BURLESQUE: SOME HISTORY!
Burlesque has roots as far back as 364 BC with 'Hannibal,
the famous Fabulæ Atellanæ'
but really became first known in 1387 when Geoffrey
Chaucer published the first British burlesque, "The
Canterbury Tales," which was a bawdy collection of stories
that included "The Wife of Bath ."
Burlesque is slow to rise until in 1727 when John Gay's "The
Beggar's Opera " opens at London's Inn Theater.
The beggar's Opera burlesque becomes London's first stage
success which would last until 1886. In 1734 Ballet Dancer
Marie
Camargo raises dancing skirts above the ankle (for
better freedom to move. )
By 1830 the Can-CAN
is getting rave reviews and with little success is being banned
all over as lewd and immoral. 1861 brings Adah Isaac Menken's
ride across the big stage
dressed in pink tights and
a short tunic which starts a whole new generation of women
in stage performances and attention to their clothing, her
routine also had a sort of disrobing which is said to start
the first public striptease. In 1866 "the Black Crook"
opens which was a big success and a milestone in dance and
nudity on stage.
Burlesque arrived in the USA from France
via Britain in 1868 with the Hootchy-Cootchy
& Can-Can dancers,
one of the first was Lydia
Thompson and her British Blondes. Also in 1868 the Folies
Bergere opens its doors in France and the rest is, well, history.
Burlesque was originally not about stripping but rather musical
Comedy, Dance and Song which eventually split and became Vaudeville
(Vaudeville was basically dead by 1932, because of film, )
while Burlesque became more and more a girly show. In 1875
Le Divan Fayouau, in the Rue des Martyrs performs a sketch
that requires her to remove most of her clothing one piece
at a time ... Striptease is now official.
The transformation into Risque Burlesque
continued onto the early 1900's with the very first runway
appearing at the Shubert Theater in 1912 and later a man named
Minsky installs his first runway. Also in 1917 a dancer named
Carrie Fenway would be the first to reveal herself (her
breast ) onstage, even if only accidentally an by 1923
and Hinda Warsaw is said to be the first American stripper
publicly announced in 1925. Josephine
Baker becomes the first topless star of the Folies Bergere
in Paris in 1926.
Earlier, dancers such as Little
Egypt were shocking the country with her provocative "belly
dance " routine (named by Sol
Bloom , however please note that belly
dance tho it may be erotic, it is not striptease !)
and others dancing on the Vaudeville stage when Vaudeville
was transforming back into "Burlesque," as well
as dancing in many regular nightclubs which had fabulous stage
shows featuring the talent, legs and many times the skin of
many famous dancers.
Some fabulous dancers found the money and
the cheap fame of risque burlesque very appealing with many
changing the way we think, dress and act today. By the mid
1930's, strip tease or skin Burlesque was at it's peak. Police
raids were becoming standard daily events, payola agreements
were on the up rise and many citizens worrying about the moral
decay of society thereby running lengthy political and legal
campaigns to end it's rising popularity. Sometime in the mid
1920s, the tumultuous Burlesque shows of comedy, skits and
dance transformed into the firmly planted Strip-Tease, then
came topless, eventually by the 1950s the G-Strings would
be removed as well and by the mid 1960's many dancers would
be starring in Sexploitation films (a type of soft pre-porn )
which helped to further spawn the porn industry and permanently
changed Burlesque.
But whatever happened thru out history
to try and stop its rise, burlesque was here to stay and transformed
again into a more sleazier form of entertainment as time marched
on. We are talking the Vegas showgirl and theatre type burlesque
on these pages, not the sleaze, sometimes prostituting, drug
ridden strip joints one may think of when thinking Burlesque
as portrayed today (many are listed however ). Many
of these dancers or strippers of yesteryear are honored here.
Prior to the 1960's, these ladies would make Burlesque movies,
(Cheesecake, B-Movies etc., yet they were very tame by
today's standards ), would appear in many magazines, stag
parties, etc. and many times featured the dance acts these
dancers used on the stage. Many television shows and movies
were based on or built around burlesque and/or vaudeville
sketches of the past. There is an ongoing effort to bring
back the Burlesque shows of yesteryear that feature acts,
striptease, dance, comedy, skits and more.
