Charo was for some while a dancer and singer with the Xavier Cugat's latin orchestra, in its very last incarnation, and soon they were married. She claimed to be eighteen years old at the time, but she was thirteen, busty enough to pass for an adult. Whether Xavier knew he was porking a child we may never know, but chances are he did.

He infected Charo with his great love of chihuahuas. The portrait above, with her dog, is from a little-seen pilot for an unsold television variety program that aired only once, in 1976. The photo below is a screen capture from The Concorde: Airport '79 (1979) in which she has a great comedy cameo.

As stage-names go, Charo is a good choice, especially as her ful name is Maria del Rosario Pilar MartĚnez Molina Baeza Moquiere de les Esperades Santa Ana Romanguera y de la Najosa Rasten.

The Spanish-American performer is remembered mainly for shaking her butt and boobs in a flamboyant manner while saying "couchi-couchi," and was always regarded as an airhead. But in reality she is a gifted comic, as well as a genuinely talented flemenco guitarist.