Burlesque: There Are Big Hearts Behind Those Busts.

Story Femme Vivre LaRouge

It struck a poignant cord with me this year at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Legends Q&A how many of our legends have followed humanistic pursuits, not only in the performing arts, but in the social spectrum as well.  I realize that it might be easy for the uninitiated to think of these sensual entertainers as divas or mere attention-seekers, but they are, in fact, intelligent, empathetic, strong, and passionate women who have chosen to share their love of life with others.  Judith Stein and Shannon Doah, legends of burlesque, have displayed themselves with grace and glamour for international audiences.  But their beauty goes much further than skin-deep.  These ladies have followed up their lusty and illustrious careers as showgirls with work that serves others.  Judith Stein brings humor to housebound patients and Shannon Doah aids animals in abusive homes.  We are lucky to have living legends such as these to look up to.

Judith Stein, a resident of Nelson, British Columbia, has been inducted into The Burlesque Hall of Fame as Canada’s only Legend of Burlesque.  She is active in the Canadian burlesque community as a performer and mentor, and teaches workshops on the art of striptease “for your inner tramp” (theartofburlesque.com)  Ms. Stein’s performance career began in 1974 when she took up topless go-go dancing to help pay for college.  From there she had the chance to learn the art, firsthand, from some of the greatest peelers in the business, and became an internationally acclaimed sensation herself.  I was lucky enough to meet Ms. Stein this year at the BHoF Reunion and she was absolutely delightful, “the last Legend standing” at all the after parties!

Judith Stein now works with Interior Health of British Colombia as a Home Support Worker.  She provides services to those who wish to remain in their own homes, but need a helping hand with cooking, meds, bathing and hygiene, etc.  Furthermore, when these patients are getting ready to pass, Ms. Stein keeps them clean, comfortable, and in good company.  She states that, in these palliative health care cases, “Of course, mine die laughing.”  Some of the men she has cared for even knew her from her original days as a performer, one telling her, “I can die a happy man now.”  Judith says that the great reward in this type of work, the same as with burlesque, is “The smile on people’s faces.”  The importance of her work is obvious, and her patients are grateful; as one woman put it, “You walked with me to the end of the road.”

When asked, “What have been some of the more challenging and rewarding aspects
of your careers?” Ms. Stein replied that, after quitting burlesque, she moved to a small town and was open about what she had done in her previous career.  “Some of the challenging things were being taken seriously as an intelligent, caring human being; being taken seriously by men, and dispelling the myth that I was probably a hooker, and dumb.  I remember when I moved here, there were radical feminists, and they challenged me about my choice of career.”  A long-time feminist herself, and member of C.O.Y.O.T.E. (Call Off Your Old Tired Ethics), she attempted to explain to such challengers that, “I earned my own living, I did what was right for me.”  She says, “I had to educate a few people.”  Judith states that what was rewarding about her career in burlesque was the ability to entertain, lots of money, travel, independence, and being her own boss.  In her current line of work, it is rewarding to do something that is needed, to provide a valuable service.

I asked Ms. Stein, “What has remained constant between your careers, and what has changed?” to which she replied, “What has remained constant is my love of people, and to provide the service with the utmost of charm, grace, and intelligence.”  As to what has changed, “When I was a dancer, I thought the world would never end.  I hadn’t given much thought to aging.  When you’re young and beautiful and in demand, you don’t think about the days when you’re going to go through menopause, health issues, and that you’re not going to have all that money again.”

When asked, “What are some of your accomplishments that you are most proud of?” Judith replied that it has always been the ability to entertain people, “to present myself as an intelligent thinking and aware woman, and well-educated.”  She shared a chilling story with me about dancing at a frat party, after which a group of young men rushed the stage, shouting “Rape her!” and pulling at what was left of her costume.  She said, “I got away, by sheer luck” and she took them to court over it.  Although the case was not a total success, the judge was impressed that she was not after any monetary compensation, but that she was charging these disrespectful hooligans because it “was the right thing to do.”  When asked by the judge what she would like to see happen to them, she stated that she would like for these boys to be sentenced one year of compulsory women’s studies.  And that is just what happened- a great accomplishment, indeed, and hopefully a turning point in those wayward young men’s lives.

I also requested that Judith Stein honor us with a favorite memory from her career in burlesque.  She told me a charming story about an old cowboy who came up to her after a performance in Odessa, TX, and said in the customary drawl, “Ma’am, you’re one fine filly of a lady and I’d be right honored to buy you a drink.”  Later, while performing her cowgirl act in assless chaps, he played the spoons on her bum; it turned out that he had also played the spoons at none other than the Grand Ol’ Opry!  Judith shared the following with me as well: “Two years ago I performed at the Vancouver burlesque festival, and it had been about 22…23 years since I’d been on stage.  The music started, I walked onstage, and the whole place stood up.  I was incredibly honored.  It was thrilling to be back onstage, to entertain again, to put myself out there and spread the love.  The young people who are involved in burlesque have been so gracious, and have honored us more than we could ever have imagined.”

For anyone interested in doing the type of work that Ms. Stein now does, she shared, “In every town there’s a senior citizens place, nursing homes, assisted living, and neighbors who live down the street and might need a hand with groceries, shoveling their walk, or just someone to drop in for a cup of tea and a visit.”

“There are no great deeds, only small deeds done with great love.” Mother Theresa

Shannon Doah (also known as Patricia Oppelt) was born in London, England, and now resides in San Diego, California.  She is once again active in the burlesque scene, performing, teaching workshops, and selling some truly lovely merchandise at vintageshowgirl.com.  Shannon Doah began performing in 1967, in San Francisco, after which she moved to Hollywood, and subsequently traveled a great deal to perform, into the 1980s.  Elegant, gracious, and sympathetic to the needs of others, she reminds me of a modern-day Audrey Hepburn.

What influenced your decision to focus your energies on assisting with the Animal Safehouse Program, and implementing the subsequent Canine Coach Kids and Silent Companion programs, after your illustrious entertainment career?

