PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

[This photo appeared in an old Egyptian magazine. The magazine name and date are unknown. Click on the photo to see more detail.]

The photo shows the bare backs of five different women celebrities in Egypt and asks the question, "Which of these five women has the most beautiful back?"

The women are as follows:

TOP LEFT: 3olwia Gamel

TOP RIGHT: Zeinab Sedki (actress)

CENTER: Badia Masabni. The caption above her picture reads, "Madame Badia Masabni seated, proud of her back and of her beauty (in spite of the nose)." [Yes, it really does say that!]

BOTTOM LEFT: Fatma Rushdie (actress)

BOTTOM RIGHT: Ferdous Hassan (actress)

Biographical

• The Life of Badia Masabni
  • Part 1: Queen of Suffering and of the Night. Her early childhood in Syria and Argentina.
  • Part 2: Unlimited Pain. Badia's return to Syria (after Argentina) and her move to Lebanon with her mother.
  • Part 3: Escape from Her Mother's Hell. How Badia's family thwarted two marriage opportunities for Badia and made her live in squalor.
  • Part 4: Here's Cairo. Badia finally arrives in Egypt to pursue her dream of being an actress..
  • Part 5: The Return to Beirut. Badia continues to develop her acting skills in Egypt, then moves to Beirut.
  • Part 6: Fame in Beirut and Pain in Damascus. Badia's career change from acting to singing and dancing, and her rise to stardom in Beirut.
  • Part 7: The Beloved of the Public. Badia's continued stardom in Syria and Lebanon, her illness with smallpox, and the death of her mother.
  • Part 8: The Seeker of Love. Badia continues her singing and dancing career, adopts a daughter, and deals with man troubles.
  • Part 9: Crazy About Badia. Badia continues her career as a singer and dancer in Syria, Lebanon, Palestine, and Egypt.
  • Part 10: Naguib el-Rihani and the Theater. Badia's acting career soars while she performs in plays with el-Rihani's troupe.
  • Part 11: Marriage to Naguib el-Rihani. Badia marries Naguib el-Rihani and moves on to the next chapter in her life.
  • Parts 12 through 14 will be posted in the future.
• Historic Photos of Badia Masabni. Several photos of Badia collected by Priscilla.
• Was Badia Masabni Lebanese or Syrian? Priscilla Adum settles the question by explaining how Middle Eastern people view origins.
• Celebrity Bare Backs of the Golden Era. A gossip magazine shows the bare backs of Badia and other celebrities.
• Feeding the Chickens. Badia on her farm in Lebanon after retiring from club ownership in Cairo.
• Badia Masabni with Old Friends. A photo taken at Badia Masabni's dairy farm in Lebanon shows her posing with the Rahbani Brothers, Fairouz, Farid al-Atrache, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Najeeb Hankash, and Philemon Wehbe.

Badia, the Club Owner

• Badia Masabni: Fish of the Month. By George Sawa explains how the word "fish" is used in Arabic to compliment a dancer.
• Badia Masabni: Bada3da3. Translated by Priscilla Adum. Sometimes Badia Masabni took her troupe on tour to perform in Europe and other Arab countries. This article talks about such a tour in 1933.
• Badia Masabni on El Sabah Magazine Cover. Badia was featured on the cover of El Sabah Magazine in 1933.
• Badia Masabni on Kawakeb Magazine Cover. Badia was featured on the cover of Kawakeb in 1933.
• Badia Masabni's Dancers in 1935. Photo of Badia and her dancers.
• Badia Masabni's Dancers and the Stage Names of Actresses. Translated by Priscilla Adum. Photo of Badia and her dancers, along with brief article.
• Badia Masabni: The Lady and Her Clubs. By Priscilla Adum. The years of Badia's life that she ran nightclubs in Egypt.
• Badia Fights Back Against the Competition. Translated by Priscilla Adum. Probably sometime between spring 1937 and November 1940.
• Artists and Journalists at Badia's. Translated by Priscilla Adum. A review of the new show in 1938 Badia planned to present for her comeback to the theater after being swindled out of her previous one by Beba Ezz el-Din.
• Badia Masabni Satirizes the Hollywood Stars. Translated by Priscilla Adum.
• Isaac Dickson: Dance Instructor to Egyptian Stars. By Priscilla Adum. The dance trainer and choreographer who worked with Badia Masabni and her dancers.
• From Badia's at El Giza to Road El Farag: Backstage At The Summer Casinos. Gossip about what celebrity dancers do backstage. Translated by Priscilla Adum.
• Artists and Journalists at Badia's. Translated by Priscilla Adum. A review of the new show in 1938 Badia planned to present for her comeback to the theater.
• Three Hours at Badia Casino's Program. Magazine review of one of the shows presented at Badia's Casino. Translated by Priscilla Adum.
• Badia Masabni's Years as a Club Owner: A Timeline. From opening Sala Badia in 1926 through selling Casino Opera in 1950.

