she just lit up and said, “How cute!”
Diamond Tooth Gertie (real name Gertrude Lovejoy) was a dance hall girl during the Klondike Gold Rush. She had a diamond between her two front teeth. Gertie married CWC Tabor, a prominent lawyer in town. When Tabor was killed in a fire in 1917, Gertie was left with $15,000, which was a lot. Three years later, she married a Stephen C. Hart of San Francisco, and lived in the San Francisco area until she died in 1957.
The history of Dawson City, its colorful characters, their pioneer spirit ending with either lucky strikes or broken dreams made this town almost mythical to me. I may even pick up a copy of Jack London’s The Call of the Wild which was set in this area during the Klondike Gold Rush. While Kenric and I didn’t find any gold, we certainly got a Klondike Rush.
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