I had been volunteering at a local humane society for nearly ten years when I was asked to join the front desk staff. I was still performing, but I was traveling less and beginning to think I should transition into a new career.  I thought working for the shelter would be a place I could wrap my heart around. Within a year I became the program director for Humane Education volunteers and the Animal Safehouse.

When Janet Winikoff spearheaded the Animal Safehouse, it was a new concept and only a handful of these programs existed nationally; today there are hundreds. The program is life-saving and provides shelter for the pets of domestic violence victims who wish to leave their abuser and enter a battered women’s shelter. I won’t go into detail about my personal history, but I empathized with the women who needed this resource, and supported the new program. When Janet moved, she encouraged me to continue her work. I conducted presentations to professionals and the public on the link between violence to humans and cruelty to animals. I was thrilled to see animal welfare and domestic violence workers collaborate. I attended the domestic violence community’s workshops. I learned that a woman is abused by her partner every 9 seconds so the chances are high the family pet is also at risk. In fact, 75% percent of family violence victims who have animals report that their pets have been harmed or threatened. This added worry has kept victims from leaving their abuser and entering a domestic violence shelter. I also learned that animals could be protected in restraining orders, as property.

The need for kindness programs to help break the cycle of violence to humans and animals inspired me to create the Canine Coach Kids program. Through my experience, and from information from workshops, I learned that the children who most needed interaction with animals were those who had been displaced and exposed to violence and could readily relate to animals that were homeless and abused. I set up animal shelter tours for the kids from DV and transitional housing shelters. During one visit, a boy didn’t want to participate and was sullen and withdrawn. As we entered the rabbit area, I gave the kids some greens to feed the rabbits. The young boy’s face lit up with a big smile as he gave the rabbits their treats.  According the DV shelter’s manager, it was a break-through for the youngster. I started my new program with trust and help from the community, support from my peers, child therapists, and plenty of eager homeless dogs at our shelter.

In the Canine Coach Kids program, side by side with their dogs from our adoption program, children experience goal setting, the power of the Human-Animal Bond, compassion, and a sense of responsibility. The homeless dogs’ adoptability increases, and many are adopted before the sessions end- and the kids are delighted get to train another dog!

My inspiration for creating the Silent Companion project blossomed when I served as Chair of the Domestic Violence Council Shelter and Support Services Committee. I worked on collecting data for the National Domestic Violence Silent Witness Project (awareness campaign using silhouettes of domestic violence fatalities).  There were no animal silhouettes. Animals are often the overlooked and forgotten victims of domestic violence. In 2003, I created the animal figures to serve as a powerful educational tool to remember animal victims of family violence and to bring awareness of the correlation between human violence and animal fatalities. Each figure represents a companion animal killed by a perpetrator of domestic violence and animal abuse, and is a life size silhouette. Each figure wears a collar and tag with the name of the pet (when available), a description of the pet, other family members, how the animal was killed, and the outcome or conviction of the perpetrator. The animal silhouettes are displayed at international conferences, candlelight vigils, and other family violence awareness events. I’m pleased that others have shared my vision and additional silhouettes have been created.

What have been some of the more challenging and rewarding aspects of your career after burlesque?

Getting up at the same hour I had been going to sleep was a huge challenge!

When I was performing, I wasn’t open about my occupation. I often received a negative reaction to this profession. Although I didn’t disclose my former life, I was insecure that when I spoke to the professional community they wouldn’t take me seriously. I decided to call upon my stage experience to help me prepare for the public speaking. If I could strip off my cloths in front of a crowd, why not speak? I created a “show” with rehearsals, a script, and slides (no power point then!)  Eventually, it became second nature to speak, and really quite enjoyable.

What has remained constant between your careers, and what has changed?

Well, I’ve never been mainstream, and I’m a progressive thinker. I think I’ve proved this by my choice to become a strip tease artist and in my willingness to create, develop, and implement programs where they don’t exist. I believe in humanitarianism and the rights of all animals. Creativity in my life has remained constant. It’s part of everything to me and has given my life meaning. The way I approach work comes from my ability to see possibilities and draw from my creative nature. What has changed is that I’ve learned I am a great collaborator.

Please honor us with a favorite memory from your career in burlesque.

There are so many fond and funny memories. Being a lover of tropical weather, I took the opportunity to perform in a huge outdoor Tiki Hut on the island of Tahiti. I was the Feature and I followed two Asian acrobats. There was no stage and the audience sat in circular fashion around the floor. Since it was all outside, if the weather was bad, I got several nights off with pay and flew over to the beautiful island, Moorea. This was 1970 and only two hotels existed on the pristine island!

I also read on your website that you are related to Jane Greer!  Being a fan of film noir (for anyone interested, Jane Greer’s most famous role was the femme fatale, Kathie, in 1947’s Out of the Past, which is a visual dictionary of film noir’s classic conventions), I was very interested to learn this, and I can absolutely see the resemblance- you both have such a graceful and sophisticated loveliness. Would you care to share anything about this intriguing family connection?

The film noir actress, Jane Greer, is my cousin from my mom’s side of the family. She was classy and beautiful. I think it runs in the family, and a reason I keep my strip tease shows a class act.

Are there any resources you would like to share with our readers who might be interested in volunteer work or implementing one of the programs that you have conceived and carried out?

Readers may contact me though my website: www.vintageshowgirl.com

Readers can contact their local animal shelters or domestic violence shelters and inquire about volunteer work or programs to help break the cycle of violence. Please report animal abuse to your local animal shelter authorities.

