![THONG AND DANCE](/images/headline/7571.png) The anatomy and the ecstasy. ![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_47.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_01.jpg)
We have a tremendous amount of material on burlesque in Pulp Intl., yet it's been eight years since we put together a full collection of mid-century burlesque dancers, go-go girls, and strippers. That day has arrived again. Above and below you see some of the better shots we've run across of late, featuring the famous and the obscure, the restrained and the explicit, the domestic and the foreign, and the blonde, red, brown, and brunette. Where possible we've identified the performer, such as above—that's Carol Ryva, sometimes known as Carol Riva, Carole von Ryva, Cara Rive, et al, a French dancer who rose to fame during the early 1960s. Other familiar faces you'll see are Lilly Christine, Maria Tuxedo, Gay Dawn, Yvonne Ménard, and Virginia Bell. Occasionally, when we post something that contains nudity, we feel, in this age of new puritanism that we should comment about it. We saw a survey recently indicating that a large percentage of Gen Z'ers think nudity in movies is unnecessary in all circumstances, especially sex scenes. And we're like, really? The wonderful thing that virtually every person does, or which practically everyone wants to do, and which is how nearly all of us came to be here on the planet, is somehow taboo, but the horrible thing that virtually none of us do—kill—must be part of nearly every film, book, and television show? Programming works. If you sell sexual shame unceasingly new generations will absorb it, and believe they've come to their views organically.
The reality is that sex and nudity are freeing. Burlesque and erotic dance are valuable because they take our DNA driven sexual desire and package it as an art form, fit for public consumption and contemplation. Moving one's body rhythmically feels good, and watching those who work so very hard but make look so easy the pushing of their physical limits within the realm of such expression is pleasing to the eye and psyche. That's why we love erotic dance. Our two previous burlesque collections, “Infinite Jest,” and “Dancers Gotta Dance,” are here and here, and we have some notable smaller burlesque forays here, here, and here. But if you want to kill some time for real, instead click the keyword “burlesque” at bottom, then scroll, scroll, scroll. Make sure you pack a lunch. Virginia Bell
Lee Sharon.
Dixie Brandy.
A group shot from the legendary Crazy Horse, Paris.
The incomparable Lilly Christine. We also have a set of photos from one of her performances here, and more links from that point.
![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_46.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_26.jpg) The Follies Theater at 337 S. Main Street, Los Angeles, 1946.
Tempest Storm.
Gay Dawn.
Yvonne Ménard, and more photos here.
Carol Jane, aka Spider Woman.
![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_35a.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_48.jpg) Jackie Miller.
![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_38.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_39.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_40.jpg) Debra Paget, who performed one of the most provocative screen dances ever in 1959's De indische grabmal.
Blaze Starr. We also saw her recently here.![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_43.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_44.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/thong_and_dance_45.jpg)
![FOLDING HONEY](/images/headline/6794.png) For this act you better get your folding money ready too. ![](/images/postimg/folding_honey_01.jpg)
This is an item you see other places around the internet, but we like it enough to post it anyway. It's a foldable table tent of Lilly Christine made around 1956 for the dual purpose of promoting one of the world's most famous burlesque dancers, and serving as a price list for drinks. This was made for Leon Prima's 500 Club in New Orleans, and a glance at the other side reveals that the price list was short: all drinks—$2.55; repeat drinks $1.55. Does that strike you as pretty steep for 1956? Us too. Plugging that into the old currency converter we get a 2022 price of—holy shit!—$27.28 for that first drink. Prices like that will certainly keep the riff-raff out. The back of this particular table tent was written on by a guest (see below). It's dated October 10, 1956, and declares: Lilly is a really beautiful and sensuous creature and an “artist” (quotation marks in original). It also says her harem gave a sensational performance too, and since her harem was male that strikes us as a nicely enlightened comment for the time. We'd think most customers would be dismayed seeing muscular hunks up there with the object of their lust, but not this person.
