April March | |
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Born | Velma Fern Worden June 18, 1935 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, US |
Other names | First Lady of Burlesque |
Occupation | Burlesque performer |
Years active | 1952-1978 |
Parents |
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Velma Fern Worden (born June 18, 1935), better known by the stage name April March, is an exotic dancer and prominent star of American burlesque. [1] Billed as April March, The First Lady of Burlesque, she was a headline act in burlesque from 1952 to 1978. [2] During her more than thirty-year career, she gained popularity throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico and Europe [2] [3] for her classy and sophisticated striptease. March was one of the innovators of the elegant strip tease. [1] [4]
April March was born Velma Fern Worden in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. [1] [5] She was the only child of Clarence "Buddy" Worden and Fern Gragg. After her parents divorced her mother went through a string of marriages and alcoholism and her father was absent for most of her life. March was left to be raised by her grandparents Elmer and Ida Gragg.
March began dance, skating and acrobatic lessons at an early age and aspired to be a movie actress. At the age of ten, she was cast as an extra in an Our Gang comedy that was being filmed in Oklahoma City.
March was married to her first husband at the age of fifteen. The marriage lasted less than two years. [5] At age seventeen, divorced and in need of money to get herself to Hollywood, she lied about her age to get a job as a cigarette girl at an Oklahoma City nightclub, The Derby Club. [6] It was while working there that she was discovered by Barney Weinstein, a renowned Dallas club owner, who offered her a chance to be in burlesque. [6]
April March began her career in 1952 [5] at The Theater Lounge in Dallas, TX. [1] After meeting Barney Weinstein in Oklahoma and being offered the opportunity to work in his club, she traveled to Dallas. [6] Weinstien had her trained as a burlesque stripper [6] and gave her the name April March. [7] At the same time, Weinstien and his brother, Abe, were training another burlesque legend, Candy Barr. [8] March became an instant favorite with audiences who were intrigued by the mix of sensuality and innocence from the raven haired beauty and taken in by her warmth and charm.
By the time she was eighteen years old, April March was touring, playing clubs and theaters across the United States, Canada and Mexico. [7] While touring the club and theater circuits, March refined her act, playing on her image of the sophisticated debutante type and became known for her elegant, well choreographed striptease that put the emphasis on teasing.
March inspired two original songs written specifically for her, "Blues for April" and "Springtime for April" which became popular numbers in her act. [1]
Throughout her career, April March worked with other burlesque legends such as Lili St. Cyr, Blaze Starr, Rose La Rose and Ann Corio as well as famous burlesque comics such as Billy "Cheese and Crackers" Hagen, Lenny Ross and Jimmy Matthews.
In 1961, April March was given the title "The First Lady of Burlesque". When an agent pointed out March's striking resemblance to then First Lady of the United States, Jacqueline Kennedy, [1] [4] the agent jokingly said that March's new moniker could be "The First Lady of Burlesque". March's ladylike demeanor on stage also played a part in the title and she began using it.
While appearing at the Picadilly Club in Miami, FL., March was invited to attend a luncheon by Prince Thamur and Prince Mansour of Saudi Arabia who were accompanying their father, King Saud, on a trip to the United States. [6] King Saud heard of March from his two sons and requested a private audience with her. [6] This invitation led to a request by the U. S. State Department for March to secretly deliver a letter to King Saud. March agreed to deliver the letter. [5] March was asked by King Saud to accompany him to Majorca, Spain and then back to Saudi Arabia. [5] On the advice of the United States Government, March turned down the offer, fearing for her life.
Shortly after her meeting with the Saudi King, April March was involved in a fatal shoot out in another Miami club, The Place Pigalle. After a dispute over a bill on which he was charged for March's drinks while she sat at his table, a drunken customer began shooting randomly through the club. When the shooting was over, a singer had been murdered, a doorman had wounded in both legs and one of the dancers had been wounded in one leg which was eventually amputated. The shooter held a gun to April March's head [5] and was overpowered just before pulling the trigger. True Detective magazine picked up the story, labeling March a Femme Fatale who had been the cause of the shootout.
Later in her career, March starred in two shows with the Minsky Theaters [6] in New York City and Wildwood, New Jersey. She turned down Harold Minsky's offer to star in his Las Vegas theater in favor of a three-month contract as the star of the Arthur Fox Review Bar in Manchester, England. March was a special guest star in Ann Corio's off-Broadway show, This Was Burlesque [1] [6] and was filmed for a late night television special entitled The Secrets of April March. She also went head to head in a television interview with Dorothy Fuldheim and appeared as a guest on the Joe Franklin Show. March was also a frequent headliner on the B&E Theater Circuit, a chain of burlesque theaters across the U.S. and Canada owned and operated by Frank Bryan and Frank Engels. She appeared as the stripper in the 1961 Jim Henson short film, Time Piece , which may be the only existing footage of her performing.
