YOUNG AT HEART

Ruth Carlson was born in Philadelphia in 1921. In 1944 her family bought a house in Kew Gardens, where she still resides.
In her ‘20s, Carlson was a petite, curvaceous blonde. She answered an ad to audition for a chorus girl spot at the Copacabana night club. She landed the job and loved it, but when she was asked to go overseas with the Bob Hope USO troupe, her mother said she could not go and she lost that job.
As a young woman, she had various jobs including working in a magician’s act, a hypnotist’s act and modeling.
When Carlson went to her first ballroom dancing class at the age of 26, she said she overheard someone say “she’s a nice person but can’t move her feet.” It was that comment that made her determined to be a good ballroom dancer.
Carlson took lessons and went dancing every night to places like the Arcadia, Palladium, and Roseland where she recalls the live bands and ladies wearing long gowns and gloves and men in suits with white ties. She remembers some of the dances of that era, like the Pom Pom, Bumpsie Daisy, Lambeth Walk and the Jitterbug.
With practice, Carlson became an excellent dancer and she and her partner performed in floorshows at places like the Taft Hotel, The Latin Quarter and the Riviera. She also appeared in Vaudeville skits.
Eventually, she took a job with the court system and retired at the age of 74.
Another of Carlson’s passions is animal rights. She sits on the Board of Directors of the New England Anti-Vivisection Society and is active with other animal rights organizations.
Carlson has never stopped dancing, and now at the age of almost 87 years young (on May 23), she dances five- or six-days-a-week and sometimes twice a day. She uses public transportation and doesn’t let weather stop her. Amazingly, she takes no pills and is a vegetarian.
Carlson does not let adversity keep her down. As a young woman, it was discovered she had a much-enlarged heart. Her doctors gave her one year to live and told her she must stay in bed. After spending three days crying, Carlson decided to learn all she could about the heart, decided to do the opposite of her doctor’s advice, and resumed all her activities.
She said she loves dancing because it gets you out in a social setting and you can keep active and keep learning new steps. She also said she enjoys getting “all dolled up.”
You are likely to see Carlson at dances at Italian Charities in Elmhurst, Charisma in Flushing, Rendezvous in Forest Hills, The Parsons Jewish Center in Whitestone, Punta Duro in Astoria and at various senior center dances.
Carlson is a sweet and beautiful “fixture” in the ballroom dance scene in Queens. She is loved and admired by all that know her. She is the epitome of “Young at Heart.”