Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (DCC) are an internationally known cheerleading group of the National Football League in Texas .
history
The DCC began with the founding of the Dallas Cowboys in 1960. Originally known as CowBelles & Beaux, the DCC was founded by local high school students. It was typical of cheerleading teams in the 1960s that they didn't get a lot of attention. At that point, "cheerleading" was more, what the name means, asking the audience to support the football team. In the early 1970s, Dallas Cowboys manager Tex Schramm decided to change the cheerleading image to attract more viewers. At first he simply tried to hire professional models, but this was unsuccessful because they did not have sufficient athletic skills. So he began to train a completely new team that combined attractiveness, athletic ability and talent.
This endeavor was first implemented in the 1972–1973 NFL season when an advanced set of choreographic exercises was being rehearsed. This first attracted national attention in the USA. That attention grew in 1978 when the group starred in two television specials, NBC Rock-n-Roll Sports Classic and The Osmond Brothers Special on ABC .
On January 14, 1979, the television program "The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders" aired, which was starring Jane Seymour . It had a market share of 48% of the television audience. The sequel, "The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders II," aired on January 13, 1980.
In the fall of 2000, the cheerleaders got a role in Robert Altman's film “Dr. T and the Women ”with Richard Gere .
They tour the US and other countries. This also includes appearances for United Service Organizations . This began Christmas 1979 with an appearance for US military who were stationed in South Korea .
The current director of the DCC is Kelli McGonagill Finglass and the choreographer is Judy Trammell.
The uniform
The blue and white uniform is a registered trademark and may not be copied without the written permission of DCC. The uniform was the subject of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, Inc. v. Pussycat Cinema, Ltd. "in 1979. In the competition proceedings, the defendant submitted the video of the pornographic film" Debbie Does Dallas "with Bambi Woods , which shows a" Texas Cowgirl ". The character wears a uniform very similar to that of the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. The commercial for the film featured the character in the uniform and included headlines such as "Starring Ex-Dallas Cowgirl Cheerleader Bambi Woods." The Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders filed a lawsuit claiming that they had trademark protection on a certain combination of colors and designs in their uniforms. The court upheld the plaintiffs and issued an injunction against further distribution of the film.
The internationally known blouse, vest and shorts were originally designed by Paula Van Wagoner from the Lester Melnick store in Dallas. There have only been six changes since the group was first introduced to the uniform in 1972. In May 1989 the “go-go” boot had gone out of fashion and a design was chosen that was more oriented towards the western style. In 1991 the large curved belt was abandoned in favor of other shorts, cowboy- style boots have been worn since 1992, and crystals were added in 1993 to frame the 15 stars on the vest and shorts. In 1994 a western cut blouse cuff was introduced and finally in 1999 crystals were added to the edges of the vest.
Television appearances
- The Love Boat - Episodes # 62 and # 63
- Family Feud
- Bigfoot and the Hendersons
- Saturday Night Live
- The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
- The Late Show with David Letterman
Prominent former DCC cheerleaders
- Kristi Ferrell (DCC: 1978–1979) - actress in the soap opera Springfield Story .
- Tina Gayle (DCC: early 80s) - actress.
- Tamara Glynn (DCC: 1991) - actress in the horror film Halloween 5 - Revenge of Michael Myers .
- Jill Marie Jones - Girlfriends .
- Bonnie-Jill Laflin - presenter for ESPN2 Speed World , correspondent for ESPN Cold Pizza .
- Sarah Shahi (DCC: 1999–2000) - actress in the series The L Word - When Women Love Women .
