We can finally, appropriately honor and remember the thousands of men and women—only a small portion that have been highlighted here that made burlesque such an integral, if often marginalized, part of American history.
As Alan Alda remembers, “They were not just hardworking, but artists, some of them.”
**
Finally, as a testament to the strippers’ influence one need only read the letters sent to them during the wars by American troops overseas. The men in uniform wrote the strippers, pouring their hearts out and asking for photos:
“The picture sure is grand and it helped to give us the inspiration to carry on the best we knew how.... don’t let anyone tell you you didn’t do your part in this war, because you did and you have one gang who appreciates it. Thanks sincerely the Radio Gang.”
1942: “All the boys here in camp have someone that they hold as their, you might say ‘dream girl,’ and so I made you mine, do you mind very much.”
1945 from the South Pacific: “Saw your picture . . . we were in pretty rough water at the time and believe me when I saw that picture of you the old sea calmed right down for me.”
“Our organization was recently attached to another outfit in Calcutta, India. They had a picture of you pinned to the wall in the Transportation Dept. We feel that the efficiency and morale of the organization will be greatly improved if you send us a print.”
France, 1944: “Since I saw your beautiful picture... I have been so upset that I almost failed to dodge an 88. (Incidentally 88’s is a type of artillery weapon used by the Jerries.) I only hope you can read this letter as am wrighting [sic] by candle light, while listening to 88’s sing a weird sinister tune.”
The last G-string has been dropped, the last drum roll struck, the applause fades. The burlesque house is dark.
Goodnight.
Burlesque: a big gaudy show
CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
A Burly Timeline
1866 The Black Crook performs to sold-out audiences
1869 The British Blondes invade the shores of America
1890 Chorus girls added to the end of shows
1893 Hoochie coochie dancers, Little Egypt performs at Columbian Exposition in Chicago
1899 Watson’s Beef Trust—the fat girls rule the stage
1900 Inception of the Columbia Wheel and Empire Circuit
1905–06 The wheel split into eastern and western circuits
1910 Stock burlesque invented
1917 Abe Minsky introduces the runway to his theatre; Mae Dix removed a collar and cuffs
1920s Striptease emphasized in shows
1925 Raid at Minsky’s
1931 Burlesque goes to Broadway
1933 Chicago World’s Fair introduces fan dancing with Sally Rand and Faith Bacon
1937 LaGuardia bans burlesque in New York City
1939 The worst of the Depression is over
1941 With WWII there is a surge in attendance at the burlesque houses as soldiers line up
1946 The bikini is invented
1948 The Milton Berle television show airs
1953 The Old Howard closed because of Rose la Rose flashing
1969 Denmark legalizes pornography
1972 Deep Throat hits theatres
Burly in the Sky
Since May of 2006 in Las Vegas, we’ve lost many of our friends. As Lee Stuart emailed me, they’ve “passed on to the big Burlesque stage, wherever it may be.”
Carmela Rickman
Beverly Anderson
Lee Stuart
Tony Midnight
Mimi Reed
Sheila Rae
Terry Mixon
Sherry Britton
Mike Iannucci
Sunny Dare
Al Baker, Jr.
Joan Arline
Nat Bodian
Harry Lloyd
Helen Imbrugia
Works Cited
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Burke, Carolyn. Lee Miller: A Life. New York: Knopf, 2005. Print.
Cohn, Art. The Joker Is Wild; the Story of Joe E. Lewis. New York: Random House, 1955. Print.
Collyer, Martin. Burlesque: The Baubles... Bangles... Babes. New York: Lancer, 1964. Print.
Corio, Ann, and Joseph DiMona. This Was Burlesque. New York: Madison Square, 1968. Print.
Costello, Chris, and Raymond Strait. Lou’s on First: A Biography. New York: St. Martin’s, 1981. Print.
Davis, Janet, ed. Circus Queen & Tinker Bell. Urbana: University of Illinois, 2008. Print.
DiNardo, Kelly. Gilded Lili: Lili St. Cyr and the Striptease Mystique. New York: Back Stage, 2007. Print.
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Friedmann, Josh Alan. Tales of Times Square. Portland: Feral House, 1986. Print.
Genat, Robert. Woodward Avenue: Cruising the Legendary Strip. North Branch, MN: CarTech, 2010. Print.
Giesler, Jerry, and Pete Martin. Hollywood Lawyer: The Jerry Giesler Story. New York: Perma, 1962. Print.
Giesler, Jerry, and Pete Martin. The Jerry Giesler Story. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960. Print.
Gorer, Geoffrey. Hot Strip Tease and Other Notes on American Culture. London: Cresset, 1937. Print.
Granlund, N. X, Sid Felder, and Ralph Hancock. Blondes, Brunettes, and Bullets. New York: D. McKay, 1957. Print.
Hanley, Tullah. Love of Art & Art of Love. San Francisco: Piper, 1975. Print.
Havoc, June. Early Havoc. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1959. Print.
Havoc, June. More Havoc. New York: Harper & Row, 1980. Print.
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Knox, Holly. Sally Rand, from Film to Fans. Bend, OR: Maverick Publications, 1988. Print.