You'll also notice the table tent advertises a second act named Carrie Finnell. We bet you've never heard of her, but she was an early—if not original—burlesque dancer who was born twenty years before Christine and had carved out an impressive career on the live stage, first as a Ziegfeld Girl, then as a peeler. You see her here checking to make sure her right boob is still where it's supposed to be. The legend goes that Finnell was famous for the gimmick of the world longest striptease, which involved removing an article of clothing each week to higher and higher admission fees. It lasted fifty-four weeks. That's a lot of clothes, but then Finnell was a lot of woman. It's also a lot to pay, whether you take the entire multi-week journey or show up just for the finale, but since Finnell mainly danced in Cleveland we're betting the drinks weren't $2.55. So that's something, at least. It's interesting, don't you think, that in the 500 Club a lifetime ago you had nights of gender equality (female and male erotic dancers on the same stage) and body equality (Finnell)? It's amazing the things that were done long before anyone thought to get exercised about them. We've cleaned up the table tent a bit from the form in which we found it, but it's still a bit worn, so we thought we'd give you Lilly—unfolded, unbent, uncreased, and incomparable—below. And of course we have plenty more of her in the website, so feel free to look around. She'll be back. That's a promise. ![](/images/postimg/folding_honey_02.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/folding_honey_04.jpg)
![VOODOO CHILD](/images/headline/6673.png) Whatever it is that girl put a spell on me. ![](/images/postimg/voodoo_child_01.jpg)
Yes, we know. We've mixed and matched Jimi Hendrix. The line about putting a spell on him is actually from “Purple Haze” not “Voodoo Chile.” Doesn't matter. It fits. Above, returning for yet another engagement at Pulp Intl., is legendary burlesque dancer Lilly Christine, aka The Cat Girl. These shots were made, as were the last we shared, at the 500 Club in New Orleans, where she performed regularly. In the final one, in case it isn't clear, she's drinking or pretending to drink out of a gourd. After which... maybe she spit liquid all over herself to make her skin all slippery and gleaming. Not that something like that would turn us on. But it would some people.
In any case, these photos are interesting not only for Christine's outfit and gyrations, but because they show a bit of the crowd, and the presence of two female heads gives an indication of how co-ed burlesque shows were back in the day. Women wanted to see erotic spectacles too, and we can only imagine they left highly impressed. The guys, meanwhile, we're sure left highly inspired. And when those two reactions meet! Sparks fly in the coital bed. That's what burlesque is all about. Yes, it's an art form, but it's an art form designed to give you a boner. Don't let anyone tell you differently. See plenty more burlesque imagery here.
![X-MAS X-INE](/images/headline/5847.png) What's more festive than a holiday candy cane? ![](/images/postimg/x-mas_x-ine.jpg)
Some people say Christmas. A few say X-mas. Many just say happy holidays. Whatever your preference, here's burlesque legend Lilly Christine—or if you prefer, Lilly X-ine—looking festive in a candy striped outfit. She's appeared on our website often, most notably in this series of photos from Carnival magazine we were the first to scan and upload. If you have the time and inclination, click her keywords below. And enjoy this day.
![AN ITALIAN LILLY](/images/headline/5133.png) Rare perennial blooms on crime book cover. ![](/images/postimg/an_italian_lilly.jpg)
Not long ago we shared some covers from the Milanese publishers Longanesi & Co., and the lure of those for us was the presence of U.S. model Virginia Gordon on two of them. Here's another Longanesi offering—James Kieran's translated novel Come Murder Me—with burlesque legend Lilly Christine reclining on an ottoman. Longanesi published this in 1957.
![DANCERS GOTTA DANCE](/images/headline/3419.png) It's a hard job but they make it look easy. ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_01_la_savona.jpg)
What better way to complement the collection of paperback covers above than with photos of actual dancers doing what they do best—making their strenuous and often unglamorous work look easy and fun? We present assorted burlesque dancers, showgirls, and strippers from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, both onstage and off, photographed in such hot spots as London, Paris, Tokyo, Rome, New Orleans, and of course New York City. Among the performers: La Savona, Lilly Christine, Lynne O'Neill, the gorgeous Misty Ayres, Patti Cross, Tina Marshall, Carol Doda, Nejla Ates, Barbara Köckritz (we know, we know) fully nude, Lili St. Cyr, Wildcat Frenchie, and more. If you like these, check out our previous set of dancers here.
