The city of San Francisco is mourning the loss of one of our most beloved icons. Or, more accurately, half of an icon. Vivian Brown died this past Wednesday. If you don't know who I'm talking about, allow me to introduce you to the Brown sisters.
I arrived in San Francisco in 1987 after being hired to work at the American Conservatory Theatre. The building I worked in was located just off the heart of San Francisco in Union Square. I wasn't a week into my new job before I encountered Marian and Vivian Brown for the first time, strolling past me headed towards Macy's. When I got back to my office I told a co-worker that I had just seen the two most adorable elderly twins, dressed to the nines. "Oh, you just saw the Brown twins" came the reply. Everyone seemed to know them. Over the next seventeen years living in San Francisco, I would come to know them too, and love them as the very spirit of my adoptive city. I always thought of it as a lucky day if I spotted them.
From SFGate.
For 40 years, the Brown twins could be seen walking along San Francisco’s streets, greeting tourists and locals alike. Standing 5-foot-1 and about 100 pounds apiece, the twins were also seen in commercials, made cameo appearances in films, appeared on talk shows and frequented civic events.
For the sake of brevity, I'm not going to go into great depth about their early life. I'll simply let
wiki give the overview.
Vivian and Marian were born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, just eight minutes apart. Vivian was the elder. They grew up in Mattawan, Michigan, where they attended Mattawan High School and in 1945 graduated as co-valedictorians, giving the valedictory speech together. They went on to earn matching degrees in business education from Western Michigan University at Kalamazoo. With the intent of escaping hot summers and the long cold winter months, the Browns left Michigan for San Francisco in 1970, and found work as secretaries at separate downtown businesses.
What happened after that has become legendary and forever a thread of San Francisco history. These two vivacious sisters who fell in love with The City like so many others before them stood out in a city of standouts. Always dressed in matching outfits of impeccable quality, these two drew eyes wherever they went. They loved the attention and they loved San Francisco. By the time I arrived here, they had become semi-official ambassadores, enthusiastically welcoming tourists and encouraging their return.
Fast forward to 2012 when SFGate published this article.
People know us as the San Francisco Twins, and we want to finish up our lives here in San Francisco," says Marian. When they arrived from Michigan more than 40 years ago, she worked as a bank auditor, and Vivian was a legal secretary at an insurance agency. But at 5 foot 1 and 98 pounds, they were meant for bigger things. They've done 25 commercials, and Marian can fire off the names of their clients as if they were the lyrics to a Johnny Cash song.
"We've been on Reebok, IBM, Payless Drugstore, Virgin Atlantic Airlines, Joe Boxer shorts, AT&T, Dell Computer, Atachi, Apple Computer," she says before stopping to take a breath. "We've been on 'The Richard Simmons Show,' the Tom Snyder show, the Vicki Lawrence show, the AM show, the PM show. Richard Branson flew us to London for Virgin Atlantic and took us on a shopping trip to Harrods.
Sadly, as Vivan's health declined, the sisters found themselves out of the news and out of favor. Still, they persevered together, and San Francisco never forgot. They accepted the fact they had faded from the limelight, but still made appearances when they could. Not much money came in.
When the city of San Francisco learned that they had come on hard times, people answered.
The problem is that they do not have much money, so finding a suitable place for them in the city may not be possible. It would be a shame if these icons moved outside of San Francisco to live out their remaining years.
The people of San Francisco answered the call and made sure that Marian was able to take care of Vivian in the last days of her life. People pre-paid for her cab ride to visit her sister in the hospital. People made sure that Vivian could stay in her house while doing so. The people of San Francisco who knew and loved these women came forward to help them. It will probably remain one of my favorite stories to tell about the spirit of San Francisco. These women will always live with me.
Long live the ladies of San Francisco.