The following Pages
/ Section may not be suitable for Minors as
some of the photos are on the 'risque' side (no frontal
nudity or porn here ). So caution is advised as you may
want to child block this section. This is the only section
on this site were this may apply ... (The section with photo's
to block is: http://www.streetswing.com/histburl/1index.htm).
BURLSQUE: VARIOUS INFORMATION
Birth Place
Creation Date
Creator
Dance Type
Orient / Europe
1387
evolved (Chaucer)
Erotic / Exotic / Strip
BURLESQUE: FILMS /RISQUE and STAG FILMS / SEXPLOITATION
Small Preview of Films with or about Burlesque!
50,000
BC (Before Clothing ) (Dbl.Ft:
When Women Played Ding Dong)
Kim
Pope, Uta Erickson, Antonio Sabato, Aldo Giuffrè
A
Smell of Honey, A Swallow of Brine (Dbl.Ft:
Brick Dollhouse + Trailers)
Stacey
Walker
A
Sweet Sickness
Margaret
Zalud, Sharon Wells, Walker, Wallace, Carol Channing (bitpart)
ABC's
Of Love
Bebe
Hughes, Blaza Glory, Jill Adams, Shirley Jean Rickert, Mae
Blondell
Alley
Tramp (Dbl.Ft: Over 18 ... and
Ready + Trailers)
Mary
McRea, Larry Martinelli, Margo Stevens, Michelle LeGrande, Gary
M. Fox
Amazing
Transplant, the (+ Shorts and
Trailers)
Linda
Sothern, João Fernandes, Olive Denneccio, Sandy Eden
(film by Doris Wishman)
Aroused
(bundled DVD)
Fleurette
Carter, Janine Lenon, Joanna Mills
Art
of Burlesque, the
Alice
Hunter
Art
of Exotic Dancing for Women
Instructional
B-Girl
Rhapsody
Lili
St. Cyr , Chili Pepper, Crystal Starr, Frenchy LeVon, Ginger
Duval, Nona Carver
Bad
Girls Do Cry (3 Video Bundle)
Bad
Girls Go To Hell +
Bennett
Sisters, Gigi Darlene, Marlene Starr,
Baghdad
After Midnight
Dimples
Morgan, Brandy Jones, Doree, Genji Young, Mae
Blondell , Vaida
Ball
of Fire (aka: 'Professor & the
Burlesque Queen')
info
not available.
Bare
Box Bundle, The . (SWV - 5 Films
& various Trailers)
Blaze
Starr , Chesty Morgan
Beautiful,
the Bloody and the Bare + (Dbl.
Feature)
Adela
St. Johns, Debra Page, Mai Dey, Marlene Denes
Bedroom
Fantasy (also: Love Moods )
Lili
St. Cyr ,
Behind
Locked Doors + (Dbl.
Feature)
Andrea
Beatrice, Christina Piroska, Eve Reeves, Joyce Danner
Bell,
Bare And Beautiful
Virginia
Bell , Sunny Dare, Joy Hodges, Sandra Sinclair
Beneath
the Valley of the Ultra Vixen
Kitten
Natividad
Best
of Burlesque 1 +
Ann
Pennington , Sally
Rand , Lili St. Cyr ,
Mae Blondell ,
Tempest Storm , Marshall &
Beetlepuss, Bella Starr, Belasco Belles, Deenah, Dorothy Darling,
Dorothy Sloan, Ilona, Bibi & Paula, Valda, Vanya
Best
of Burlesque 2 + (Tomb)
Lili
St. Cyr , Inez Claire, Deenah, Dixie Evans, Cat Girl and
Spider, Lorraine Lane, Natoma & Mr. Frederick, Deena Newell,
Bella Starr, Tempest
Storm
Betty
Page: in Bondage
Betty
Page
Betty
Page: Uncovered
Betty
Page
Big
Boobs and bathing beauties
Madge
Kirby
Big
Bust!, the
Tempest
Storm
Blaze
Starr Goes Nudist +
Joan
Bamford, Allison Louis Downe, Dolores Norris, Sandra Sinclair,
Blaze Starr , Jo Walls
...
