--- title: Whatever Happened to … the Flying Follies? date: 2026-04-20T05:30:00-04:00 author: University of Maryland canonical_url: "https://today.umd.edu/whatever-happened-to-the-flying-follies" section: Articles --- # Whatever Happened to … the Flying Follies? *April 20, 2026* — by [Sala Levin ’10](/author/sala-levin-10) > UMD’s Version of the USO Entertained Troops Overseas *Flying Follies Carribbean 1961 UMD Archives 1920x1080 — A performer from the University of Maryland's Flying Follies entertains U.S. troops in this 1961 photo. The group, which existed from 1957 to 1970, put on vaudeville-style variety shows for troops overseas. (Photo courtesy of University Archives)* Rowdy teens heading for a trip overseas is the stuff of a run-of-the-mill Instagram post or mid-tier summer movie. But that wasn’t so in the middle of the 20th century, when a University of Maryland tradition gave wide-eyed college students the rare chance to combine artistic expression, global travel and a patriotic form of community service. The Flying Follies, a UMD performance group that existed from 1957 to 1970, brought song and dance, comedy, baton twirling, mime and even burlesque to U.S. troops stationed around the world. “It was an open-ended opportunity for creativity,” said Sandra Sollod Poster ’64, who wrote and directed the 1964 show, called “The Spice of Life.” “You weren’t working from somebody else’s script. You weren’t working from a show that had been produced 10 years earlier on Broadway. You could come up with your own thing.” Carol (Isaacson) Pace ’59 auditioned for the inaugural show with a friend, Connie Cornell ’60, by performing the 1920s jazz classic “Flamin’ Mamie.” “We came out from opposite sides of the stage,” said Pace. “We had tights on, and a sexy-for-that-time outfit.” She and Cornell made the cut, and at winter break they and 26 other students flew to Iceland, Scotland, Portugal’s Azores Islands, Bermuda and other stops to entertain troops. (Students on campus got a sneak preview of the show at a performance before school closed for the semester.) “When I tell some friends now, they say, ‘Really? All those places?’” said Pace. Ken Waissman ’62 joined the Flying Follies in 1958 and was quickly elected president. The show he directed, called “Footlight Fever,” featured identical twins Gail and Gwen Rosenberg, who opened the performance by appearing in succession on opposite sides of the curtain, bewildering the crowd until they realized the trick. “Footlight Fever” traveled to Panama, Antigua, Cuba and Puerto Rico. In Panama, Weissman remembers, the jungle conditions were home to bugs so pervasive that they flew into singers’ open mouths. In San Juan, the Flying Follies were greeted by Felisa Rincón de Gautier, the city’s first woman mayor. “It was really quite exciting for a bunch of young kids who were not well-traveled,” said John Ford ’64, who performed in several shows and directed one. “The adventure side of it, being in a foreign country” was a major draw for theatrically inclined students—especially those who weren’t in the limited roles available through the plays and musicals officially staged by the university. “There was always tension between the \[speech and drama\] department and the Flying Follies, because we were seen as taking talent and time away from students who were in the regular shows,” said Ford. “I got called into the office of the chair of the department and told that I had to make up my mind whether I wanted to major in theater or I wanted to major in Flying Follies.” (Ford eventually graduated with a degree in radio, television and film.) *Students play sax, double bass and other instruments on stage. — From left, Terps Morris Hardy, Dennis Werber (partially hidden), Harvey Beavers and Ken Reck provided a spirited jam session aboard an Air Force troop carrier in 1958, in this photo from *The Old Line* magazine.* **Sidebar note:** This story is part of the “Whatever Happened to…” series, which scopes out the histories and fates of aspects of the UMD campus and experience that no longer exist. Have an idea for a future subject? Email writer Sala Levin at snlevin@umd.edu. **Topics:** [Campus & Community](https://today.umd.edu/tags/campus-community) **Tags:** [Whatever Happened to](https://today.umd.edu/topic/whatever-happened-to), [Student Experience](https://today.umd.edu/topic/student-experience), [Arts](https://today.umd.edu/topic/arts) **Units:** [Division of Student Affairs](https://today.umd.edu/topic/division-student-affairs)