Kruh, David. Scollay Square. Charleston, SC: Arcadia Pub., 2004. Print.
Minsky, Morton, and Milt Machlin. Minsky’s Burlesque. NY: Arbor House, 1986. Print.
Mizejewski, Linda. Ziegfeld Girl: Image and Icon in Culture and Cinema. Durham, NC: Duke UP, 1999. Print.
Murray, Ken. The Body Merchant: The Story of Earl Carroll. Pasadena, CA: W. Ritchie, 1976. Print.
Peretti, Burton W. Nightclub City: Politics and Amusement in Manhattan. Philadelphia, PA: University of Pennsylvania, 2011. Print.
Preminger, Erik Lee. Gypsy & Me: At Home and on the Road with Gypsy Rose Lee. Boston: Little, Brown, 1984. Print.
Preminger, Erik Lee. My G-String Mother: At Home and Backstage with Gypsy Rose Lee. Berkeley, CA: Frog, 2004. Print.
Rich, Lucille. No Hells or Damns Allowed. N.p.: Self, 2001. Print.
Roach, Smith Marion. The Roots of Desire: The Myth, Meaning, and Sexual Power of Red Hair. New York: Bloomsbury, 2005. Print.
Rose Lee, Gypsy. Gypsy: Memoirs of America’s Most Celebrated Stripper. Berkeley: Frog, 1957. Print.
Rothe, Len. The Bare Truth—Stars of Burlesque of the ’40s and ’50s. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub., 1998. Print.
Rothe, Len. The Queens of Burlesque: Vintage Photographs of the 1940s and 1950s. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Pub., 1997. Print.
Rothman, Hal, and Mike Davis. The Grit beneath the Glitter: Tales from the Real Las Vegas. Berkeley: University of California, 2002. Print.
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Schwarz, Ted, and Mardi Rustam. Candy Barr: The Small-Town Texas Runaway Who Became a Darling of the Mob and the Queen of Las Vegas Burlesque. Lanham: Taylor Trade Pub., 2008. Print.
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Untold History of the Girlie Show. New York: Oxford UP, 2004. Print.
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Starr, Blaze, and Huey Perry. Blaze Starr: My Life as Told to Huey Perry. New York: Pocket, 1989. Print.
Stencell, A. W. Girl Show: Into the Canvas World of Bump and Grind. Toronto: ECW, 1999. Print.
Storm, Tempest, and Bill Boyd. Tempest Storm: The Lady Is a Vamp. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree, 1987. Print.
Sullivan, Steve. Va Va Vooml: Bombshells, Pin-Ups, Sexpots and Glamour Girls. Los Angeles: General Pub. Group, 1995. Print.
Terkel, Studs. Hard Times: An Oral History of the Great Depression. New York: Pantheon, 1970. Print.
Weller, Sheila. Dancing at Ciro’s: A Family’s Love, Loss, and Scandal on the Sunset Strip. New York: St. Martin’s, 2003. Print.
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Acknowledgements
I have an abundance of thank yous due. I am truly grateful for all those that took the journey with me behind and in front of the camera. Your support and belief has been tremendous. Sheri Hellard for taking this journey with me, plane rides, early hours and all! I couldn’t have done it without you by my side, holding that camera for some of the wackiest adventures I think we’ll ever have.
My friend Donnalee Austen, the best producer in the world. Dianna Miranda-Buck, always an inspiration and a “can-do” kind of friend. Toni Bentley, a beautiful, brave author and a fountain of information and support and great stories. Michelle Bega, all our plotting and planning over lunches at e. baldi always pays off. You are my champion.
First Run Pictures for getting the film out to audiences. Jackie Levine for your fearless support and many phone calls to the “powers that be.” The Card Sharks: you keep me laughing and inspire me. Pat Carroll, thank you for your constant nuggets of information of little-known facts you dig up—a much bigger thank you is coming for the next book.
Melaine Britton, Sherry’s memories and things are my touchstones; thank you for entrusting them to me. Thank you to Val Valentine in particular and April March, and others who kept me supplied with stories, pictures, and scrapbooks. Betty Rowland for trusting your sisters’ stories with me. For a little bit of a thing, you are a powerhouse. Thank you Lillian Kiernan Brown and your daughter Katherine Kiernan Fries. Lily, your courage and enthusiasm and support of me is tremendous.
Dorothy Colman, a fan of burlesque and these women, connected me to many and shared stories I wouldn’t have otherwise heard. Danny Passman and the gang at Gang, Tyre, Ramer & Brown—you’ve done a lot to see this in print. My editor Jennifer McCartney—you got it—your enthusiasm and belief in the burly folks is astounding. Thank you Oleg and Christina at Skyhorse Publishing for doing everything and all to get this to the broad audience these “broads” deserve.
Morgan McDonald, who tries to keep me organized—a herculean task. Thank you to the ImageMovers family—Derek, Will, Monique, Matt, Jack, and Steve, and in memorium, Sharon Felder. To Zane, Rhys, and Zsa Zsa, I owe you an apology for hours and days spent elsewhere. And not least, by any means, grazie milk to my love, my husband Bob, who is an inspiration and always says “do it.” I couldn’t without you.
