Starting a Video Clip feature on Burlesque - Strippers - Tassel Twirlers - Pole Dancers - Erotic Dancers. From 30s vintage to the present.
Once in a while the complete routine/act of a forgotten, unnamed stripper in some long gone downtown dive would captured for posterity in a series of still shots. Occasionally a forgotten 1940s-50s dancer would be fortunate to have her whole act actually filmed. Of course closer to the present many more strippers have been videoed. This new feature will showcase some of this archival footage and current acts.
The first dancer up is especially interesting to me because she looks like the gal next door and she could (with a modern routine) be on an exotic dance stage today. She is petite and compact and goes against the grain of the curvacious and overly bosomy look that was apparently appealing (judging buy contemporary advertising) in the 30s, 40s, and 50s, to male audiences.
Burlesque Dancing - Red Haired Riot! - circa 1940 - CharlieDeanArchives / Archival Footage
A fascinating burlesque number performed by Yvonne Marthay from the 1950s. In this glimpse back to the past we get to see Yvonne Marthay do her dance routine.
Yvonne Marthay
Patti Waggin was born Patricia Artae Hardwick in 1926. Patti attended Chico State where she studied dance and acting. She found she could make extra money and moonlight in nearby San Francisco by performing in burlesque. She married ball player Don Rudolph in 1955.
By this time she had changed her image around 1950 and took the stage name Patti Waggin, given her by her manager Lillian Hunt. She also considered Patti Cake. She performed with a troupe in Hawaii called the Hollywood Debs and then hit the burlesque circuit where she stayed until about 1960.
Old School Burlesque Striptease - PATTI WAGGIN - The Parisian Pickup Act
Ann Corio (November 29, 1909 – March 1, 1999) was a prominent American burlesque stripper and actress. Ann Corio's original surname was Coiro. She changed her name to Corio for stage purposes and because some family members did not approve of her profession.
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| Ann Corio |
In 1962 Ann put together the nostalgic off-Broadway show This Was Burlesque which she directed and in which also performed. She took This Was Burlesque out on the summer stock circuit for several seasons. In 1985, she mounted the show for the second to last time in downtown Los Angeles, at the Variety Arts Theatre, where it did not have a good run. A year or so later, the show played a dinner theatre in Florida, where it closed for good. Below is a portion of Corio's This Was Burlesque.
Ann Corio's This Was Burlesque - Phoenix Flame, Tassel Twirler
News Item about Phoenix Flame from 1977:
A dancer in Ann Corios The Was Burlesque has been charged with violating an anti-nudity ordinance in Albany, N.Y., by dancing topless in the play at a suburban summer theater. Phoenix M. Kostera, 26, of Greenville, Ind., known on stage as Phoenix Flame, was arrested for her four-minute performance at the opening Monday night. Also arrested was Gloria Lamere, 50, general manager of the Colonie Coliseum, where the burlesque revival is playing. She was charged with allowing topless dancing. Both women were released on $25 bond.
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