1 Legends Panel 2013 Complete Transcript

Jo Weldon: Welcome to the Legends Q&A. This is one of my favorite parts of the weekend and I am so honored to be a part of it and I just wanted to let you know this event is sponsored by BronyCon which is an education convention that takes place in Seattle every year and its really amazing to be a teacher and be here with the people from whom I learned. Even the people that don’t know that I learned from you. I have been copying you moves and stealing your stuff for as long as I can remember and every time that I teach students I talk about coming here and meeting legends and the things that I learned and the lessons to be learned because I really want people to think of Burlesque as something with a history, as an art form with technique and styles and rules of its own. So it’s been immeasurably valuable for me to be able to tell the students to come here and about three years ago I was at the Burlesque Hall Of Fame and I was sitting here with all the legends behind me and here was a bunch of people in front of me I was like, oh my God I am the definition of a middle aged to the students in the audience. But the message is definitely carrying. We have this Burlesque legends calendar that was produced, and you guys can take a look at it up here, where people from the newer generation of performers are tributing the legends in the calendar and the put this together all by themselves and it is a benefit for the Burlesque Hall of Fame. So, people really care about them. And I’m going to wrap up because it looks like people are seated and I really can’t wait to hear from all these ladies.

So thank you again for coming and I hope that you find this as juicy as I do. It’s one thing when you watch these performers on stage and you see how there is a narrative and a story in their performances. It’s even more amazing to hear the stories that come out of their mouths. It’s incredible you are all genius [02:20] on stage and off and I love you for it. And we are going to start by having Dr. Lucky. She is going to start the ball rolling down here and when she gets to this table will start with that. There you go.

Lucky: Thank you all, thank you all for coming. Thank you all for your experience.

The Legends panel started in 2006. I’m really happy to see it growing. We are going to start with a quick introduction. So if you can just tell us your name and tell us who was your idol or mentor when you were performing.

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Gina: My name is Gina Bon Bon. I started stripping [my neighbor] in the late 60’s I was 19 and my idol actually [Pepe Stone 03:21].

Lucky: Thank you Gina. Ezi Rider you’re up next.

Ezi: My idol is Candy Caramelo. I started in the business in 1960 and I retired in 1980. So this is the first time since 1980 that I ever danced in this convention.

Suzette: Hi my name is Suzette….

Jo: Can we turn the speakers up?

Susan: Anyway my name is Suzette Monique and my idol was Toni Elling.

Judith: Hi guys. My name is Judith Stein. Some days I’m Judith Stein otherwise known as the Grand Beaver of Vancouver. I started in 1975 as an impoverished gogo girls’ student. I retired in–damn I don’t know–25 years ago and my idol was a woman and I know I remember those San Francisco girls would say this, was Miss Tori Moon.

Lucky: Thank you. Hello there.

Toni: Hi and hi because I had two [04:44‐48]. So good morning, good afternoon all that kind of good stuff, thank you for coming, I am Toni Elling. Thank you and thank you Suzette. I met Suzette when she was a little girl and I was a stripper. I don’t remember it and she does, ain’t that beautiful? But I started in 60 I stopped in 74 and I started at a late age. I was 32 when I stopped it. So I never dreamed that at 85 I’d be doing it again.

Shannon: My name is Shannon Doah and I started performing at I think it was ‘67, around ’67, ’68 and my idols were the silver screen goddesses of Hollywood and all the movies I used to watch when I was a kid and also the shows from Paris were an influence on my wanting to become a Burlesque dancer and Gypsy Rose Lee.

Tiffany: I’m Tiffany Carter. I started in the late 60s as a go‐go dancer and then I went to Burlesque from there and my great idols were Mitzi Gaynor, Cyd Charisse and Gypsy Rose Lee. I always wanted to be a dancer and followed that and I’m so glad I came into the Burlesque community.

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Gabriella: Good morning everybody I’m really honored to be here. It’s my first time that I’m here, well, see the last two I kind of didn’t make it here because I drink too much. My name is Gabriella Maze I started singing in the 70’s–well 1970–my first week was in and it’s been wonderful and my idols are everybody here at this table. I’m just becoming emotional, I’m just really happy to be here and thank you for having me.

Haji: Hello my name is Haji and I’m so glad to be here today. I’m very honored as well to be part of the show. My idol was Lili St. Cyr in my day. Today my idol is young and is going to performing tonight. Her name is Roxie and you have to see tonight’s show. There are so many beautiful young ones who are performing, but my idol today is Roxie.

Delilah: So I’m Delilah Jones I started in 1959 with Lili St. Cyr and I worked with Sally Rand and I’ve worked with [07:58] and Tura Satana was one of my best friends and I used to love to watch [08:09] and after I wanted to become that. And I was taught by Stacey Farrell better known as Eartha Quake in the 50’s. She is also in the book of Living Legends of Burlesque and I just feel great that I get out of retirement after 33 years of absence.

Dusty: My name is Dusty Summers. I started in about 1965 in Phoenix Arizona. My hero was Chris Star. She was a Burlesque star in the 30’s and Monkey Kirkland, burlesque comedian, long gone. Babette Bardot, Gypsy Rose Lee and Sammy Davis Junior, they all gave all they had.

Gypsy: Hello I’m Gypsy Louise. I started in the late 60’s. I’ve always wanted to dance. My mother used to tell me dance you way over to the sink and do the dishes! So I was always dancing. Gypsy Rose Lee was my ultimate, ultimate idol. She was smart, she was beautiful she didn’t let anybody stop her and I have been dancing ever since and most of these ladies here I have had a show with maybe on the stage. Last year was the first time I had appeared in 30 years because I wanted my 30 year old daughter to see me. She’s here and my other daughter is here. They would hear me tell stories about me taking them into the dressing room sticking them underneath the table, putting a negligee on them and sticking [09:52‐54].

Ellion: Welcome! My name is Ellion Ness. And my mentor was Lily St. Cyr, and when I was working in the course in Minsky’s she came worked there for three and a half weeks. Around holidays she gave us all a gift, and she mentored

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me, and I was blessed to have her take an interest in me. You know, I just really have had a blessed life. I started in the 50’s, late 50’s and [10:52], that’s it.

