July 6

I didn't expect to return to the world of burlesque, but it's the birthday of Candy Barr, who has been called "the first porn star".
She was born Juanita Slusher, from a small town in Texas. She ran away at 13, to the bright lights of Dallas. She got work as a cigarette girl and cocktail waitress; she even got married (at 14!) but that didn't last... At 16, she got a dancing job at a Dallas gentleman's club, went blonde, and became Candy Barr, the girl that wore cowboy boots and a gun holster - and little else... She became a top draw...
But just before she became Candy Barr, she participated in a 'blue' film, the kind of short film that got shared at bachelor parties and fraternity houses. Today, "Smart Alec" is considered a classic of the artform; a critic for Film Threat called the short "the 'Citizen Kane' of stag films."

No, I'm not showing it here.

Here's a clip from "My Tale is Hot", where the devil tries to tempt someone with a Candy Barr clip. No, I'm not being ironic...


Anyway, her dancing got her seeing the country and making new friends... like gangster Mickey Cohen (who helped her skip to Mexico to escape a drug possession charge) and nightclub owner Jack Ruby (who gave her the puppies that started her dog breeding business... months before he shot the guy that shot Kennedy.) She was Joan Collins' choreographer in the 1960 film, "Seven Thieves," the closest Candy would come to a Hollywood career. (Her life story almost became a Farrah Fawcett movie, but that never got past the development stage...)

Eventually, she made right with the state, served her time, and took care of her family and dogs for a while. She returned to the burlesque stage around '68, made another stir when she posed for Oui magazine in her 40's, and even published a book of poetry. She passed away in 2005. In one of her later interviews, she said she was never interested in arousing men, she just wanted to dance.

Here's another look at a lovely lady, Miss Candy Barr...

June 3

Today's a good day to remember the most famous woman in Montreal, Lily St Cyr, the burlesque star that taught Marilyn Monroe how to be sexy. Born Willis Marie Van Schaack, she studied ballet in her youth, which led to work on the chorus lines of the Hollywood stages. She hustled for her time in the spotlight, accumulating a collection of creative stripping routines like "The Wolf Woman", "The Flying G", and "Jungle Goddess".
She became a major sex symbol in the 40's and 50's, at the height of the burlesque scene. She was a frequent feature in the tabloid, for her romantic exploits as much as her scandalous performances (she married six times.) After she retired from the spotlight, she established a lingerie business for strippers and strippers-at-heart; she personally modeled most of her products in the store's catalogs and magazine ads.
(Elvira established her trademark look with the support of a Lily St Cyr undergarment.)
St Cyr passed away just before the 20th century did, but her good vibrations continue to inspire the sexuality of today. How out of place would she be today with an act like this: