6 days ago
80s one-hit wonder looks unrecognizable on rare outing with duct-taped slippers... can you guess who it is?
Fans of one of the biggest one-hit wonders of the '80s were in for a surprise when the beloved singer behind the cheerleader anthem was spotted on a rare outing in LA on Wednesday.
The Mickey hitmaker, now 81, looked nearly unrecognizable as she stepped out in a black-and-white geometric robe, worlds away from her iconic 1982 music video look.
Keeping a low profile in oversized shades, the pop star still rocked her signature jet-black hair — a nod to her showbiz heyday, which included choreography work on American Graffiti, a lead dancer role in the 1964 beach party film Pajama Party, and a performance in the Elvis classic Viva Las Vegas.
Despite her youthful glow and upbeat demeanor, fans couldn't help but notice her slippers — barely holding together and clearly duct-taped for support during the sunny stroll.
Can you guess the 80s icon?
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Despite her youthful glow and upbeat demeanor, fans couldn't help but notice her slippers — barely holding together and clearly duct-taped for support during the sunny stroll
If you said Toni Basil — you're absolutely right!
More recently, Toni choreographed Quentin Tarantino's 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood at the age of 75.
She also made a brief, uncredited cameo, dancing alongside Sharon Tate (played by Margot Robbie) during a Pan Am flight scene in the film's opening credits.
'I knew Sharon,' Basil told The New York Times, referring to Sharon Tate.
'Whew. I also dated Jay Sebring' — Tate's celebrity hairdresser, played by Emile Hirsch in the movie.
Both Tate and Sebring were tragically murdered by the Manson family in August 1969 at the home she shared with husband Roman Polanski.
In addition to her choreography career, Basil also acted, with roles in counterculture classics like Easy Rider (1969) and Five Easy Pieces (1970), both of which helped define the era Tarantino's film draws from.
Basil said she was floored by Tarantino's encyclopedic knowledge of her work — even recalling her offbeat duet with Davy Jones, Daddy's Song, in the Monkees' 1968 film Head.
Her showbiz heyday included choreography work on American Graffiti, a lead dancer role in the 1964 beach party film Pajama Party, and a performance in the Elvis classic Viva Las Vegas
His '60s dance expertise also left her stunned.
When Basil mentioned that Bonanza star Michael Landon once danced 'the Freddie' on Hullabaloo, Tarantino instantly stood up and demonstrated the moves himself — rocking side to side and slapping his arms across his torso.
'Not a lot of people know that dance,' Basil said. 'I certainly don't know another director who can dance it. When Quentin did the Freddie, I thought to myself: 'Well, I'll never pull the wool over this guy's eyes."'
Basil was born Antonia Christina Basilotta on September 22, 1943, in Philadelphia.
With a vaudeville performer for a mother and an orchestra leader for a father, showbiz was in her blood. Of Italian descent, she was raised in Las Vegas after her father relocated the family there for work.
She graduated from Las Vegas High School in 1961, where she served as head cheerleader — a role that would later help define her signature style.
The iconic cheerleader outfit she wore in the Mickey video wasn't a costume — it was her actual high school uniform, repurposed decades later for one of the most unforgettable pop visuals of the 1980s.