Jo: I’ll start from down here. Will you introduce yourself and tell us who your idols are.

Penny: I’m Penny Starr Senior. I started in 1957 I was only 27 and I worked in carnival as a hooch dancer first. Worked my way down to Florida, learned the ropes and came back and I stared in Cotton Club in Atlantic City where I was named Miss Bumps and Grind 1966. I worked with Ida Washington, Ella Fitzgerald, all of the big greats at the Cotton Club. They loved it, and now I have a granddaughter that I am dancing with and she is going to follow with my name. She is going to keep it alive.

Jo: And who were some of your idols when you started off?

Legend: Who?

Jo: Who were some of your idols and mentors, people you looked up to when you started out?

Legend: Oh Lily St. Cyr and .

Jo: Thank you, Penny.

April: Hello, I’m April March. I started out in show business in Texas in 1952. I retired in 1978 and through those years I have worked many, many supper clubs, theaters, places all over the country and part of . My idol was Lili St. Cyr among other beautiful actresses and I always wanted to be in film, but then after Burlesque I didn’t want to be in films anymore. I wanted to be in Burlesque.

Jo: Thank you, April.

Val: Hi, I’m Val Valentine. Thank you. I started out as a chorus girl in 1955. I worked with Sally Rand, Rose La Rose, everybody, her [gestures,] and then I went on the road as a stripper. I had [13:21] wardrobe. My mentors were my aunt, Mitzi. She’s gone, her ashes are at the Burlesque museum by the way. And I loved Lilly Christine–thought she was hot–and there are so many.

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But the most important thing about me tonight is I want to thank all of you. All of you, you really made it special for all of us. Thank you so much.

Holiday: My name is Holiday O’Hara. I started dancing in 1968 in San Francisco. I was a go‐go dancer. And I quickly wore way too many clothes for a go‐go dancer and was told you are a stripper you ought to go to the Shakery in the Tenderloin. And at that time being on Broadway–the Tenderloin was, yeah– you don’t dance there. And I thought yeah, but you all are boring. Not you all, you’re not, but that attitude, you know, we are better than, that wasn’t my thing. So I went to the Shakery and that’s where I met Tori [14:39‐44]. Tori Lynn who was my first mentor and Tori Lynn was amazing. She taught me how to be a lady, get down, and then get back up again. My second mentor was really all the other women that I worked with at The Shakery, Ellion Ness, she didn’t know she was my mentor at the time, but I watched every show. And I worked with all the guys there and then my third mentor was when I went to City and she was the one who put all the polish on me and that was Alexandra the Great 48. And I was excited by all those women who worked at the Old Power theater in . I saw them as beautiful women in the ads in the back of the newspaper. I don’t remember any of their names. I just thought at 10 years old, I want to do that.

Tai Ping: My name is Tai Ping and I started dancing at nine years old, professionally at ten. I worked at Cabarets, I worked down in [15:58] and I worked fashion shows and had several dance partners. So I started working in clubs at 16 because [16:12‐15] and hang in the dressing room. And then in 1960 I got my write up for my impression of José Greco’s Flamenco, [16:25] and my agent sent me to Florida and that was my first time in burlesque. I didn’t know it was a burlesque theater. So I was showcasing my calypso number. I did my calypso number and everybody applauded and the manager said, well where is your panels in your gown? I said, what's that? And so he explained it to me and I said well I can’t do that. He said, well I have to send you home. I said, well I can’t do that, and I had a few drinks and I got up there and one of my friends, a couple of friends who had been sitting there and they fixed me with a panel and some pasties and the works and [17:12] we took the show. That was my partner[17:15‐17] and that was after a couple of weeks I learned how to take things off nicely and became the headliner. From there I ended up in Tampa, moved to Beach. I worked

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[17:28], I worked [17:31‐36], I worked Moulin Rouge, and I just made the circuit around there, back and forth, all those clubs. In 64 headed on down to Texas to go shrimping with my husband, hang out there for a couple of weeks. I always carried a couple of costumes in my suitcase on the boat, I said, we pulled up in Maples and we let [18:01] I got to get out here, my hair was pasted to my head and it was just [18:08] all over and I said, I got to go [18:11] that’s when I ended up in Tampa. I said, well I’m getting out of here [18:17‐19] and that’s when I got the job in Tampa [18:23‐25] he’s walking back and forth. I said, you got a show going around here? He goes, yeah your [18:32] yeah, you got a job for me? Let me see what you can do and so got my job there in Tampa. Was there a couple of weeks got the headliner part there. That’s how I started out in burlesque.

Jo: And who were some of your idols and mentors.

Legend: I always liked Mitzi Gaynor, as a matter fact I fancied meeting Mitzi Gaynor. I remember one time when I was a kid, there was a magazine that had a Mitzi Gaynor contest. I got my mom to fix me up like Gaynor, had like stocking stuff going on and I sent in the picture, but I didn’t get in. But anyway that’s Mitzi Gaynor, Fred Astaire, I love him and Ginger Rogers and Jose Greco, my favorite Latin dancer and that’s how I got my [19:31] the lady that danced with, she danced to bolero, it was bolero, I saw that and [19:41] yeah I saw her, I thought that was so short. I didn’t know she didn’t have anything on [19:47‐49], but…

Jo: That’s awesome, thank you. And a lot of us are talking about starting out very young with our interest in burlesque. Thank you.

Viva: Hi! I’m Viva La Fever. I accidentally moved to San Francisco on one of my college breaks from Pennsylvania and just decided to stay. So a month or so later a friend of mine took me down to the Follies Theater and I saw a show– Velvet Ice was in it‐and it was a bunch of hippy chicks just making it up. I said, oh! That looks like a lot of fun. I went off to the office and said I want to do that and they hired me. What's your name, I had no idea, just the Blue Lady came out and so I was just the Blue Lady for a little while and then well there is, I’ve skipped the whole middle part, but then eventually we decided an old burlesque revival and that’s when they brought in all the comics and the live musicians and everything and our life changed. You know they took

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some of us and sent the other ones on their way and we did lines with the comedians and we still did our little strip number and everything. I can’t say I have a real idol, but just everybody I worked with, you know, whether they were comedians or the manager of the theater or the light man, it’s just like, together we made it you know, like we might be a regular kind of person on the street and you put that together you have a show.

Camille: My name is Camille 2000. I was known as The Girl for Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow. I was in the business for 20 years. I started in Miami, Leroy [22:02] Burlesque and that was also the first and last theater. But doing that I became the member of Screen Actors Guild by getting to speaking parts on Miami Vice. My first part I played a dominatrix and that was lots of fun, that was hard, but that’s it, I guess.

Annie: My name is Big Fannie Annie. I was always [22:41]. Well I’m [22:45] story I started out in the carnivals, my uncle went to carnivals so Sally Rand–I met her and that was very inspiring and also I really liked [22:55‐57] that was her mother and we were very good friends for about 40 years and thank you all for coming.

Kitten: Hello I’m Kitten Natividad. I started in 1969 and I was a bottomless nude dancer. And I was working in Pasadena and they brought in Morganna Roberts, the kissing bandit and I was in awe of somebody taking over the stage and being like a big star, like a rock star, and evidently that’s how I met Sparky Blaine, my manager, who made me what I am and my idols are Tami Roche.

Velvet: I’m Velvet Ice and it’s a pleasure being here. And I was Take the Sleaze With Ease. My idol was also Tori Lynn and my story is well, Viva’s–you got my story. We started in kind of hippy rock and roll burlesque and then they brought in the real burlesque dancers and we just fell in love with the art form and begged and pleaded to be in the show, like I better get some costumes and stuff. So we did and the rest of it is you know, is our life and its great, and I just want to say one thing you guys we need to kidnap Dixie Evans for next year or we ain’t playin’ big enough.

Lucky: Thank you so much. Thank you, Velvet. I’m going to pretend I’m Dixie Evans here and I’m going to say on her behalf that I think her idol is probably Marilyn Monroe. We would love to open up to get questions from the

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audience and we would also love to hear more of your stories, but before we move on we have a late comer or we skipped you...Sorry, we would love to know your name and who your idol was or your mentor.

Joy: Well my name is Joy Dell. I started in Houston in one of those silly amateur shows that I actually won, and in a week’s time I went from a 35 dollar a week job to a 150 dollar a week job in Waynesville Missouri right outside of [26:10]. Can you imagine girls, opening the curtain and looking out and seeing nothing but uniforms! I traveled around and then ended up staying in Minneapolis off and on for four years and I’ll say this [26:38‐39] I don’t if you guys know her, but she was originally from New York and lives in Minneapolis and she was never a hit and she was [26:47]. Tammi True as you all know is another one that I worked with also and I also worked with Tammi at the Carousel Club with Jack Ruby. I was actually there at the time of the assassination, the shooting and I heard the shots that killed Kennedy. I was at Parkland [27:07] and I worked for Jack Ruby. So you can imagine how that affected my life. I have made many documentaries about Jack and the assassination, maybe been in four or five of them. I ended up quitting in 1972 because my daughters were at the age where it could affect them. But they didn’t mind [27:35‐38].

Jo: Thank you so much Joy. So do you want to alternate sides? So who has a question on this side that would like to ask a legend? It’s ask a legend moment over here. Anybody have a question?

Legend: Oh come you do, we know you do.

Legend: Don’t be shy.

Question: Hi. I know you come from different ranges, but can you tell me how you guys travelled between show to show, was it car, train, plane and what was that like? How did you have to go about carrying all your costumes?

Question: Yeah how much baggage did you carry?

Jo: Who would like to address that? Val?

Val: When you worked on the burlesque circuit they paid your train transportation, but if you wanted to drive you could. Travel by train, they would pick up the trunks, ship them to the next theater. When you worked in

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clubs it was different. You were on your own, you flew, you drove, whatever. But in theaters on the circuit they would pick your trunks up, take them to the next spot, and your transportation, usually you went by train. And the clubs were different, ride, walk, you know and it was all pretty cool. When you got to the theater your trunks came, but you always had to carry one gown, one set of music in case they didn’t get them there by the first show. So they made it very convenient for you. Thank you.

Jo: Would anyone like to add to that?

Holiday: When I travelled it was in 1972 to 1977 so it was up and down the west coast a little bit into the middle of the country and it was all by plane, but what I want to tell you that in 1972 I started featuring and I had to get seven pieces of luggage on the plane and nobody said a thing. So that was a wonderful time imagine that, seven pieces of luggage including an enormous prop that was big enough for me to sit down, it had a heart, a cut out of a heart and looked from the front like a giant valentine. She’s the queen of hearts I’m the lady who loves to love you, here we are together what can I say. So I was the lady that loves to love you and I set this heart to parody of kiss me once and kiss her twice. [Sings] It was kiss it once and kiss it twice and kiss it twice again and it went on. And that’s it you know they did ship everything, but it was in the plane, and I gotta tell you that she is absolutely right. You always carry, I never travelled without one gown, all my jewelry, like ALL my jewelry. I can replace the gowns but I cannot replace my jewelry. And my music, that all came on the plane. And one wig, and they had a compartment area where you could put a garment bag. And you could, well yeah I quit smoking in 1980, but it’s true you could smoke on the plane. I don’t even want to think about the second hand recycled smoke on those planes, so that’s it.

Jo: Is anybody over there wanting to talk about that?

Camille: Wait I’ll talk. Being a Canadian when I started and when I came back to my own country and it was just when Canada was opening up for beer parlors, we have beer parlors. And every little beer parlor and every little town had a peeler, okay. So I can remember I actually got a ride up in the North West territories in a dog sleigh. I’ve been on float planes when I was [32:02] I remember I’m working with Annie Fanny she just killed me! She’s got like 20

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trunks, and I think you had a limousine at that time. I’ve got two hockey bags, but in that hockey bag not only did I have my costumes and I don’t know how the hell we packed them, but a frying pan and a kettle, alright that’s a Canadian girl for you.