Click here for full list of Risque/ Burlesque/ Sexploitation
movies
BURLESQUE: MEDIA, POSTERS, MUSIC, TELEVISION
BURLESQUE: SHEET MUSIC and TELEVISION:
Sheet Music
Covers
Television
Black
Crook, the
1949
- Think Fast (Gypsy
host )
Strip
Polka
1958
- The Gypsy
Rose Lee Show
Twirly
Burly
1964
- Wonderful World of Burlesque
1998
- Bettie Page: E! True Hollywood Story
BURLESQUE: STAGE PLAYS
Play Name
Location
Dance (s)
Performer
Date
The Black Crook
Niblo's
Gardens
Burl,
Ballet
Marie
Bonfanti. David Costa (Chor)
9/12/1866
Ixion
Niblo's
Gardens
Burlesque
Thompson & her
British blondes
1868
Evangeline
Niblo's
Gardens
Burlesque
n/a
1874
L' Africaine
Ohio
Burlesque
Euclid
Opera House
2/24/1876
Adonis
n/a
Burl,
Pedestal
n/a
1884
Ivanhoe
n/a
Burlesque
Guards
Burlesque Co.
1889
Excelsior Jr
n/a
Burlesque
Fay
Templeton
1895
Twirly
Burly
n/a
Burlesque
n/a
1902
Ziegfeld Follies
Winter
Garden
Burlesque
n/a
1907
Merry Widow
Burlesque
Webers
Mus. Hall
Burlesque
n/a
1908
Burlesque
Plymouth
Thtr.
Burlesque
Barbara
Stanwyck
1927
Strip Girl
Longacre
Theatre
Burlesque
n/a
1935
Billy Rose's
Casa Manana
n/a
Burlesque
Sally
Rand,
Ann Pennington
1936
Peek A Boo
Revue
n/a
Peek-A-Boo
n/a
n/a
Burlesque
Belasco
Thtr
Burlesque
n/a
1946
Too Many Sarongs
Music
Box Theatre
Burlesque
Rose
La Rose
1944
This was Burlesque
Hudson
Theatre
Burlesque
Ann
Corio
1965
This was Burlesque
Princess
Teatre
Burlesque
Ann
Corio, Burly Cutie's
1981
Victor/Victoria
[DVD]
Marquis
Theatre
Burl,
Apache
Julie
Andrews,
Artie Phillips
1982
Sugar Babies
Mark
Hellinger Thtr.
Burlesque
Ann
Miller,
Micky Rooney
1979
& 93
BURLESQUE: DANCE GROUPS
Burlesque Groups
Billy
Watson'S Beef Trust (1890s)
Zaftig
British Blondes (1860s)
Hollywood Glamourettes
(1950s Hollywood Theatre)
Ziegfeld
Girls (1920s)
Lydia Thompson
and her British Blondes (1860s)
BURLESQUE: NIGHTCLUBS AND DANCE HALLS
BURLESQUE Night Clubs, Theatres, etc.
Copacabana (NY)
Leon
and Eddie's
Cotton
Club (NY)
Lido
Club (Paris)
Crazy
Horse Saloon (Fr)
Minsky's
(NY)
Earl
Carroll's
Moulin
Rouge (Paris & NY)
500
Club (NJ)
El
Rancho (Vegas)
Niblo's
Gardens
606
Club
El
rey Burlesk Theatre (CA)
Rose
Room, The (Harlem)
Apollo
Theatre (NY)
Folies
Bergere (Paris & NY)
Roxy
Burlesque (Ohio)
Bimbo's
(CA)
Folies
Marginay
Savannah
Club, the (NY)
Casino
de Paris
Hurtig's
and Sermans (became Apollo Theatre)
Theatre
De L'Empie
Casino
Royale
Tibaran
(France)
Colony
Club (CA.)
Jungle
Club (Miami)
Town
Hall
Latin
Quarter (varies)
Winter Garden
Theater (NY)
Le Carousel
(Paris)
BURLESQUE: DANCERS and PHOTOS
Burlesque: BOOKS / BIOS
Misc. Research Words ... to help your searches
Belly
Dance
Ecdysiast
Pasties
Strip Tease
Bombshell
Exotic / Erotic
Peek-A-Boo
Stripper
Burlesque
Gypsy
Rose Lee
Risque
Sultry
Burlettas
Hootchy
Sarong
Topless / Tassles
Cabaret
Little
Egypt
Sexy
Ziegfeld
Cheesecake
Minsky's
ShowGirls
Les Naturistes
Cootching
Montmartre
Skin Opera
Voluptuous
Danse du Ventre
Nude / Naked
Sol Bloom
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