First Strike Humane Society of the United States: http://www.animalsheltering.org/programs_and_services/first_strike/

Directory for Safe Havens for Animals: http://www.humanesociety.org/issues/abuse_neglect/tips/safe_havens_directory.html

Guide to Safe Havens for Pets: Guidelines for Programs Sheltering Pets for Women Who Are Battered by Frank R. Ascione, Ph.D.: http://www.vachss.com/guest_dispatches/safe_havens.html

National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-SAFE (1-888-799-7233)

Child Abuse Hotline: 1-800-344-6000

Sexual Abuse Hotline: 1-888-272-1767

Elder Abuse Hotline: 1-800-510-2020

The Legendary Life of Doris Eaton Travis

by: Femme Vivre LaRouge

Few of us are lucky enough to enjoy either the longevity or the fullness of life that Doris Eaton did.  Born March 14, 1904, Doris witnessed almost all of the amazing twentieth century, as well as the unfolding of the twenty-first.  In 2010, shortly before she passed away, Doris received her final standing ovation in the New Amsterdam Theatre, as the last living Ziegfeld girl.

At 14, Doris was the youngest girl to perform in The Follies, and she was the last dancing too, performing annually at the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids “Easter Bonnet Competition” for a dozen years preceding her death.  Young Doris was dancing in The Follies when fellow Ziegfeld girl, Gilda Gray, first popularized the shimmy.  Along with her siblings, she was making films in Hollywood when John Wayne was just a prop boy and Alfred Hitchcock was still writing title cards for silent pictures.  During the twenties, Jack and Sam Warner, her upstairs neighbors, regularly came down to mingle with the show crowd gathered there, in hopes of starting their own studio.  Other regulars at the Eaton household included Fred Astaire and Charles Lindbergh, with George Gershwin on the piano.  In 1929, Nacio Herb Brown wrote a little ditty called ‘Singin’ in the Rain” for her, which she debuted at the Hollywood Music Box Revue.  She rode in an airplane less than twenty years after the first successful flight, lived through Prohibiton and two world wars, and witnessed the nineteenth amendment, giving women the right to vote.   Doris Eaton was named just weeks before Times Square was given its name, and Doris was there, dancing in the square, for its centennial celebration.

When Doris was just a child, her eldest sister, Evelyn, used to direct the younger children in backyard productions, which led to five of the seven Eaton children working in showbiz at some time or another.  Doris’ career began at age seven with a role in the Nobel-winning novel-turned-play, “The Bluebird.”  The fantastic Eatons performed regularly at Zefferino Poli’s Washington, DC theatre, where President Woodrow Wilson was often in attendance.  After doing the touring circuit, the Eatons wound up in New York City, taking with them a young Volga Hayworth, who didn’t make a very big splash in showbiz, although her daughter, Rita, certainly did!

For seven years straight at least one of the charistmatic Eaton children was performing in The Follies.  One of them, Pearl, aided with Follies choreography and became Broadway’s first female stage manager.  Pearl was a regualar in The Frolics, as well as Earl Carroll’s Vanities and George White’s Scandals, and RKO’s dance director for a time.  Another sister, Mary, became The Follies’ prima ballerina, wowing audiences with her intricate sequence of  impeccable pirouettes.  Mary, along with Doris and their brother Charlie, also experienced success in Hollywood.  After Mary and Doris tied in a seven-state beauty contest, Doris gave the follwing beauty advice: “Don’t hire a taxicab when you can afford to walk.”  When Doris first appeared in The Follies, by law, children under the age of 16 were not allowed to perform in musical comedy, so she took the name Doris Levant and the following year, Lucille Levant.  By her third year in The Follies, she was finally 16 and was promoted to ‘specialty dancer,’ under her own name.    It was during this time that Doris met Babe Ruth (who, incidentally, married another Follies girl) and had her very own baseball signed by him on a publicity assignment.  Showbusiness was booming for the Eatons.

Then came the Great Depression and the Eatons’ careers were cut short.  Doris eventually found steady work in 1936 as a dance instructor at the original Arthur Murray dance studio.  She enjoyed a long, successful career with Arthur Murray, opening the first new branch of the studio, in Detroit.  At one time there were nearly 300 Arthur Murray dance studios, 18 of which belonged to Doris.   The studio brilliantly marketed their classes with a dance-for-health campaign, and social dancing was at peak popularity.  Doris wrote a weekly newspaper column, On Your Toes, which was full of dance advice along with delightful illustrations, and hosted her own television show,  for seven years.

Both of Doris’ younger brothers came to work with her at the studios and in 1950, at Charlie’s suggestion, the school began to host dance getaways in Havana.  These dance vacations were enchanting trips to paradise that brought the attendance of celebrities such as Ava Gardner and Ernest Hemingway.  Unfortunately, that party ended in 1959 when Fidel Castro took Havana.  Of course, in the sixties everything was changing and, as couples’ dancing declined in popularity, the Arthur Murray empire began to lose money.  Doris had no choice but to sell each of her branches in the late sixties.  Those years, sharing her love and knowledge of dance with so many, were precious to Doris.  As quoted in Lauren Redniss’ biography, Century Girl, Doris said, “When I see a woman moving over the ballroom floor in grace…precision…feeling…tasting the joy of movement…creating a segue of pattern pictures, all coordinated to a rhythm…then I know this person is at one with the universe – at one with God.”

Doris met Paul H. Travis when he was taking a dance course with her and after 8 years of courtship, they wed.  Doris was 45 at the time and, although she had married producer Joe Gorham at the age of 18, he unfortunately died of a heart attack less than a year later.  Despite an 11 year relationship with Herb Brown, Doris did not remarry until she fell in love with Paul, and she never had any children.  The couple raised racehorses instead, moving to a ranch in Norman, Oklahoma in 1969.  Then in 1980, Doris decided it was high time she gave herself the education she had missed during her busy youth.  After obtaining her G.E.D., Doris attended the University of Oklahoma, graduating cum laude at age 88.  Later, upon her one hundredth birthday, Oakland University granted her an honorary Doctorate of Humanities.  For her speech at the commencement ceremony, she sang a number, “Ballin’ the Jack,” from the 1913 Follies, much to the delight of all the graduates.