Jo: Thank you.

Legend: Mostly I travel by car in this country, but when I went to Canada I took doves with me and that time you could actually do that, but I travelled on busses or airplanes and I smuggled my doves but putting them–I carried two purses. One purse had the usual stuff and the other purse had two doves in there and zip it all the way shut almost so there was enough oxygen for them. I smuggled them all over Canada, so don’t you get near my purse.

Jo: Did all of them make it?

Legend: You know mine all made it in fact I also put them in a long skirt in a big pocket, but Siegfried and Roy did the same thing when they came back from South America, but they had a delayed flight of five or six hours and their birds weren’t quite so lucky. They didn’t make it, but I was very lucky. Knowing now what I didn’t know then I probably wouldn’t do the same thing so being dumb helps sometimes.

Lucky: Delilah did you want to respond?

Delilah: Oh by force…I just want to mention you have locations you know and then you have your papers or I did and then I have you know big trunks and stuff with costumes and all the other stuff, but you know you’re on the road a lot. So it was like little movable home and I had this magenta scarf I’d fold in the lamp and Christmas tree lights and you’re just at home wherever you are.

Lucky: We have a question from this side of the room. It’s too far to walk.

Question: I was talking to Jean Idelle and she said she had a lot of bodyguards when she was touring and I was just wondering if that was something that your experienced having guards or chaperoning sort of thing.

Lucky: Are you kidding me these ladies don’t need to be protected, but if anybody who wants to speak on this matter.

Legend: I only remember having a lot of, our stagedoor Johnnies.

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Legend: I worked in the Middle East a lot so you were protected… you couldn’t go anywhere by yourself as a woman if she did you were spat on or something would happen to you, you’d disappear. So it was like we had people that slept downstairs like on like stone floors and they would do all your running around and they chaperoned you to the club, the club was closed the chaperoned you back. So in some countries they had bodyguards.

Jo: Yeah anybody else want to comment on having a chaperone bouncer body guard.

Legend: The only time I got chaperoned like if it is a bachelor party sometimes or in private party’s of course I always took someone with me what not. Also I remember one time I was working there was nobody to protect you very well so this guy was really harassing and I jumped off the stage and whacked him with a beer bottle.

Jo: Great thank you so much, thank you.

Legend: The only place they even offered bodyguards was when I worked in Vancouver Canada at the Penthouse. Yeah we had one place we did the lunch show at it was like all these tables and people had you know eating and we are doing a little show then at this totally different venue with the evening shows and they had all these bouncers that sat around eating steak all the time and they were all body builders and they just assigned one to each of the girls that were from out of town. We stayed in [36:51] hotel I don’t know it didn’t seem that far from the penthouse, but they always made sure that one of the guys came over and walked us over to the theater and walked us home.

Jo: Anybody else over here want to comment on that?

Legend: I think that the reason I got married was to have a bodyguard and he would travel with me of course he cost me a lot of money, but then [37:23].

Jo: Good to know. Toni?

Toni: The only time I ever had a bodyguard to put it that way was when I was in Japan and they always sent an escort with you know because we didn’t speak the language naturally, but that’s the only time I ever had a

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bodyguard. Sometimes it was a woman and they didn’t consider themselves bodyguards either, escorts.

Jo: April.

April: Well when I was invited to meet King Saud of they sent two black limousines with four armed bodyguards in each limo so I thought I was really protected.

Jo: Other questions?

Legend: Work that thing girlie.

Question: I wanted to ask Kitten or anybody else about famous people that came to her show or came to their shows.

Jo: Famous people that came to your shows.

Legend: Of course Robert Ebert and Tony Curtis and Tom Selleck, who I ended up going to bed with. Oh yes you ask anyone they are horny as ever you know.

Jo: Anybody want to follow that? Celebrities.

Legend: Yeah well….celebrities you know I came to Vegas and I [39:20] I knew all the mafia here, everywhere I am in they would be…be quiet, let me tell the story. Anyway we had a lot of fun here. I just knew a lot of people and it was just really refreshing. its changed a lot and one day I was watching the news and I watching all this action going on and oh my God I know that guy and then I stayed home for a while, I quit acting for a while and then I went back to Vegas it was completely changed. It was just beautiful and I did know a lot of stars. I met Julia [40:09] Robert Redford, Wayne Newton, James Darren, let me see Shirley MaClaine I auditioned for [40:16‐20] I auditioned for Shirley MaClaine twice she said I was too young so then I just kept going on with my little business, thank you and I’m very glad to be here.

Jo: Ezi.

Ezi: My name is Ezi Rider in 1972 I…

Legend: We could go on and on and on, sorry. She is sorry sweetie, go ahead you’re older than me.

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Ezi: My name is Ezi Rider I [40:56] 1972 to 1975 in Nashville Tennessee and Tom Jones happened to come into the club saw me, brought me to a table, had some drinks, asked me to go to bed and I turned him down.

Jo: Gina is not making eye contact with me. I really want to hear her answer and she is shaking her head no. I think Tiffany…

Tiffany: Well when I was [41:35] Hollywood California there was a lot of celebrities that came in there like Bob Hope, Glen Ford way back in the day Lee Marvin I started there as a cocktail waitress first and then they put me on stage. So I waited on all of these people as well. We also had Johnny Carson and all his writers would come in there.

Jo: Some asked you if you know when that is.

Tiffany: 70, 71.

Jo: Thank you.

Tiffany: Yeah the writers Johnny Carson’s writers were really funny and I was dating someone, I went to a restaurant one evening and Johnny Carson walked in, he looked at me, he said, hi Tiffany and the guy I was with about fell over. Also I met Elvis Presley one time, I got to meet him once and I think [42:27] he survived [42:27] playboy magazine I sure met her in Montreal. There is a lot of celebrities in Hollywood. We worked at The Losers together we used to see a little [42:39].

Shannon: If you can think of a celebrity’s name they were probably in there. It was actually their hangout, the club the Losers and really any place, any club you worked in you’d find them if they were in town doing a movie they would always find us somehow. They would be there and rock stars too, rock bands, all the musicians would find us.

