Burlesque Past and Present: The sad story of Faith Bacon

The art of the tease is on everyone's lips; with a rising interest in burlesque, cabaret clubs are in full swing and new acts are cropping up every week. At Playful Promises we just adore a bit of cheek, and would love to introduce you to our favourite burly girls, past and present! Keep your eyes firmly peeled, as each week we feature inspiring performers guaranteed to set pulses racing!

Said to be the most beautiful woman in the world, at least according to Florenz Ziegfeld, Faith Bacon was a starlet turned burlesque dancer who suffered a sad demise.

At 20 years old, Faith appeared on Broadway in Earl Carroll's 'Fioretta' and the Ziegfeld Follies. Carroll was a hit Broadway producer, earning the name "the picker of pulchritude". At the time, it was only legal to have nude women on stage if they acted as unmoving statues, which often resulted in shows of grand artistic tableaux.

This just wasn't enough for Carroll, who pushed the censorship laws in 1924 by putting on a show, titled "Vanities", in which the majority of the female acts cavorted nude around the stage. Enough was enough for the New York District Attorney, who demanded Carroll clothe his performers. He refused and continued on with the show, resulting in a hilarious instance of a police officer tasked with the purpose of stopping any displays of nudity using a blanket. The officer raced onto the stage attempting to capture a naked star, who broke free and dashed off - to the audience it was like a scene from the Keystone Kops.

Carroll battled with censorship throughout his career, serving jail time for some of his debaucheries (including throwing lavish parties with nude women bathing in illegal alcohol), and was always on the lookout for new ways to flash some flesh.

Faith had an idea; "Mr Carroll... Why can't we do a number where I'm covered when I move, and undraped when I stop? For example -- let's say the orchestra plays a waltz. I dance around, but on every third note, the music stops and I stand still and uncover!" Clearly impressed, he asked her what she could use to cover herself during the movement, to which she suggested ostrich feathers. And so, according to Faith, the fan dance was born.

Faith took her fan dance across America, causing a stir both among the public and the police. The fan dance took off, and in 1933 she competed with Sally Rand (who is remembered as the more popular, and even the inventor of the fan dance) at The World's Fair.

From there her life went downhill. In 1936 she took part in a performance at Chicago's State-Lake theater, in which she was told to stand on a glass box for the finale. "Well, the curtains parted and I crashed through the box. All the girls started screaming for a doctor and running around the stage, but somehow I climbed out of all the broken glass and danced." Her role was to portray the temptation of beauty, which must have been quite a shock as she danced covered in blood.

Faith was taken to the hospital for a month, and left with deep scars on both legs. It was two months before she could dance again, and even had to learn to walk all over again.

Her star faded; the only jobs she could get were in less wholesome venues, eventually ending up in small town bars and carnivals. In 1938 she had a small role in a tacky low-budget movie, "Prison Train", as a dancer called Maxine. Ten years later she sued a carnival boss for throwing tacks on the stage as she danced barefoot, supposedly trying to force her to break her contract.

On the 26th September 1956, after a particularly long search for work and distraught by her lack of success, she argued with her roommate about her decision to go back to her family in Pennsylvania. Faith ran from the room, and suddenly opened a window in the stairwell. Her roommate attempted to grab at her skirt, but Faith tore free and jumped. Her body landed on the roof of a one-story saloon next door, resulting in her death at 46 years old.

Her friend later told reporters that Bacon "wanted the spotlight again. She would have taken any kind of work in show business."

Faith's effects reportedly comprised of clothing, one ring, a train ticket home, 85 cents and a pair of rented fans.

Burlesque Past and Present: Noel Toy

The art of the tease is on everyone's lips; with a rising interest in burlesque, cabaret clubs are in full swing and new acts are cropping up every week. At Playful Promises we just adore a bit of cheek, and would love to introduce you to our favourite burly girls, past and present! Keep your eyes firmly peeled, as each week we feature inspiring performers guaranteed to set pulses racing!

 

Pint-sized wonder (just a petite 5 foot tall), Noel Toy was a burlesque artist who gained popularity in the 1940's with her almost-nude dances.

Labeled as the first Chinese-American fan dancer, she was born in San Francisco under the name Ngun Yee. It is said she chose the name Noel Toy because she loved Christmas, and was actually born a few days after on the 27th December 1918. Surprisingly, she also died a day before Christmas in 2003 - I guess she really did love the holidays.

In 1939 Toy was months away from completing a degree when she was offered a role in the Chinese village show at the World's Fair on Treasure Island. Although this was a fairly safe event (all she needed to do was stand around in a Chinese gown), it led to naughtier work - posing nude at a fairground "Candid Camera" attraction, where customers were invited to photograph models. "Well, school was dull," Mrs. Young told the New York Post in 1941, "and I couldn't see anything wrong about appearing there. I went home and told my mother what I was planning to do, and she raised the roof."

Soon after, businessman Charlie Low (sounds more like a gang-boss) offered Toy a job at Forbidden City, America's first Chinese nightclub. Charlie had hit the jackpot, and business tripled withing three months. Noel Toy soon earned the reputation of the "Chinese Sally Rand", who was another popular fan dancer. 

It's not surprising just why she gained such adoration - her dances were well known to reveal a surprising amount of flesh. She often performed sans nipple tassels, something which even today most clubs would not allow or have licenses for. The video below captures her signature fan dance:

 

Before long a promoter called Lee Mortimer enticed Toy to the Big Apple, where she drew crowds in at the Stork Club, Maxie's, the 18th Club, Lou Walter's Latin Quarter and Leon & Eddies. Men found themselves falling head over heels for this exotic beauty (although I can imagine the glimpses of flesh also helped!). 