![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_02_lynne_o'neill.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_03.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_04.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_05.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_06_misty_ayres.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_07.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_08.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_33.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_09.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_18.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_19_patti_cross.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_10.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_11.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_12_blaze_starr.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_13.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_35.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_15.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_16.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_17.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_20.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_21.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_22.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_30.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_23.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_31.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_24.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_25_tina_marshall.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_26.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_28.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_29.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_27.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_34.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/dancers_gotta_dance_32_wildcat_frenchie.jpg)
![TROPICAL FLOWER](/images/headline/2289.png) A Lilly blooms in New Orleans. ![](/images/postimg/tropical_flower_01.jpg)
Often mistaken by casual observers for Lili St. Cyr because of their similar names and looks, Lilly Christine, née Martha Theresa Pompender, was known in burlesque as the Cat Girl. Where Lili St. Cyr projected a regal beauty, Lilly Christine fashioned herself as a feral animal, grimacing and stalking her way through famed routines such as “Harem Heat” and “The Voodoo Dance,” performing to the sound of tribal drums and showing off the bellydancer-like control she had over her six-pack abs. You can get a sense of all that from the photos below, which come from a series shot at Leon Prima’s 500 Club in New Orleans, where Christine enjoyed her greatest fame. Strangely, though she was quite a celebrity, today she has only a modest online presence, and no uploaded video at all. Hopefully, someone out there will one day digitize a film and put it online, because she probably needs to be seen in motion to be truly appreciated. Lilly Christine died in 1965 at age forty-one and was born today, ninety years ago.
![WHAT HE SAID](/images/headline/1763.png) He really appreciates the wilder side of life. ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_01.jpg)
Last year we posted the front and back covers of an issue of He magazine. As usual, it’s taken us longer than we intended, but today we’re back with more. The above cover appeared this month in 1953 and features a masked model shot at New York City’s annual Artists Equity Ball, which, according to He, pretty much turned into an orgy. We don’t know about that, but the photos do reveal a rather racy scene. You also get shots of (we think) Rocky Marciano knocking out someone or other and lightweight champ Jimmy Carter mashing some hapless opponent’s face, photos of Laurie Anders, Lili St. Cyr, Lilly Christine, Daniele Lamar, and other celebs of the day, an amazing still of Julie Newmar, aka Julie Newmeyer, dancing in Slaves of Babylon, plus a back cover featuring highly touted but ultimately underachieving actress Mara Corday. We don’t have to bother too much with a description today, because these digest-sized magazines have text that scans large enough to be read even on small computers. So read and enjoy. ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_02.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_03.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_04.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_05.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_06.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_07.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_08.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_09.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_10.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_11.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_12.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_13.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_14.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_15.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_16.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_17.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_18.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_19.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_20.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_21.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_22.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_23.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_24.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_25.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_26.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_27.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_28.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_29.jpg) ![](/images/postimg/what_he_said_30.jpg)
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The headlines that mattered yesteryear.
2003—Hope Dies
Film legend Bob Hope dies of pneumonia two months after celebrating his 100th birthday. 1945—Churchill Given the Sack
In spite of admiring Winston Churchill as a great wartime leader, Britons elect
Clement Attlee the nation's new prime minister in a sweeping victory for the Labour Party over the Conservatives. 1952—Evita Peron Dies
Eva Duarte de Peron, aka Evita, wife of the president of the Argentine Republic, dies from cancer at age 33. Evita had brought the working classes into a position of political power never witnessed before, but was hated by the nation's powerful military class. She is lain to rest in Milan, Italy in a secret grave under a nun's name, but is eventually returned to Argentina for reburial beside her husband in 1974. 1943—Mussolini Calls It Quits
Italian dictator Benito Mussolini steps down as head of the armed forces and the government. It soon becomes clear that Il Duce did not relinquish power voluntarily, but was forced to resign after former Fascist colleagues turned against him. He is later installed by Germany as leader of the Italian Social Republic in the north of the country, but is killed by partisans in 1945.
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