Question: Tell us your favorite.

Shannon: Santana, one famous dancer comes to mind that came in and I’ll never forget that he saw me dance was Rudolph Nureyev, you’d never think. So you never know, they came in. I think we can all say that.

Jo: Thank you. Joy?

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Joy: I was in LA working [43:33] boulevard and when [43:37] asked me to have a bottle of champagne with him which wasn’t allowed. So they had a little room with a glass where you could see the show and I got kind of a little annoyed at him [43:48] and I turned it down, I said, I don’t know who you are. I got back from the hotel, turned the television up and there he was and I still don’t remember his name.

Jo: You all are making me wish I had slept with all the celebrities that came through when I was at The Cheetah.

Legend: The one I want to tell you about who was also my idol for many reasons is Sammy Davis Jr. If you worked in Las Vegas you knew Sammy Davis Jr because he came to everybody show. He put on parties when he worked at Cesar palace. He invited our show to Caesars palace to his apartment and he entertained us. He was the most human, human celebrity could possibly be and that’s one of the reasons why the man is my idol. That and I bought his golden [44:48] at a swap meet for 25 cents and he signed it for me.

Jo: I highly recommend [44:56‐57] amazing, Holiday.

Holiday: Are we going? [45:05] Yes he did. I can really check with my own voice. However, the people that came to the show were not the famous, but the semi‐famous. We are talking about San Francisco so probably someone you’ve never heard of. Well I can’t even remember his name, but you remember the TV show Mash the guy who played the priest. Who is that?

Jo: Nobody knows.

Holiday: I’m sorry honey wherever you are I’m sorry, but he would come to see my show at the southern theater quite regularly and you got to know all of us were like, but his a priest, what's he doing here? He is a priest. No he is a human being and he is a man and he liked to watch the . Stan Freberg I bet nobody here…

Jo: I know who Stan Freberg.

Holiday: Stan Freberg was a regular at the afterhours where I came to work and my mother adored Stan. We used to listen to him on the radio. So one night I was

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going to bed with Stan as a favor because my mom and what he did was find me great cocaine, we never actually had sex, and we talked.

Legend: I had relations with Frankie Avalon, and the government took good care of us. They had to give us [47:04‐07] and worked over and I worked out east coast and also on the same boat John Rivers in Atlantic City too. So that was very good.

Jo: Thank you, great juicy stories.

Legend: I met with many different stars [47:30] I was engaged to [47:31] at one time. I still got Dale Robertson on a date, but he was too egotistical, but Jerry Vale, Joe Dimaggio and [47:47].

Lucky: Tai would you like to give us one.

Tai: I remember one club that I worked in and [48:07] was there. I was working at [48:10] in 64 so I put my number and [48:17‐20] have me a drink and so [48:23] came over and he says, there is somebody that would like to [48:27] over there and [48:29‐30] so I went over and he had me sit down and so [48:36] and he says, there was a [48:39] he says, do I look familiar to you and I said, well yeah I am, he says my name is [48:49] I came on like a little stupid kid. I said, your [48:50‐58] and he goes, yeah. I said, Mr. [49:02] I said, well he says, well who did you think I was [49:11] I felt that you were some John from Philadelphia and he says have a drink, and so I had a martini a vodka martini and he there he sat talking to two couples and [49:28] blah, blah and he had an extra drink over there so I drank it and they kept on coming. So he ordered the next round he says give her two [49:40] breakfast and that was my touch with a celebrity.

Jo: Thank you. So you just stole three martinis in a half hour period. Oh I see Judith has a story. Judith tell us a story.

Judith: Okay. Toni is just so ready to tell us, what is this kiss and tell? Well in my day this guy asked me [50:06] we start talking and I was a student at art history and I was in London England he said, oh let me take you to the museum darling. I said, okay. So after we did the museum and we are sitting there and we are talking and I said, so what do you do? He goes oh I’m a musician. I said, really? Well what kind of music. I said, well I play rock and roll. I said,

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you play around here? He said, not that often. I said, yeah it’s hard to get a gig, it was Bill Wyman of the Rolling Stones.

Legend: One she could tell a story like that.

Judith: You’re cracking me up.

Legend: Some of you have mentioned Sammy Davis Jr and he happened to be a friend of mine and I wish I had pictures I have with him. But he was a beautiful person and the girls would wait outside the stage door for other people because they considered Sam so ugly you know what I mean, he looked a little drag, he didn’t look like anything you know, he was ugly, but he was so beautiful inside and I remember when I met him I was with my girlfriend and I don’t know how old we were. But anyway he wanted us to come up in his hotel room and keep him company because after all everybody else had somebody and he didn’t you know have any intentions he just wanted company and I wouldn’t go and I wouldn’t let her go because I was the oldest and I said, we don’t go to men’s hotel rooms you know. He said, I just want to talk. I said, well we don’t go to men’s hotel rooms. I said, ladies don’t do that and that’s how we met. But he even sent me, I don’t know if anybody would remember Dusty Fletcher. He was a comedian and he did a thing called Open the Door Richard and used to get such a kick out of you know and Sammy would do that for me whenever he saw me, and make a Dusty Fletcher pose. But also the original question was any celebrities that had come to visit. Well Mr. Ellington came to see me and I thought that was the greatest thing in the world. Because he didn’t go out like that you know. When we got through he’d go home. He didn’t go hopping around the clubs. So when he came in there with all the city fathers and all that kind of stuff, but I’m just telling you this about him. We had a big lobby and a lady sat there who took hats and things and so he came in asked if Rosita was working tonight and the young lady said, we don’t have a Rosita working here. He said, oh I’m sorry you know where is Tony Ellie he just wanted them to know he knew me.

Legend: My step father was a piano player, a blues man he happened to be the piano player for Ike and Tina Turner. So of course I met all [53:32] in her room and [53:34] would have some party’s at the house and I met people like well you know lots of musicians that came there. I also had a brother in law that

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was a famous baseball player when I was Willie Mays of the Dodgers, So I met a lot of ball players as well. But one time, I had a story in Boston we’d [53:56‐59] to see Telesa Wallace, Frankie Avalon and one time I got a little message that Roy Calhoun was coming and he wanted a date.

Question: I also got a message from him.

Legend: I happened to be pregnant with my daughter at the time, so I thought I wouldn’t be a great date, but I had a friend named Jerry Dean that was just dying to go out with Roy Calhoun of course my mother was so jealous.

Legend: I am very happy to say I have been a great friend of Kitten [54:43] for many years and I love her, but she been in Hollywood for quite a good time in Hollywood and if anyone has got juicy stories we’ve got to get Kitten to come up. Come on Kitten come up.

Jo: She says you have stories Kitten we know that’s true. I think we can go to the next question. I’m coming to you, Lucky has got the mic over there.

Question: I know back in the day I’m really talking about 50’s and 60’s that circuit acted as kind of like the witness protection program for women that were having domestic abuse problems or child custody problems, and I’m just interested to hear especially, particularly from the 50’s and 60’s dancers what it was like and you know did you get served retribution and what kind of names did you change and how were your acts different because of the time.

Jo: Does anybody want to speak to that? Well ask the question a little differently.

Question: Okay I know the circuit acted as kind of like a witness protection program for dancers and I’ve been told of by dancers so…

Jo: Hang on they are not going to be able to hear you. Joey has an answer to the question so I think she’ll – okay go ahead alright.

Joey: There is many girls who [56:23] they might not say it, but they do, I was one of them. When I left the Carousel in Dallas I went back to Minneapolis to the father of the child I was carrying. He really beat the hell out of me and left me in the floor in a coma. Three days before my daughter was born I was in a coma for 48 hours. She was well and healthy and so was I, but they would

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put him under the chair if they’d have the chance, if anything had gone wrong with her or I. But at that time there was no help for us. We had no place to go and especially we were dancers too, we were considered trash. They said we deserved what we got. Out in LA, before this I was dating and dating for quite some time. I went to out to LA to meet him , he beat the hell out of me and put in jail for attempted murder and I don’t know what ever happened to him because in California as you know the state prosecutes, but this man beat me in my face until there was no whites in my eyes though. There was no white from here up of me, I was black and blue. I lay in the hospital for five days not knowing would I ever see. Yes, I decided to start picking other type of men and I am happily married now for 25 years.

Jo: Thank you Joey, Tiffany.

Tiffany: When I quit dancing I was a cocktail waitress and bartending and I became a woman manager for a Los Angeles club owner and he was a very big man Big Mac. His real name was Forest Makena he owned several clubs around Los Angeles and Bel Aire area. So he had been in and out of prison on several accounts and finally one time they came in my apartment a few times. They were trying to look for more evidence against him, and I was one of the secrets he had. So he was known as big honcho that would manhandle people never a woman though and so they went through my apartment looked for all kinds of things and my father said, you better get an attorney. I did and they were telling me that the best thing I should do because they were trying to get him arrested in federal penitentiary again I should get in this witness protection program. So if you have ever seen court TV his whole story was on there several times because I quit the business and I moved away two weeks later he was murdered. So I’m back in Oregon now living a country life doing my thing and nine years later I have some detectives following me and they pulled me over, stopped me and they flashed their badges at me and they said, we just want talk to you. We are on the case again of Mr. Forest Makena. Took me home sat me down and went through several of some of our photos and of course that brought back tons of memories. So they decided the next morning to call me and see what I could remember. So they finally [59:55] got his partner that he had hired the killer and he confessed finally and that man is still in prison today.

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Legend: That’s right.

Jo: Would anybody over here like to address the question.

Legend: I just want to add something to Tiffany’s story. Big Mac and the partner that hired someone to kill were ex‐highway patrol officers.

Legend: Yes in Los Angeles.

Jo: Anyone, oh go ahead. Oh are you talking to someone else oh Gipsy.

Gypsy: Yeah I would like to say something.

Jo: Okay.

Gypsy: I was in a similar situation with Tiffany or with another person his name was [1:00:44] and he also owned night clubs…anyway I went through the same thing and he appealed in 1980. Okay a couple of years ago the district attorney from Los Angeles came and also my [1:01:06] brought me all the books, brought me a lot of pictures and everything and the only ones that I remembered or I recognized was two people in there and they were trying to find me because I am the one that knew him the longest. I met him when I was 18. So they were trying to find me I thought maybe like three times so they couldn’t find me. Finally they found me and it was kind of nerve wrecking when they come back to you, you know that you’ve been safe all these years and everything all over sudden they come to you and all of the memories come to you and you start looking around and like are they following me you know what's happening, they go and then [1:01:41] hi how are you? Like they are all nice to you and I say this are the people that have been look for me, is the FBI after me. It’s pretty scary sometimes you know and I did get my daughter taken away from me. She went with her father because I was a dancer and at that time, I was the one so I have my daughters with me now and they love me and we have beautiful relationship and we are going to be [1:02:04].

Legend: I’m really proud of all of dancers and strippers that we did, we did survive and we all have stories of being turned on by the police, our rooms ransacked, nefarious men etcetera the thing is I was dancing in Oregon and was assaulted by a fraternity they tried to rape me for God only knows how I got away. I ended up jumping in a river and I prosecuted, I went to court, I had two women lawyers and went to town. So you know the bottom line is

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you guys you know Tory and I were just saying we had great times. I don’t think any of us would ever exchange the good adventures, but the bottom line is and what I think, I’m so proud of my fellow legends that we are being able to tell you the truth, the absolute truth that we have [1:03:23] access yeah, but we are still here alright, thanks.

Jo: I have a question.

Legend: After all the years, I quit dancing several years ago the girls were not treated with respect and this today shows me that we are and we also hold our head high.

Jo: Thank you and I have a question that is something that Judith and I were talking about the other day. Did any of you have any superstitions or rituals around working? Ezi?

