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

Translator's note: This is a summarized translation (not word for word) because some of the words are blurry and difficult to see. This was the cover story of the magazine Al Lataif Al Mussawara on Monday July 15, 1935.

Beba Ezz el-Din is being investigated for possibly serving as an accomplice to an embezzler who repeatedly stole money from the company where he worked. He gave some of the money to Beba and spent some on her.

According to this report, the crime occurred in Alexandria where Beba Ezz el-Din ran a nightclub. One of her patrons by the name of Abas Aarfi was a humble office worker with a stable job. He was a regular at several nightclubs, including Beba's.

Aarfi soon became infatuated with Beba; however, with a meager salary of only 11 pounds per month he couldn't impress her. Therefore, he began to embezzle money from the company where he worked, counting on the fact that he was a trusted long-time employee. This enabled him to put on the façade of a wealthy man.

Over an extended period of time, he falsified and greatly inflated the water bills, in complicity with an employee from the water company. This went on for quite some time, enabling him to steal the large sum of money. His superiors eventually discovered the theft, so he fled and went into hiding. The police were searching for him, and an investigation was launched to discover any other accomplices he may have had.

The police questioned Beba and searched her home. Investigators also ordered several banks to provide them with records of Beba's bank accounts, attempting to determine how much money she had deposited in them.

"The dancer Fatma Ezz el-Din, known by her stage name Beba, is among the prettiest of dancers and owns a sala in Alexandria. She is from Tripoli, Lebanon. Today, it was reported that authorities in Alexandria are considering deporting Beba because it's not the first time that she has been involved in problems of this sort."

The picture shows Abas Aarfi in the top square, and Beba Ezz el-Din in the large bottom photo.

Biographical

• Badia Masabni: The Lady and Her Clubs. Discloses Beba Ezz el-Din's role in making Badia Masabni's career more "interesting".
• Beba Ezz el-Din Wins Beauty Contest. August 16, 1933.
• Beba Ezz el-Din on the Cover of El Sabah Magazine. 1933.
• Beba Ezz el-Din Investigated for Theft. July 15, 1935.
• Photo of Badia Masabni's Dancers. Beba appears in this photo. 1935.
• Badia Masabni and Beba Ezz el-Din Talk About How They Learned to Dance.
• New and Second-Hand Costumes: Our Elegant and Not-So-Elegant Dancers. Beba was one of the dancers profiled.
• Death of Beba Ezz el-Din and Injuries to Her Mother, Her Lawyer, and Her Business Manager. Newspaper article.

Flyers and Ads

• 1930's
  • 1930 Ad for Grand Opening of Badia Masabni's New Club in Giza City. Translated by Priscilla Adum.
  • 1933 Ad for the Show at Casino Badia That Included the Beautiful Eyes Contest That Beba Won. This ad also identifies Beba as one of the cast members in the show. The advertisement appeared July 27, 1933, and the beauty contest was August 2.
  • 1937 Opening of Sala Badia Under Beba Ezz el-Din. March 10, 1937.
  • 1938 Ad for Beba Ezz el-Din's Casino Beba. Promotes singers and dancers in the show, including Beba herself.
  • 1939 Rival Ads for Badia Masabni's & Beba Ezz el-Din's Clubs. October 5, 1939.
  • 1939 Rival Ads for Badia Masabni's & Beba Ezz El Din's Clubs. October 31, 1939.
  • 1930's Beba Ezz el-Din's Casino in Alexandria. Translated by Priscilla Adum.
• 1940's & 1950's
  • 1940's Badia Masabni's & Beba Ezz El-Din's New Dance Troupe. Translated by Priscilla Adum.
  • 1950 Ad Promoting Casino Opera Show Under Beba Ezz El-Din's Ownership. Translated by Priscilla Adum.

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.