Vintage Burlesque Photos

Louise Stewart: vintage 8x10 photo probably from the mid 1940s

Sherry Lavalle: vintage 8x10 photo

Sally Lane (Majestic): vintage 7x9 news service photo dated 27 February 1949.

Sally Lane (also danced under Sally Majestic) had been arrested for performing an ‘immoral dance’, and is shown here being taken to the police station.  The police originally sent a police woman backstage to arrest her in Sally’s dressing room.

Vickie Welles: vintage newspaper ad for Vickie appearing at Minsky’s Rialto Theater in Chicago, IL.  

Her name is frequently spelled differently - first name: Vicki or Vickie and last name: Wells or Welles.

Virginia Kinn - The White Orchid or The Orchid Girl: vintage 8x10 photo from 1950.

Virginia was a popular dancer on both the eastern Hirst and the Midwest Burlesque Circuits in the late 1940s and into the 1950s.   This particular photo was used to promote an appearance at the L&L Cafe in Chicago, IL.

Satira (Patricia Schmidt): vintage 8x10 news service photo dated 7 October 1947.

Satira is shown placing Problema, her pet dog, into the crate in which she will be flown to Satira’s parents in Toledo, Ohio.  Satira had been convicted of murder in the shooting death of her then lover, wealthy Chicago lawyer, John Lester Mee.  Satira claimed it was in self-defense, and that Mee had been holding her captive on his yacht - also named Satira - but the jury did not accept her plea and she was sentenced to 15 years in prison.  Hence, she was sending her dog to her parents to care for while she served her sentence.  Though convicted to 15 years, Satira would only serve 18 months before receiving a pardon from the Cuban president.

Marsha Strand: vintage 8x10 photo 15 September 1956

This photo was used to promote Marsha’s appearance in the show “Paris-in-Chicago” which was performed at the Silver Frolics club.  When the Silver Frolics closed, it would briefly be the second site of the Chez Paree in Chicago.

Marsha was also a talented painter.  She preferred to paint animals, specifically cats.  Many of her dance routines and costumes were inspired by cats.  In one she dressed as a leopard and ‘escaped’ her cage with ‘bars’ made of satin rope.

Venus the Body (Jean Smyle): vintage 8x10 photo

Jean was a graduate of the famed Lillian Hunt’s (backstage manager for the New FOllies Theater in LA) school for strippers, which also ‘graduated’ other big burlesque names such as Patti Waggin and Thunder.  Jean would go on to have a striptease school of her own and to publish a book entitled Strippers’ Schoolbook, which was available via mail-order.

June Darling: vintage 8x10 photo dated 13 December 1947.  The photo was used to create an ad for June’s appearance at El Mocambo’s club.  They only used a head shot for the ad, so the marks on the photo are where the image was to be cropped.