Ezi: They always said not to wear yellow and don’t eat peanuts and [1:04:30‐42]. Oh and then also there was a superstition like I always used to get roses like on an open day in the theater and I didn’t know you were supposed hand the first rose to the orchestra leader.

Jo: Lovely. I just want to say when I was touring in the 90’s there was still places that wouldn’t let you wear yellow.

Ezi: Yeah very superstitious. But how many more were there? They were so many and they were serious about it too you know, they’d say in strong words, you couldn’t do this or that. We worked in the east coast we are not California girls, we were New York girls and it was different and we were Burlesque circuits more than clubs. So it was different. I never felt looked down on. We were treated with a lot of respect at the [1:05:47] right April.

April: Yes.

Ezi: Say yes. No really I did work in California once in San Francisco I worked 22 weeks at the [1:05:58], but other than that there is always this New York, Boston, Philly, Baltimore you know those towns, a little different you know like I say you’d be in a new town every week, a new circuit, I never felt like a sleazy stripper ever. Thank you so much.

Jo: Ezi has the answer to those questions about rituals?

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Legend: The only superstition I was it was that at the end of the week well a mother fucker wouldn’t pay me. And that happened a lot, all the sad stories I ever heard and all the wonderful things that we had and we have done we are still here and we would do it again.

Jo: Holiday.

Holiday: I again don’t wear yellow on stage and so I asked why not? What’s wrong with yellow? I’ll tell you what's wrong with yellow, back in the day you couldn’t light well and we all looked sick as a… we did. You just couldn’t light yellow. When I saw, I can’t remember who it was, but a couple of years ago she was wearing yellow and she was beautiful.

Person: Last night.

Holiday: Yeah and last night beautiful we have better lighting let’s get rid of that one because you know superstition come on. And the other one was you don’t say goodbye, break a leg that always made me a little nervous.

Jo: I’ll say break a heel. We also had superstitious about putting our shoes where we put our makeup, did you have that one?

Legend: You couldn’t put your shoes on your dressing table, that was really bad luck and couldn’t wear peacock feathers, don’t ask me why, I thought it was beautiful and I was told no, no you can’t wear peacock feather stuff. That was a…

Jo: Any of our legends who haven’t spoken since the intro who would like to respond to this question? Okay, Judith do you want to tell them some of the ones you were tell me the other day?

Judith: Yeah, wearing yellow was because you couldn’t light it. The reason that you never put your shoes on the table was because in these old theaters were usually rat infested. Yeah they were very funky and you know you’d rats shit in the bar on your shoes alright. The other story about the yellow was apparently there was some myth that some woman back in the day having a yellow costume and she walked out on stage and the sand bag that they used to raise the curtains broke and killed her, splat. Then other one was don’t whistle in the dressing room and that was because and the reason behind that was back again before they had head lights and they were wiring for sound and everything the stage hands and the guys in the curtains wouldn’t

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communicate through whistles. So if you’d be back in the stage whistling dixie alright the curtain has gone up and now [1:09:40]. It was fun to research this. There is a few others that I can’t remember. Yeah we are a superstitious lot. And always put your g‐string the right leg.

Jo: Do you have any other questions for our panelist.

Question: I want to know what your favorite number is and why.

Dusty: I thought you were asking for a number‐number. My favorite number is nine because I have been married nine times and will celebrate 25 years August the 4th.

Shannon: Damn Dusty I’m one behind you. I’ve got to catch up. I’ve been married to 8 35 years. I’m looking for number nine.

Jo: I think Shannon Doah is available. Shannon Doah is available.

Legend: Like me. You beat me I’m only married seven times, but they all died, this time I got a younger one maybe this will work. Thank you.

Legend: Probably everybody knows what I’m going to say Satin Dolls is my favorite tune period because as I understand it, it was written for me [1:11:41] say that and one night I was lying down, couldn’t sleep and do a lot of thinking and I start thinking about that and the words and all and I believe it was true because it happened that, you’ll never going to believe this, but he was commissioned a drum is a woman and he called me and asked me to come to Cleveland and help him write it. Oh I’m sorry Duke Ellington and so I said, you want me to do what? I’m going to help Duke Ellington write something, you know I said, okay I said I will be right there and you’ll will explain. So they were at work when I arrived. I went to the hotel dropped my luggage and went to the club and at that time I did with a cigarette holder and he acknowledged me when he saw me sitting, I sat at the bar and when he got to you know how people stop and his on his way to meet, and I looked over my shoulder one time to see where he was cigarette holder which wigs me, over her shoulder she digs me and I thought oh maybe he was telling the truth. Because what happened is I asked him to write something for me, for my act. He said, I already wrote, lots of them. I said, lots of them you know,

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but anyway he named a bunch, but that’s the only one I could remember and I use it for my theme song.

Jo: Anybody else want to respond to the question about their favorite act?

Legend: I guess my favorite crop number was Barefoot Contessa because I saw the movie Barefoot Contessa with Ava Gardener and I adored Ava Gardner and the music was so [1:13:52] beautiful and it just made a perfect music for taking your stockings of.

Legend: Well my favorite number. Actually my favorite song was the song I performed to you last night which is Take My Love, Take My Love Take Me and that was my signature song. I must danced to that I don’t know how many times, but it was always one of my songs and after Love to Love You Baby came up by Donna Summers I always use that as an intro and I made it, I used to make my own tapes. So we would travel, if you were introduced I had a tape that said the management is proud to present the lady who loves to love you Miss Holiday O’Hara and as I was saying that the music love to love you baby was in the background and when I was exited the stage it was there again and I said Miss Holiday O’Hara let’s give a big round of applause. So by the way what you saw last night was all my favorites, thank you.

Legend: I forgot the one about that I’ve used forever and I got so sick of it with I will Remember April, but April is when I was engaged various when he was on TV he sat down with the piano and played and sang I Remember April.

Jo: Thank you anyone else? Velvet Ice, your favorite number?