Source Notes
INTRODUCTION
“this travesty originated what was to be called legitimate burlesque.” Pg 12 of Bernard Sobel’s Burleycue, A Pictorial History Of Burlesque.
“people in that era...” Dixie Evans interview with author
CHAPTER ONE
“audiences - it was always full.” Mimi Reed interview with author
“they were there to have fun.” Maria Bradley interview with author
“everyone thought we were preoccupied...” Val Valentine interview with author
“were no big American stars” Rachel Shteir interview with author - and rest of chapter
“legitimized” August 1954 Uncensored Magazine
“variety act with a little more spice.” Renny von Muchow interview with author.
“burlesque was essentially a vaudeville ...” Nat Bodian interview with author
“its actually who you are . . .” Dixie Evans interview with author and rest of chapter
“I just knew I was gonna be a famous movie star” Lady Midnight interview author and the rest of her quotes in chapter
“it was a job” Lorraine Lee interview with author- and the rest of her quotes in chapter
“we didn’t have books” blaze Starr interview with author
“wicked stepmother” Helen Imbrugia interview with author
“because I worked in black light” Candy Cotton interview with author
“it was a time where people couldn’t get work . . .” Alan Alda interview with author. And rest of chapter
“minks, sables...” Tempest Storm interview with author
“it was called the poor man’s” Mike Iannucci interview with author - and rest of chapter
“No. Because everyone was working in it.” Betty Rowland interview with author. “there was a time when you could fill an opera” interview with Alexandra the great 48 with author
“if there was a chorus line, they usually did a nice build up” Joni Taylor interview with author
“I was part of that” Sherry Britton interview with author
“it wasn’t considered a great art form” John Perilli interview with author
“I don’t think people know where to put strippers ...” Kelly DiNardo interview with author.
CHAPTER TWO
“My mother found out.. “Joni Taylor interview with author
“I’m not gonna do too long...” Sunny Dare speaking at the Las Vegas reunion 2006.
“many of us were not too catty” Vicki O’Day interview with author.
“broke into show business” Lorraine Lee at the Vegas reunion
“My stepmother said...” Lady Midnight at the Vegas reunion
“I started in a chorus line” Candy Cotton at the Vegas reunion
“I was born on the carnival” Sunny Dare at the Vegas reunion
“I started in the carnival” Daphne Lake at the Vegas reunion
“We rehearsed between shows” Joni Taylor at the Vegas reunion.
CHAPTER THREE
“I was embarrassed” Beverly Anderson Traube interview with author - and rest of chapter
CHAPTER FOUR
“Even my husband “Joan Arline interview with author
“My mother always wished ...” Candy Cotton interview with author
“Mother thought it was beautiful” Kitty West interview with author.
“strip all the way” April March interview with author
“How am I gonna tell him what I’m doing?” Rita Grable interview with author.
“but they never saw it either” Sequin interview with author
“You knew about the stigma” Dixie Evans interview with author and rest of chapter
“didn’t all come from bad” Val Valentine interview with author
CHAPTER FIVE
“I threw up” Terry Mixon interview with author
“You want to try a strip” Betty Rowland interview with author
“willful removing of one’s clothes” Sobel, Burleycue:
“forgetting to don her body” Vaudeville Encyclopedia page 304
Billy ordered the “accident” Morton Minsky book page 34
“Mademoiselle Fifi was the one” Rachel Shteir interview with author and all her other quotes in chapter
Demanding their girls “accidentally” HM Alexander’s Strip tease
“four times” Aug Uncensored Magazine
/> “disaster” Beverly Anderson interview with author
“would you like to go into burlesque” Rita Grable interview with author
“The first time I stripped” Lady Midnight interview with author
“From being a chorus girl I went” Candy Cotton interview with author
“You’re going on” Terry Mixon interview with author
“I was afraid I’d fall off the stage” Alexandra the great 48 interview with author
“terrififed” Dixie Evans interview with author
“joined the Sally Rand” Sunny Dare interview with author
“my first act, the women” Vicki O’Day interview with author
“In those days we didn’t” Kitty West interview with author
“weren’t really actresses” Rachel Shteir interview with author
CHAPTER SIX
“I didn’t bump and grind” Joni Taylor interview with author
“It was an amazing” Prof. Janet Davis interview with author
“The circus created the midway” James Taylor interview with author OR James Taylor in Bound by Flesh
“market itself as” Prof Janet Davis of the University of Texas at Austin, interview with author
“people on the margins” Professor Janet Davis interview with author
“I really did. I went with a” Dixie Evans interview with author
“I went to the girls show” Daphne Lake interview with author
“carnival life” Candy Cotton interview with author
CHAPTER SEVEN
“She was nude” Prof Janet Davis interview with author and all the other quotes in this chapter
“train them for support” Jewish Women’s Archive (online) article entitled “Clara de Hirsch Home for Working Girls” by Reena Sigman Friedman
“sound American” Prof Janet Davis interview with author
“douche bag” Prof Janet Davis interview with author
“Sometimes hands...” Prof Janet Davis interview with author
Behind the Burly Q Page 36