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Stage Name
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Real Name
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| "Rose La Rose" |
Rosina DePella |
| "the Queen of Burlesque" |
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| Rose got her start while working for Mr. Minsky as a private secretary and Bookkeeper at the age of 16. When Minsky's top Stripper walked out on him, she took over and that's all she wrote. She is said to have had her mother Jennie (Mother DePella) tour with her for over 18 years. Was known as "the Queen of Burlesk" and "Tops in any League."
A typical Rose la Rose act would be her singing of a song called "Who Will Kiss My Oo La La?" & she'd dance, frequently slapping her "Oo la la" fanny. She also produced a full two hour show called "Rose La Rose and her Sophisticated Rose Buds" in 1955. It was rumored that she was an avid hunter and even killed a bear, but probably was more for publicity.
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| She was the first burlesque performer to earn $2,000 per week. Walter Winchell even said she was the highest paid Stripper in the America. Rose was a savvy Business woman as well, owning a chain of Burlesque Theatres, namely "the Town Hall" Burlesque Theatre and "the Esquire Theaters" in Toledo, Ohio. Rose also is credited for bringing about the final death-blow to live burlesque performances.
The burlesque houses she owned (Toledo) were the first to switch entirely to "nudie cutie" feature films, so that she no longer had to deal with the egos of burlesque queens or comics & often drunken musicians & stage hands. It was a matter of months, after her switch-over before other burlesque theaters across the country began making the switch, being already set up to show films between live acts, so having no new monetary investment requirements, it was quite easy to end the live portion of the daily entertainments.
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Birth Place
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Birth Date
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Spouse
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Measurements
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| New York City, NY. |
1913-7/27/1972 |
yes, was married |
n/a |
Dance Types
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Posters
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Music Titles
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| Erotic |
$ 1938 - Wages of Sin [1| 2] |
Who Will Kiss My Oo La La? |
| Striptease |
$ Queen of Burlesque Lobby Card [1] |
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Night Clubs
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Theaters
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Stage
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| Minsky's |
Folly Theatre (Kansas City, MO) |
Bachelor's Women |
| Tecolote, El (The Owl) (Mexicali, Mexico) |
Minsky's Maryland Theatre |
Too Many Sarongs |
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Old Howard Theatre, the (Boston, MA. 1950) |
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Park Burlesque Theatre |
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Rialto Theatre |
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Films
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Television
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1938 - Wages Of Sin (There's a 1956 version also) |
n/a |
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1946 - Queen of Burlesque [DVD] |
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2004 - Striptease: The Greatest Exotic Dancers of All Time [DVD] |
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2010 - Behind the Burly-Q [DVD] |
Publications
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Tops in any League (Short) |
12/1952 - Cavalcade of Burlesque (Cover) |
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Ballrooms