By this point in time Doris had already made her stage comeback at The Amsterdam, beginning with the newly renovated theatre’s opening gala in 1997.  The event brought together the last five Follies gals, of which Doris was the only one still able to perform.  At age 94 she repeated her performance from 1919’s Follies and kept returning each year to perform, while all the other Ziegfeld girls passed on.  Doris did numerous interviews and documentaries and even made a cinema comeback with a cameo role in 1999’s Man on the Moon.  Doris celebrated her centennial birthday on Broadway, with an enormous pink cake that was taller than she.  As Tom Viola, Executive Director of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights Aids said of Doris, “no matter her age, when the stage lights hit Doris she was instantly and forever young.”  Without any medications or help from doctors, Doris kept on dancing and didn’t stop until she was 106.

For further reading on the wonderful Doris Eaton Thomas and her marvelous life, I highly recommend Century Girl: 100 Years in the Life of Doris Eaton Travis, Last Living Star of the Ziegfeld Follies by Lauren Redniss.  I was delighted to find that Doris also wrote an autobiography, The Days We Danced: The Story of My Theatrical Family from Florenz Ziegfeld to Arthur Murray and Beyond, which I have not yet had the pleasure of reading.  For charming photos and footage of her performances with Broadway Cares, see: http://www.broadwaycares.org

Your favorite Pin Curl contributors, Divertida Divotchka and Femme Vivre LaRouge, joined forces with local emcee Violet O’ Hara to accept the Legends Challenge put forth by Burlesque Hall of Fame, and decided to sponsor Dallas’ own Tammi True.  The group’s diligent fundraising efforts put them in the top three and guests of the Legends Brunch, which they gladly recapped for us.

Burlesque Hall of Fame Legends Challenge

By: Femme Vivre LaRouge

This year the Burlesque Hall of Fame issued a challenge to the burlesque community to put our pasties to work for a good cause.  The first-ever Legends Challenge was a great success, raising over $13,000 to help pay the way for the living legends of burlesque to attend the 2011 Burlesque Hall of Fame Reunion in Las Vegas.  Since its beginning in 1957, the annual reunion has grown into the wondrous and star-studded affair that it is today.  It is a great treasure to have the chance to mingle with the beautiful, passionate, and talented women who have passed their trade on to us.  Over twenty legends were in attendance, most of them sponsored by troupes and performers around the country.

We were delighted to sponsor Dallas’ very own Tammi True, former dancer at Jack Ruby’s Carousel Club.  The DFW/Austin burlesque community really came together with the goal of sending Miss True to the event, and we were able to make more than we even dreamed.  Numerous local performers and dedicated fans contributed to this worthy cause, with a generosity that was truly touching.  With the support of Hot Rods and Heels and events hosted by Viva Dallas Burlesque, The Jigglewatts Burlesque Revue, Violet O’Hara of the Ruby Revue, four raffle baskets, an auction, a Burly-Q Bake Sale, and one event dedicated solely to the fundraiser we were able to raise over $2,000!

In fact, the Texas team did so well that we made it to the top three highest grossing benefactors of the Challenge!  Boy howdy, were we gals happy to have our team listed alongside the noteworthy names of Michelle L’Amour and Cora Vette & Burly Cute!  The greatest reward, aside from the honor of lending a hand to these venerable women, was a special luncheon for the Legends and patrons, which Divertida Devotchka, Violet O’Hara, and I had the privilege of attending just before the Legends Q & A.

Highlights from the BHOF Legends Q & A

By: Divertida Devotchka

What memorabilia or sentimental objects did you keep from your burlesque career?

Holiday O’Hara, the Lady Who Loves to Love You, started performing in 1968, retired in 1983 and came out of retirement in 2007. “I kept some costumes and all of my jewelry and all of my boas. What still fit was my jewelry, my boas and my duster.” Holiday also kept pictures of other burlesque performers who inspired her, particularly Gina Bon Bon.

Joan Arline, the Sexquire Girl, performed from 1953 to 1958. Joan still has her burlesque trunk and her costume from when she was 22, which still fits. She last wore the costume one week prior to the Q & A!

Share a favorite backstage memory.

Shannon Doah started performing in 1967. She shared a memory of performing at a club with a very small dressing room with a clothing rack at the back of the room. One night while everyone was getting ready for a show, they looked down and noticed a pair of men’s shoes. They kept looking and discovered a man lying under the rack hiding under the clothes!

Ellion Ness, began performing at the age of 15. During her second week performing in the chorus line at Minsky’s, she was sent on a wild goose chase to find “the key to open the curtain.” She frantically looked everywhere for this mysterious (nonexistent) key thinking that she would ruin the show if the curtain wouldn’t open, and after much searching Minsky told her not to worry and to go get ready for the show.

What do you want your legacy to be?

Camille 2000, the Cosmic Queen of Burlesque, began performing in 1968. She wants her legacy to be her tribute to Marquis de Sade.

Judith Stein began performing in 1974, and said she was “last legend standing” at the after-parties at BHOF weekend (and trust us, she was!)

Toni Elling began performing in 1960 and retired in 1974. Toni wants to be remembered as “a good entertainer. I consider myself that, not a stripper.”

Dusty Summers by RJ Johnson of LightReclaimed.com

Dusty Summers, Las Vegas’ Only Nude Magician, began performing in 1965. She posed a question to the rest of her peers on the panel- what was your career after burlesque?

Gina Bon Bon’s performance career lasted from 1962 until 1991. She’s now an artist and brought with her an incredible painting she did of Camille 2000. She is currently working on a collection about burlesque stars.

Joan Arline had 2 children and a successful dance school specializing in Russian ballet and ballroom dancing, and she also became a commodities trader. At age 60, she began performing in the Golden Girl Follies.

Kitten Natividad started performing in 1969. She was also known for her appearance in Russ Meyer films and Kitten had a long relationship with Meyer. Kitten now works in real estate.

Judith Stein learned to surf, started skiing again, started her own business, and now works with the dying “so at least they can die laughing.”