Interviews

• Badia Masabni Segment of 1928 Interview with Naguib el-Rihani.
• Badia Masabni and Beba Ezz el-Din Reveal How They Learned to Dance. 1930's.
• Badia Masabni Newspaper Interview December 3, 1938
• Badia Masabni Interviewed on Television by Layla Rostum in 1966

Flyers and Ads

• 1920's
  • 1926 Ad for Grand Opening of Sala Badia
  • 1927 Ad for Musicians at Sala Badia.
  • 1928 Ad for Opening of Badia's Alexandria Summer Club
  • 1928 Ad for Closing of Badia's Alexandria Summer Club
  • 1928 Ad for Badia's Show at Sala Badia in Cairo
• 1930's
  • 1930 Ad for Grand Opening of Badia Masabni's New Club in Giza City
  • 1931 Ad for Grand Re-Opening of Badia Masabni's Remodeled Club in Giza City
  • 1932 Ad for a Show at Casino Badia on Emad el-Din Street. Promotes plays, monologues, sketches, and songs.
  • 1933 Ad for a Show at Badia Masabni's Summer Club. Includes a female impersonator on the roster.
  • 1934 Ad for a Show at Badia Masabni's Club on Emad el-Din Street. Translated by Priscilla Adum. Also includes background information about the Muslim religious festival Eid al-Adha which coincided with this play titled Kharouf el Eid.
  • 1935 Ad for Badia Masabni's Show at the Alhambra Theater.
  • 1935 Ad Announcing Badia's Retirement from the Stage. To pursue a career in cinema.
  • 1935 Ad for a Show at Badia Masabni's Club Featuring a Cast of 60 People.
  • 1935 Advertisement for Badia Masabni's Sala. Promotes a show at Sala Badia with the comedy "Battle of Dogs, Cats, and Rats", a Pharaonic musical segment, Spanish dance with castanets, and more.
  • 1935 Ad Promoting Badia Masabni's Summer Casino at English Bridge in Giza. Includes information about English Bridge and Badia's club there. Mentions the act Famous Women as being part of the program.
  • 1935 Photo Showing Badia Masabni's Cast for the Show Famous Women. Features Badia Masabni dressed as Queen Shagaret el Dor.
  • 1936 Ad for the Premiere of Badia Masabni's Movie: Queen of Theaters.
  • 1936 Publicity Flyer for Badia Masabni's Film: Queen of Theaters
  • 1937 Ad Announcing Grand Opening of Badia Masabni's Summer Casino in Giza
  • 1938 Ad Promoting a Comedy Called Chokehold at Badia Masabni's Summer Club.
  • 1938 Newspaper Ad for Grand Opening of Badia Masabni's New Club at Majestic Theater. Appeared in Al Ahram Newspaper on December 8, 1938.
  • 1939 Rival Ads for Badia Masabni's & Beba Ezz el-Din's Clubs. October 5, 1939.
  • 1939 Rival Ads Promoting Badia's Club and Beba Ezz El-Din's Club. Published on October 31, 1939.
  • 1930's Ad for a Show at Sala Badia. Songs, monologues, and Tunisian dancing.
  • 1930's Ad Showing the Cast Members for Shows at Badia Masabni's Summer Casino. Probably from early 1930's. Translated by Priscilla Adum.
  • 1930's Ad Promoting a Show at Badia Masabni's Summer Club known as Badia's Garden in Giza. Translated by Priscilla Adum. The cast included heavenly creatures from Marrakech!
• 1940's
  • 1940 Ad Promoting Shows at Badia's Summer Casino in Giza City
  • 1940 Ad Announcing Grand Opening of Casino Opera. Shows November 9 as the opening date.
  • 1940 Ad Announcing Grand Opening of Casino Opera. Shows November 14 as the opening date.
  • 1940 Ad for New Show at Badia Masabni's Casino Opera
  • 1940's Ad for New Show Featuring Badia Masabni's and Beba Ezz El-Din's Dance Company

Priscilla is a dancer of Lebanese heritage who enjoys researching the Golden Era of Egyptian dance. She owns a collection of more than one hundred classic black and white Egyptian films which is continually expanding.

Priscilla has also gathered a large library of dance related articles and clippings from Middle Eastern magazines and newspapers, many of which she has translated from the original Arabic to both English and Spanish.

Priscilla currently resides in Central America where she is a dance instructor.