Velvet: I don’t know if I have a favorite. I like show music whether its rock and roll whether its classic I mean likes it’s got to have drama you know for me, and I like shock value so I like sudden changes. I like syncopation and I’m a funk dancer original you know that’s my kind of natural beat. It’s like [1:16:08] behind the beat stuff and so I just have to say that that kind of music for me is the most…like if you could take red house like what midnight martini danced to last night that show music. Eminem’s big hit was it the 8 mile that’s show music. You know powerful like Tony Bennett last night, well that’s more subtle, but a quality was right with it. Anyway I just think anything that creates, anyway thank you.

Jo: Other questions?

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Question: So this is addressed to any legends that would like to answer it of course. Knowing what you know now if you have the ability to time travel back to your younger self what is the one thing you would say to yourself?

Legend: Save your money.

Jo: So what's the one thing you’d say to yourself Penny if you could go back time.

Legend: Have another granddaughter like I have.

Jo: I love her too. Anybody else advice for your younger self?

Legend: Not to have any husbands.

Jo: Nine or ten.

Legend: She took my line. They always got in the way. Could never do it more than five years at a time really three wish I had none. They just [1:18:02], thank you.

Legend: I have a good one. When I applied for social at the age of 62 I went down to social security and I waited and waited and finally I went to the booth. The man was asking me questions and he wanted to know what is your ex‐husbands social security number?

Jo: Which one?

Legend: I said, which one he said, well all of them [1:18:33] I said, but sir there was eight of them and I barely remember their names so how do I remember their security numbers.

Legend: I would definitely tell myself to save my money. Thank you. I had such a good time, but I came away with nothing expect a lot of amazing memories. What I would tell myself is believe in yourself because I didn’t really back then.

Audience: I believe in you.

Legend: The audience was validating me. The dancers were validating me. I was tall, fat pretty hair, glasses, braces, my mother dressed me funny and I had a full body rash. Okay I was a mess. I opened my teeth and then I was a hippy in 1968 in 1967 I took acid I swear to God it changed my life, I am kidding it, it was good acid and I went to the Timothy Leary school of taking acid which is

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you meditated and I saw that I was a good person and that what people had been saying to me because I looked funny wasn’t true and I still didn’t believe it, but when I started dancing and the other women around me were like hey you got something going on and the audience was applauding, whoa hello there we are, and the audience was applauding that started to validate me from outside. It took therapy for me to validate myself on the inside. So what I would really say to you is believe in yourself.

Jo: Do you want to say anything? Oh I will come back.

Legend: What I have to say is very similar to her story I was married at 15 divorced at by the time I was 17 and no education. I was very insecure. There are pictures taken when I was 18 years old and I did not think I was good enough. I did not think I had it very good. I’d get by with dancing, people would tell me good, men would tell me that and I’d say what do you want. So very insecure, but it brought me out of it. It was one of the best things psychologically I could have done for myself and I think many women [1:21:15] and the more secure you get with yourself and it’s like hey I’m pretty or I’m nice I’m okay they just have to do something about it and we used to do and I’ve been married nine times, been 25 years with the last one and I can name them all…

Legend: You know when I started in this I had seen only one strip show and one single act with my girlfriends became a stripper. I never in my life had any confidence in myself. I always thought I was ugly, my legs we too skinny. People used to whistle like birds when they see me you know bird legs, that time is past, but somehow when I decided to do this and did it, hey all that went out the window because the first compliment I got first show an older lady, she was older than me, I was old at 32, but to me that was old and she said we want to say something to you, we being her husband and she and she said you have the most beautiful legs, all [1:22:37] I wrote mother and I told her too you know it made such a difference. But I never did it though lack confidence about getting on stage. I believed all my life I belong on the stage. I did. I wanted to sing because my mother and family would make me sing in the bathroom you know when I was taking the shower or something like that. Shut up you can’t carry a tune all day you know, but that’s what I wanted. And I got into this saying I’ll work at this five years, accumulate my repertoire, costumes all of that because I didn’t want to go into business into

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the business owing anybody like sometimes these people have sponsors that buy their wardrobe, you know they have to pay them back. So I wanted to that for myself and then I didn’t start singing except in my act. I mean I never became a singer‐singer although I have been asked to do it sometimes you know, but that was funny to me that I didn’t feel funny. When I came off the first time I share the dressing room with a singer on the show and I told her I said you know what I must have been a [1:23:57] woman all these years and didn’t know it because I just enjoyed myself.

Jo: Anyone else want to answer the question.

Legend: I have a question to the audience. Can anyone in this room add up the ages here and see what number you come up with. Anybody do that? Do you want to know the age of each and everyone one of us? Do you? I can’t hear?

All: Yeah.

Legend: Somebody write this down.

Audience: I’ve got the calculator ‐ go.

Legend: I’m 75 years old.

Legend: I’m 73.

Legend: I’m 78.

Legend: I’m 69.

Legend: And I think I’m the oldest legend I’m 85.

Legend: 73 and proud of it.

Legend: I’ll be 65 in October.

Legend: A whole 60.

Legend: Keep on guessing honey.

Legend: I’m going to be 65 in January and I can prove it. I’ve got two kid girls back there.

Legend: I have been 22 since I was 14.

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Legend: 67.

Legend: 65, but I’m really 30.

Legend: 29.

Legend: On June 15th I finally hit Medicare age.

Legend: I was 72 February 15.

Legend: On May 21st I just turned 54.

Legend: On June 18th I’ll be 78.

Legend: July 31st I’ll be 80.

Jo: Camille you know you might not like this question young lady, but don’t kill the messenger everybody went down the row said their age.

Camille: I’m 68.

Jo: And Judith I think you were with Camille after doing something.

Camille: It’s always God damn harder anyway yeah I just had my 65 birthday.

Jo: So lady and gentlemen…Oh Testy.

Audience: One more.

Legend: I will be 66 July 30th.

Jo: We have a calculation.

Audience: And with a minor minuses or lack of numbers its 1300.

Jo: Ladies and gentlemen thank you so much for coming to the Burlesque Hall of Fame Q&A, thank you to the legends. Can you give them a round of applause in saying thank you. And now we would like to invite you all to dig deep into your pockets and buy some pictures for the ladies and get your autographs from the beautiful ladies, thank you.

END