Camille 2000 owns Cosmic Hog Pen, which specializes in “motorcycle leather and switchblades” among other things.

Holiday O’Hara was a professional dominatrix from 1983 until 2005 and is now a hypnotherapist. “I applied the ‘you’re mine’ aspect of working a room to just one person and now I do the same with hypnotherapy.”

Shannon Doah volunteered at an animal shelter for 10 years and said she felt insecure about getting a “normal” job. She now works with a program for victims of domestic violence, particularly helping get the animals out of abusive environments. “With many abused women, the abusers also abuse the animals and they threaten to harm the animal to keep the woman from leaving.”

Tips from the Living Legends of Burlesque:

Tammi True (known as Miss Excitement, she began performing “by accident” in 1959 and retired in 1968): “I never had an ‘act.’ You don’t have to have a ‘character.’ Be true to yourself and just be you.”

Holiday O’Hara: “I’m always Holiday. I’m me. I don’t turn it off and on. Just make love to the audience. The audience makes love to you back.”

Dusty Summers: “Don’t be afraid to learn something new; try something new.”

Haji (best known for her roles in Russ Meyer films, most notably “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” with Tura Satana): “Fantasize. Be a flower, a snake, whatever you can think of. Be fun, be free, but don’t be vulgar.”

Tai Ping (performed from 1960 to 1970 until a car crash ended her dance career): “Use the whole stage; work it all. Everyone paid and they all deserve the same show.”

Toni Elling: “Have fun.”

Burlesque Arrests: Lili St. Cyr

By: Femme Vivre LaRouge

This month’s installation of Burlesque Arrests illustrates the ongoing decency debate through the life and trials of Lili St. Cyr, billed as the Anatomic Bomb.  Lili, a sophisticated chanteuse, played quite a part in elevating the art of the striptease from a solely burlesque house existence to one on the glitzy new stages of Las Vegas.  Miss St. Cyr dressed and undressed herself very finely, testifying in 1951that she currently had $4,200 invested in her costumes and $11,750 in her props!  After retiring from the stage, she went on to open her own line of high-end, mail-order lingerie like the garments she wore onstage; packages were delivered tantalizingly marked “Intimate Secrets by Lili St. Cyr.”

As a burlesque queen, Lili St. Cyr reigned over Montreal’s thriving nightclub scene for most of the 1940s, but in the early 1950s, a campaign to clean up the nightlife was sweeping the city.  Religious groups began protesting about Lili’s show, claiming that “a stench of sexual frenzy plagues the theater the whole time this dancer’s exhibition lasts” and demanding that the authorities ban any shows given by her in the city of Montreal.  Although the police initially observed her performances at The Gayety and decided there was no cause for action, public pressure eventually drove officials to re-examine the existing laws dealing with performance and public morality.  As a result, Lili received a summons to appear in court to “answer charges under a section of the Criminal Code dealing with offensive, immoral, or indecent exhibitions,” in 1951.  The evidence offered against her was rather flimsy and Miss St. Cyr was acquitted, with the judge noting, “It seems to me that those who made the most noise here today were persons who didn’t even see the performance complained of.”  As Lili herself told a reporter, “everyone has a right to his opinion, but a lot of people are prejudiced who would not be if they could see my act.  I don’t like vulgarity – I think it is ugly – and on the burlesque circuit they think I’m high-hat.”

Naturally, the brouhaha only served as publicity for her, as is usually the case with these matters.  The victory was celebrated in an article from Commerce Montreal, which described Lili’s performance thusly: “With a sparkling light she executes the most fantastic dances of eternal theme…She gives a wake-up to adolescence, a stimulant to the young man, comfort to the middle-aged man, sweet memory to the old man…Lili is the goddess of love reincarnate.”  The article also warned that if the reformers triumphed the city would not only lose its reputation as the capital of nightlife, but millions of tourist dollars as well.  Unfortunately, the Commerce’s advice went unheeded, The Gayety was shut down, and Lili St. Cyr moved on…to Las Vegas.

That same year, the Special Committee on Organized Crime in Interstate Commerce led an investigation on political corruption, the Mafia, and its connection with strip joints.  As the U.S. drifted out of war times and into the family-focused fifties, public consensus about decency took a conservative swing and the pin-ups and burlesque dancers who had been praised for helping to win the war were now being told to cover up.  Even Sin City wasn’t yet ready for St. Cyr; her act was in interrupted at El Rancho and she was arrested in September of 1951.  She was let out on $1,000 bail, skipped her hearing, and hoofed it to Los Angeles.

In L.A. Lili had been headlining a swanky Hollywood club, Ciro’s, where she entertained the likes of Dean Martin, Ronald Reagan, and Humphrey Bogart with her famous bubble bath, even selling her own line of bubble bath in the gift shop.  Although Lili kept herself covered by bubbles, a bath towel, or her ladies’ maid, there were those who took umbrage to her act.  In October 1951, club owner Herbert Hover and Lili St. Cyr were arrested, and her g-string and net bra seized for evidence.  The charges were giving an indecent performance and lewdly exposing her person.  Despite the insistence of the club’s publicist that the whole debacle had been an orchestrated media stunt, the D.A. pursued the case and Lili hired renowned defense attorney Jerry Giesler.  Giesler had already successfully defended Charlie Chaplin, Errol Flynn, and gangster Bugsy Siegel, just to name a few.  He noted, of his tendency to take cases revolving around sex, “It’s because sex is not only one of the facts of life, it’s also – at least in my experience – one of the most prevalent bases of legal strife.”  Giesler insisted that Lili’s act was artistic and refined and requested that her jurors be made up of “people capable of judging such things on their artistic merit.”  Accusations against Lili included that her towel was see-through, which was refuted by examination of the towel in question, and that her dance involved a pelvic bump.  Captain Walker Hannon described this hip motion as “Mae West wiggles” and the short, rotund Hover, when asked to demonstrate a bump, shyly sent the courtroom into fits of laughter.  Captain Sutton testified that he had not seen either bumps or grinds and the jury soon acquitted Lili, after which she stated, “This is a real victory for the profession.”  Once again, the trial increased her fame and the Hollywood Report gossip column ranked her with Lana Turner and Ava Gardner in their Pucker-Up Poll, while an ad for Ciro’s touted, “See What Hollywood Saw! – Was the Jury Right?”

