Trina Robbins has been writing books and comics for over 30 years. She likes to call herself a herstorian, because
she specializes in uncovering little known women. She’s
written about women and comics, and is considered the
expert in her field on that subject, but she’s also explored women’s dark side with books about dark goddesses and about
women who kill. Her newest book, “Forbidden City: the Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs,” is a departure in that she
documents the women AND the men who entertained in the glamorous nightclubs in San Francisco’s Chinatown from
1937 to the early 1960s.
Trina Robbins’ book, “Forbidden City: the Golden Age of Chinese Nightclubs,” got its start when one day four amazing
women joined her dance class. In their late 60s and early 70s, the women all looked at least ten years younger. They
were great dancers and had great legs and an exuberant love of life. She soon found out that they had been dancers in
the Chinese nightclubs of the 1950s and 60s, and that, far from retiring, they had formed a non-profit dance troupe, the
Grant Avenue Follies, and performed for hospitals, veterans’ groups, and senior centers.
Robbins attended one performance and was hooked; she had to write about these women. That’s when she found out
that there were more, and much older, entertainers from the clubs, who were still very much with us. They had great stories
to tell and were willing to share them with Robbins. What followed was a three-year-long odyssey of discoveries and taped
interviews with 22 retired and not-so-retired dancers and singers, one as old as 97. When the dust cleared, Robbins turned
her interviews into an oral history. With over 200 photos, “Forbidden City” is a look back at a long-gone glamorous era and
an important and forgotten slice of Asian-American -- and San Francisco -- history.
