Photo: Ralph Morse / Time Life Pictures
IN THE LATE-1930s, AS NEW YORK CITY WAS SHUTTERING its burlesque theaters, A GAGGLE OF WISE- CRACKING COMICS, RAUNCHY VAUDEVILLIANS, p. T. BARNUM-ESQUE THEATRE OWNERS, HAS-BEEN musicians and strip-TEASE GIRLS HEADED FOR the sun-spLASHED SHORES AND NEON NOIR NIGHTS of LOS ANGELES, BRINGING A STRANGELY ExOTIC form of entertainment with them. FOR ALMOST 30 YEARS, CHARACTERS LIKE TURA SATANA( ELVIS allegedly pROpOSED TO HER), BETTY ROWLAND(“ THE BURLESQUE QUEEN”), VIRGINIA BELL(“ THE 48- INCH BUST”), EVANGELINE SYLVAS(“ THE OYSTER GIRL”) and LILI St. CYR(“ THE FLYING-G”) SET THE LA NIGHTS on fire— GIVING EVEN HOLLYWOOD SOMETHING THEY hadn’ T SEEN BEFORE by Kirk Silsbee treatsmagazine. com 41