Lili, whom journalist Walter Winchell said outstripped even Gypsy Rose Lee, stated, “If I do demoralize an audience, as some people say, then I’m glad I do it.  People need a loosening up.  Most of the people in this country are hypocritical, too many put on a front of being shocked at certain kinds of behavior.  It’s a joke to think I could demoralize anyone with this little act.  If one has morals, then they can’t be taken away by me or anyone else.”  As the line goes in The Rocky Horror Picture Show, “God bless Lili St. Cyr!”

More on Lili St Cyr

Burlesque Legends : Candy Barr

By: Hella Goode

If I had to come up with the recipe for Candy Barr’s candy bar, it would have to include coconuts, white chocolate, ruby red frosting, some illegal substances and a dark gooey and mysterious center. Oh, and it would have to have some pot somewhere in there too. Why? Well, these ingredients, in the right combination would be the story of Ms. Juanita Dale Slusher, a. k. a. Candy Barr’s life.

Juanita was one of our own, a Texas girl, born on July 6, of 1935 in Edna of humble beginnings. She was barely into her teens when she made history as what some would say was the first ever pornographic movie. She was only 15 at the time. Some say it was willingly, others say it wasn’t. Needless to say, Smart Aleck (1951) isn’t exactly available on Netflix to decide for yourself.

At that point, she was still Juanita Dale Slusher. Her dark center was there, but she was still working on her sweet exterior, what would earn her the stage name Candy Barr and the adoration of many.

A short time later, she began working at Dallas’ own Weinstein’s Theater. Weinstein saw that with the right wrapper, Slusher could be a sensation. He encouraged her to become a blonde and named her Candy Barr.

Candy had undeniable appeal and signature talent, known for her spicy and risqué cowboy outfits and for her association with gangsters and bad boys. She later worked as a dancer at Jack Ruby’s Las Vegas Club. Unfortunately for her, Ruby had a dark center himself, later becoming infamous as the man who gunned down Lee Harvey Oswald before his trial for assassinating President John F. Kennedy. Candy was interrogated about her association with Jack Ruby after the assassination, and cleared of having any prior knowledge of the events.

Despite her innocent name, it seemed Candy Barr just couldn’t stay out of trouble, with or without a bad boy on her arm. She apparently had a taste for pot brownies, just without the brownies. She was busted for possession more than once and even spent time within the notorious prison walls of Huntsville in 1959. Huntsville’s Prison Museum features a Candy Barr in their most infamous inmates display to date. Ironically enough she did time for the brownie-less pot brownies, but not for shooting a violent husband.

Ran Away From Home 9th grade
Assault with a Deadly Weapon (Jan-1956), charges dropped
Drug Possession: Marijuana Texas (Oct-1957)
Violating Bail Los Angeles, CA (30-Apr-1959)
Pardoned by Texas Governor John B. Connally (1967)
Drug Possession: Marijuana Brownwood, TX (1969), case dismissed

She was highly successful as a pinup model for pretty much every magazine there was in the 1950’s and danced everywhere from Dallas to Los Angeles to Las Vegas. She married and divorced multiple times then going on to be the true arm Candy to gangster Mickey Cohen as well.

Then like many entertainers, she went back to her roots, went underground and lived quietly during her later years working regular jobs and blending in with the crowd. She tired of the attention and just wanted to be herself again.

So that is exactly who she was, herself, right up until December 30, 2005 where she succumbed to pneumonia in Victoria, Texas.

RIP Stay sweet, Candy Barr.
December 25, 2009 http://www.Streetswing.com/histburl/1index0.htm eMail:
StreetSwing.com

The Pin Curl staff had the good fortune to be able to celebrate Satan’s Angel’s birthday with her at the New Orleans Burlesque Festival last month. This month the legendary Devil’s Own Mistress dishes about her start in burlesque, the arrest of Wonder Woman, gumbo and the burlesque revival.

By: Divertida Devotchka

After graduating high school, Satan’s Angel worked as an operator directing calls for $99 every two weeks. One day she went with friends (using fake Ids, of course) to an amateur stripping contest at a North Beach night club, and after seeing the winner make more than her entire 2-week paycheck, she came to the next amateur night, competed, and won! She continued to win the amateur contests until she was hired full time as a dancer.

In her career, she followed Bob Hope’s U.S.O. shows in Vietnam and entertained armed forces in Guam several times. She also appeared on Gypsy Rose Lee’s television show, performed with the Folies Bergére in Paris, and worked with Harold Minsky, Ann Corio, Barry Ashton, and many more. She is the originator of fire tassel-twirling and has lit her tassels approximately 25,000 times all over the world.  She came out of retirement in 2000 to produce her one-woman play, “Have Tassels Will Travel” and she’s performed at every Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend since 2003. In 2007, she won “America’s Most Outrageous Talent” on the Maury Povich show, and she’s also received the Legend award for lifetime achievement in burlesque at the Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend 2009.

Burlesque legends often mention that in the past there were numerous club raids and performers being arrested for obscenity or lewd behavior. Were you ever arrested in relation to performing?

I was arrested in Guam for lewd and mischievous behavior while performing my Wonder Woman routine. My costume had a g-string, bikini panties, a bodysuit, and blue shorts, so four total layers. During my performance while I was still wearing the full costume, I put my foot on the shoulder of a man in the audience, and almost immediately two goons came and grabbed me! It almost caused a riot because a lot of the guys watching the show were Marines who were willing to fight on my behalf.  That’s the only time in my life that I have been arrested.  I still have my citation and the newspaper clipping about my arrest, which was on the front page!