One night in 1945, a soldier named Carleton S. Young became enthralled, telling her "I'm going to marry you," without a doubt. Toy had a strict rule against dating soldiers or actors, and Young happened to be both, so she laughed him off. He persisted, and they married that year. She must have fallen for him, as their marriage lasted until his death in 1994. 

The newly christened Mrs. Young gave up dancing at her husband's request but went on to an acting career that proved fulfilling. She appeared in big name movies, alongside stars such as Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart and Susan Hayward. As Toy grew older she appeared in few acting roles, mainly just as a candid, but she remained a sprightly, glamorous woman up until her death.

Burlesque Past and Present: Mistinguett and her lengthy legs

The art of the tease is on everyone's lips; with a rising interest in burlesque, cabaret clubs are in full swing and new acts are cropping up every week. At Playful Promises we just adore a bit of cheek, and would love to introduce you to our favourite burly girls, past and present! Keep your eyes firmly peeled, as each week we feature inspiring performers guaranteed to set pulses racing!

Although I am cheating slightly, featuring a lady who wasn't necessarily thought of as a burlesque artist, she did pave the way for many a showgirl; making glamorous, gigantic headdresses and vast skirt trains of feathers a popular performance costume. 

Mistinguett, real name Jeanne Bourgeois, was THE female entertainer of her time, with legs that would make men melt at her feet! 

Determined to make it in show business, she left her humble beginnings as a flower seller in a restaurant and began her career in 1885 after taking classes in singing and theatre. Apparently those classes didn't do much good, as it was noted that she didn't have much of a singing voice, nor could she dance well or be particularly visually appealing, so she made her name the only way she could: a charismatic personality. 

 

That and her legs! She explains "the rest had to be created. I had to invent something.... my legs, 'the lovliest legs in the world', [an idea that] came out of my head." Indeed, those legs were the basis of her career; in fact, in 1919 she insured them for 500,000 francs! 

Bourgeois (and with a surname like that, you would most certainly need something catchier for the stage!) experimented with various stage names, such as Miss Helyett, Miss Tinguette, Minstinguette, before finally settling on Mistinguett. She debuted at the Casino de Paris in 1895 before moving on to appear at notorious venues such as Folies Bergere and the Moulin Rouge. 

 

Mistinguett was the epitome of showbiz decadence during the turn of the century. Her cheeky performance style became well known; once, while singing, an audience member shouted, "higher!", to which she lifted her skirt (and you can imagine what an uproar that caused!).

Rumor has it that she was romantically involved with Alphonso XIII, the King of Spain and the Russian Prince Orloff, and was BFFs with Jean Cocteau and Oscar Wilde. 

She was also best known for her signature song "Mon Homme", recording it in 1920. You may have heard the popular English version "My Man", which became a staple of the cabaret world for years to come. 

 

Burlesque Past and Present: Lydia Thompson

The art of the tease is on everyone's lips; with a rising interest in burlesque, cabaret clubs are in full swing and new acts are cropping up every week. At Playful Promises we just adore a bit of cheek, and would love to introduce you to our favourite burly girls, past and present! Keep your eyes firmly peeled, as each week we feature inspiring performers guaranteed to set pulses racing!

Kicking off our naughty series it is only fitting that we discuss the woman that helped shape Burlesque as it exists today: Lydia Thompson.

Often credited as the burly-godmother of American Burlesque, Lydia was a dancer and producer, who successfully introduced this quaint English vaudeville act to the American public. Back when the art form stuck strictly to the origin of the word (in Italian 'burla' means a mockery), the acts revolved around parodying rather than the sexual striptease we are now familiar with. Popular during Victorian London, burlesque was a form of musical theatre, which was often quite risqué for the time.

Flesh-coloured tights shocked and thrilled the audience, giving the impression of naked flesh (rather like nipple pasties are used since!). While this became ever so slightly passé in fashionable London, in 1868 Lydia Thompson took her troupe, The British Blondes, overseas to New York. When this group of women with bleached hair landed in America with little but a pair of tights, tickets we snapped up in a fit of ecstasy. 

Whoever had been dealing with Lydia's PR had hit a goldmine. I just love this story which spread itself around before the debut shows: "Captain Ludoc Baumbarten of the Russian dragoons took some flowers and a glove belonging to Miss Thompson, placed them on his breast; then shot himself through the heart, leaving on his table a note stating that his love for her brought on the fatal act." Whether this dramatic tale is true, we don't know, but the men of America were stricken with a lust for Lydia. 

She must have been particularly charming, as the view of young women's legs was no new experience - "leg shows" had been around for years. This new format of titillation had captured it's audience, allowing the shows to develop into full length revues, and their original schedule of 6 months was extended to a jaw-dropping 6 years. 

Not only did these ladies look amazing, but you definitely didn't want to mess with them. Bizarrely, an incident where Lydia, her husband and another troupe member, Pauline Markham, horse-whipped a critic at gunpoint only lead to a fine and increased popularity. Burlesque is serious business after all. 

Another particularly interesting point to mention about Lydia was that she was known for her roles as the 'principle boy', the leading male character. While this was a standard in burlesque, many claim she was one of the first great Drag Kings, and the idea of a woman dressed and acting like a male further infuriated critics.

While burlesque went out of fashion in England at the end of the 19th century, the American style grew into it's own genre. Sexuality became an increasingly common feature; what began with "cooch" dances moved into strip shows in the 1930s. But that is a whole other blog post!