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'Chapel of Love' duo takes refuge in Tampa

By Times Staff
Published October 4, 2005

Two original members of the 1960s girl group The Dixie Cups are looking for somewhere to sing, along with a new place to live. Rosa and Barbara Hawkins both lost homes in New Orleans' Ninth Ward after Hurricane Katrina. They're living temporarily in a motel room in Tampa, where Rosa's son lives.

"Even though we lost everything else, we still have our voices," Rosa Hawkins said.

Vouchers from the American Red Cross for new clothes and food won't replace the microphones, sheet music and sequined gowns lost in the floodwaters, so the sisters are trying to schedule shows with the third member of their trio, cousin Athelgra Neville Gabriel. The Dixie Cups performed at a hurricane relief concert last month in New York.

"Hopefully, we'll get some gigs soon," Barbara Hawkins said. "We do corporate dates. Private parties. Birthdays, weddings, anniversaries. A lot of casinos."

The Dixie Cups' hits included Chapel of Love and Iko Iko.

Pain plagues Fonda

Jane Fonda canceled plans to attend a premiere of a documentary about her former husband Roger Vadim on Monday because of hip and back problems that prompted her to seek treatment at a Paris hospital.

Flying to France had left Fonda with hip and back pain, said Karine Lyons, a spokeswoman for the French Riviera resort of Saint-Tropez, where the screening was to be held Monday night. Lyons said Fonda, 67, had previously undergone a hip operation.

Fonda was expected to attend a second showing of the documentary, Vadim, This Billionaire of Happiness, in Paris tonight, said producer Philippe Aubert. He said Fonda was expected to spend several days in France to promote her memoir, My Life So Far.

Fonda was married to Vadim, a director, from 1965 to 1973. He died in 2000.

[Last modified October 4, 2005, 02:15:30]