Your name led to lots of attempts at censorship and caused issues with PR and booking, right? What other names did venue owners/show producers try to call you? Did “Satan” really cause that much of a stir?

I really wanted to use the name “Hell’s Angel,” but no one would put something like that on the marquee or in any advertising. I chose Satan’s Angel instead to avoid that issue, but that name still caused problems. My name still causes a stir today. It’s mellowed out a lot but I still get a lot of flack. Even this year if there are blogs or newspaper articles online about me, there’s always comments from concerned readers calling me a “devil worshiper” and saying that they’ll pray for me! As far as other names I was called, they tried to book me as “Satana” Angel (like Tura Satana, and I didn’t like that because I wanted to be respectful of the performer with that name. You just couldn’t use another girl’s name like that.) They’d also use “Satin Angel” (even though there were 2 other performers using that name.) At least two venues put a name on the marquee that wasn’t mine.

The Pin Curl Magazine staff was lucky enough to celebrate your birthday with you at the New Orleans Burlesque Festival. Was it an enjoyable one?

Yeah, I was drinking pretty good on my birthday! I got to eat oysters and Spooky LeStrange made me some homemade spicy gumbo! Performing with Trixie Minx and Fleur de Tease at the Boomtown Casino was an interesting experience since we weren’t allowed to take anything off. It was a lot like the old days where you knew that if you couldn’t take anything off you had better be a good dancer.

I was glad to go to New Orleans to party but also to see how it looks after Katrina. I really think I’ll be dead before that town fully recovers from that. I mean they’re working on it, but the old city is gone. The city and the people are fighters, and burlesque is alive and doing very well!

What are your fondest memories in your performing career?

Gypsy Rose Lee was really great to work for. I remember, she comes up to me and she says “Let me see you in my dressing room in 15 minutes.” And I thought, “Oh god I’ve upset the queen of burlesque, the one and only.” So I go in there and she says, “You remind me of myself, kid.” I said, “thank you, that’s a great honor.” She said ‘’you’ve got moxie.” I said “thanks, I took that from you.” That’s where that came from- from her. Gypsy Rose Lee wasn’t the most beautiful woman in the world; she made herself into that, and it’s because of her that I learned that you don’t have to be the most gorgeous woman in the world or the world’s best dancer or singer. You just have the guts to get out there and do your thing. To stand on stage with your fist raised in the air, saying “I’m not staying home and raising kids, working as a waitress, or whatever,” (because that was all you had then). It’s getting up there and saying “Here I am! I am a woman and I am beautiful!”

Gypsy gave me a dusty pink feather fan of hers, which I still have to this day in a box. It needs to be re-glued and repaired, but you know what, it’s Gypsy Rose Lee’s, so I just try to preserve it as best I can.

I also really loved performing in Japan. We were backed by a twenty-piece orchestra, the theater sat 5,000 people, and there was this waterfall behind the stage, so you’d be performing and the water would trickle down and you’d be up there feeling just like the queen of the world, like a goddess or Zeus!

Another memory of mine is one that I talk about in my storytelling. When the first carrier coming from Vietnam (USS Carrier Ranger) came into the San Francisco bay, we raced out on a little tugboat called the Salmon Queen. All these soldiers started shouting “we want the topless” and so of course, I did my patriotic duty and I showed those boys my goods! So then we hear the Coast Guard announcing, “Ma’am please put your top back on. You are breaking the law!” from a boat. So I put my top back on and hauled ass out of there!

Who inspired you as a performer?

I got balls from Gypsy Rose Lee, the glitz and glamour from Mae West, the class from Lili St. Cyr.

In an article about burlesque in Time Magazine in April of 1970, you were quoted saying, “It will never be the same again. I’ll never be a Tempest Storm or a Lili St. Cyr. Burlesque is dead.” Forty years have passed since the publication of that article, and you’re still performing. Do you still think burlesque is dead? Or has it been revived? If it’s been revived, to whom should we attribute the revival?

What I meant was that I could never be a Lili or a Tempest and I really felt that their era was gone and it would never come back.

I absolutely believe it’s been revived. The Montreal Burlesque Festival was just like the old days. I would attribute the revival basically to Jennie Lee, who passed in 1990, and Dixie Evans and whoever they have helping them. It’s definitely coming back. It’s different now, but it’s back.

Cattiness, rivalry and similar shenanigans are known to happen in the industry. Did you have any experiences with costume/prop sabotage, fighting, or the like?

In my day, when you didn’t like someone or if you had a problem with a girl, you’d just wait til after the show, get in their face and tell them how you feel. And if they got a little over the top, you’d punch ‘em in the nose. I never got into fights. If anyone didn’t like me, they never told me.

How does the current burlesque generation compare to the one before it? By that I mean, what are we doing well? What do we still need to learn from you and your fellow industry pioneers?

I’ll tell you what you’re doing well, you’re keeping it alive! That’s the most important thing! I don’t know how to explain what you need to learn, but I always tell the girls who take my classes that you have to remember that it’s not about the destination; it’s about the journey. The tease, the charisma. Really looking at them and playing with the audience. That and you’ve got to work your best assets, whatever they may be.

Burlesque Legend Wild Cherry talks New Orleans, burlesque revivals, and “taking it outside”.

By: Divertida Devotchka

New Orleans burlesque legend Wild Cherry grew up travelling the carnival circuit with her family, and her first performances were carnival girlie shows.  She began dancing in New Orleans night clubs in the late 1950s. “I just wanted to make a living, because I had not had any formal schooling.” explains Cherry.  Her stage name was given to her by a club owner who found it was befitting of her feisty personality. Cherry danced in various clubs throughout the French Quarter over the years and has fond memories of dancing, drinking, and of course, fighting. According to Cherry, there were certainly some clubs she didn’t stay at for very long. “I worked at some clubs with bad reputations- girls fighting a lot, and some managers even hit the girls. That never happened to me though,” Cherry said.  “Maybe because my name put them off, I don’t know.”

There’s known to be intermittent cattiness and drama in some aspects of the burlesque scene, but Wild Cherry says things are nothing like they used to be. “There wasn’t a lot of that catfight stuff. Nah, these girls were pretty rough,” Cherry said in an interview with Rick Delaup, producer of New Orleans’ own Bustout Burlesque and the New Orleans Burlesque Festival. “And if they did decide they didn’t like somebody, in theaters I’ve seen, they would take a rolling pin and a light bulb, and grind that glass up fine like a powder and put it in your face powder. They would put shoe polish in the eye mascara tube. They could get really rough. They didn’t play.”

I found the “crushed glass in the face powder” gag to be rather shocking, so when I asked Cherry about it in our interview, she casually replied, “Well, I was glad I didn’t use powder, for one thing! I used pancake makeup instead and I suppose I would have seen crushed glass in that.”

In recent years, Wild Cherry has performed in several of the Burlesque Hall of Fame weekend Legends showcases, as well as performing occasionally with New Orleans troupe Fleur de Tease, and she’s also done a comedic monologue in some Bustout Burlesque shows. She’ll be appearing again at this year’s New Orleans Burlesque Festival, where she will participate in panel discussions and sign autographs. I asked Cherry for her opinion about the current boom in modern burlesque.  “There are girls out there who are bringing back the classic style and I’m excited about that,” Cherry said. “There are troupes all over doing that now, thank God. But I’m dead set against most of the new Bourbon Street. So many girls just go on stage and stroll around begging for money. Most of them don’t even dance, and some of them may be good at working the pole, but soliciting money has no part in burlesque.”

According to Cherry, burlesque isn’t the only thing that she has seen change over the years. She was known for being “scrappy” and argumentative, and admittedly used to go looking for fights some nights as an outlet for her rage. “I don’t go looking for trouble like I used to. People who knew me before would definitely think I’ve mellowed out over the years,” Cherry said. She may be calmer these days, but the old Cherry is still in there, and is known to make an appearance from time to time, much to the chagrin of her family. “I haven’t been in a good fight in years, but I wouldn’t back down from one even today, doesn’t matter if it’s a man or a woman. A few years ago I embarrassed my granddaughter in Wal-Mart because I was threatened by two young women and I said, ‘Let’s take it outside.’ Of course, the girls backed down.”

God Bless Lili St. Cyr!

By: Hella Goode

“God bless Lili St. Cyr!” Janet belts out in the mock-burlesque musical number “Wild and Untamed Thing” in the movie Rocky Horror Picture Show. I tried for years to figure out what she was saying. Thanks, Pin Curl, for guiding me to my answer.

Mike Wallace interviewed the legendary burlesque striptease icon, Lili St. Cyr in October of 1957 expecting to meet a run of the mill, heart of gold, bad girl who is really a good girl who fell into an unfortunate lifestyle according to standards of the day. What he found was something entirely different. He met a brutally honest woman who had no qualms answering his questions of how she really felt about her profession and herself.

Lili St. Cyr, born Willis Marie Van Schaack, on June 18, 1918 in Minneapolis, MN into a family where she wasn’t necessarily wanted or needed. Her unstable childhood, although still producing an intelligent, beautiful and talented woman seemed to have left its mark on her self-esteem.

St. Cyr never really aspired to become a burlesque star. Lili was first hired as a dancer by accident. She accompanied her sister to an audition and was offered a job as well. She danced at venues such as Florentine Gardens and the Music Box, and began to concoct her own signature style of fanciful and creative numbers beyond simply removing clothing. Anyone can do that. St. Cyr created storylines in her routines that came to be what voyeurs expected from her, to be enticed, but also entertained. One such move was the ‘Flying G’ in which her G string would be caught by a fishing rod and pull her off stage. Some of her most well-known numbers were “Jungle Goddess,” “Persian Harem,” and “Ballet Dancer,” the latter in which she incorporated the years of ballet lessons from her youth.

Lili St. Cyr was photographer, Bruno Bernard’s muse, too. She was also in a few films, but usually as a striptease artist and was not granted acting roles that other actresses were offered. She was meant for live performance and continued to wow audiences with routines that included bubble baths and even a backward strip. In the backward strip, St. Cyr entered the stage barely covered and would provocatively redress herself.

This backward strip might have been symbolic of her struggles with her self-esteem and her career. Audiences applaud at the end of an act, so if they could applaud her for being herself and fully-clothed, she might begin to feel legitimized about her career again.

In the Wallace interview, after about 15 years in the scantily-clad spotlight, Lili admits she wasn’t proud of what she was doing for a living and was embarrassed by it. She expressed wanting to leave the business but needed to support herself. Sadly, she did not feel herself capable of doing anything else to make a living. St. Cyr, married at the time, wanted to quit her lusty life of burlesque as soon as she could be supported by her husband at the time. He was one of six she had in her lifetime.

Lili also admitted to not being part of any major religion and had no desire to bear children. In the 1950’s coming out with these statements instead of slopping frosting on her feelings to say that of course she one day dreamed of dancing around the kitchen surrounded by babies and attend church in her best every Sunday, was somewhat shocking.

These were not rash statements Ms. St. Cyr gave. They were truth. In Kelly DiNardo’s biographical book on the star, Gilded Lili, she reveals that she has had more than one abortion. Grief after an abortion as well as low-self esteem or failed marriages, or disconnect in her family life or all of these factors may have lead her to experiment with heroin. However, Lili herself had said that using was part of the Hollywood lifestyle and that some did it for attention from others, and others still to have a non-existent moment of privacy in the public eye.

She continued to battle with heroin years later and was seen less and less in public. She died January 29, 1999 in Los Angeles at the age of 80 (thus not a death likely caused by heroin, more likely from old age), but like a stained shroud, left her mark in burlesque herstory.

For the above mentioned Interview with Miss St. Cyr, please click here.