At various points in her career, April March received offers to appear on Broadway in the legitimate theater and was twice offered contracts with Columbia and United Artists studios. She turned down each offer in favor of her burlesque career. March also turned an offer to pose in Playboy Magazine, for a fee in excess of ten thousand dollars, citing the fact that she would never appear fully nude in public.
April March was married eight times. [1] [5] Her first husband inventor was Benjamin Joseph Mitson Born in North Idaho.They were only married for a year. [5] She was romantically involved with an infamous Mafia boss in Chicago, Oklahoma oil tycoon, Keene Burwell, numerous entertainers such as actors Dale Robertson, Ray Shaw, Charles Braswell and Monty Hale, baseball legend, Joe DiMaggio and singers Hank Thompson and Mel Torme. [5] March was also briefly involved with former Chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, Wilbur Mills. In order to get rid of Mills, whom she said she could not stand, March introduced Mills to a friend and fellow stripper, Fanne Foxe.
For a brief time, March was engaged to singer, Mel Torme, [5] who was to be her fourth husband. She jilted Torme to marry a man who owned a string of drugstores. Although Torme was furious, the two eventually renewed a friendship that lasted until Torme's death. During this fourth marriage, March took a six-year hiatus from burlesque, during which she discovered a second love, golf. She served as President of the Ladies Golf Association in Tulsa, OK. and developed an eight handicap. [6] [8] This accomplishment would later have her become the only burlesque stripper to be written up in Sports Illustrated [8] in the June 1964 issue. [6]
March has one child, a daughter [1] from her third marriage, and one grandchild.
April March retired from burlesque in 1978 citing that the business had changed and become too blatant and sexual. [8] [7] After retiring, her only public appearance in thirty years would be in 1982 when she became the third woman ever (after Ann Corio and Elizabeth Taylor) to be honored as Person of the Year by The Circus Saints and Sinners Organization.
In 2006, April March was invited to appear as one of the Legends of Burlesque at the annual Miss Exotic World in Las Vegas. [8] After seeing the new burlesque revival and the acts dedicated to the classic strip tease, March was impressed and once again became part of burlesque doing annual appearances, lectures and teaching at festivals in Las Vegas, Boston and Canada. [8] Although she no longer did a strip tease, she became a teacher in the old style of the elegant strip tease act. [9]
April March was one of the performers featured in the 2010 Leslie Zemekis film, Behind the Burly Q [1] [7] [10] and in the Immodesty Blaize film, Burlesque Undressed. [1] [11]
April March currently resides in upstate New York with her eighth husband and continues to make frequent appearances across the United States and Canada, passing on her knowledge and skill to new and upcoming burlesque stars. [2] [5]
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exotic" or "burlesque" dancer.
Gypsy Rose Lee was an American burlesque entertainer, stripper, actress, author, playwright and vedette famous for her striptease act. Her 1957 memoir was adapted into the 1959 stage musical Gypsy.
A stripper or exotic dancer is a person whose occupation involves performing striptease in a public adult entertainment venue such as a strip club. At times, a stripper may be hired to perform at private events.
The G-String Murders is a 1941 detective novel written by American burlesque performer Gypsy Rose Lee. There have been claims made that the novel was written by mystery writer Craig Rice, but others have suggested that there is sufficient documented evidence in the form of manuscripts and correspondence to prove Lee wrote at least a large portion, if not the whole, of the novel under the tutelage of editor/friend George Davis with some essential guidance from her good friend Rice. The novel has been published under the titles Lady of Burlesque and The Strip-Tease Murders. Set in a burlesque theater, Lee casts herself as the detective who solves a set of homicides in which strippers in her troupe are found strangled with their own G-strings.
Marie Frances Van Schaack, known professionally as Lili St. Cyr, was a prominent American burlesque dancer and stripper.
Sally Rand was an American burlesque dancer, vedette, and actress, famous for her ostrich-feather fan dance and balloon bubble dance. She also performed under the name Billie Beck. Rand got her start as a chorus girl before working as an acrobat and traveling theater performer. Her career spanned more than forty years and she appeared on stage, screen and in television. Through her career she worked alongside Humphrey Bogart, Karl Malden, and Cecil B. De Mille. She was a trained pilot and briefly dated Charles Lindbergh.
Blaze Starr was an American stripper and burlesque star. Her vivacious presence and inventive use of stage props earned her the nickname "The Hottest Blaze in Burlesque". She was also known for her affair with Louisiana Governor Earl Kemp Long. Based on her memoir Blaze Starr! My Life as Told to Huey Perry, the 1989 film Blaze told the story of that affair starring Paul Newman as Long and Lolita Davidovich as Starr, with Starr herself acting in a cameo role and as a consultant.
The Burlesque Hall of Fame (BHOF) is the world's only museum dedicated to the history, preservation, and future of the art of burlesque. Located in the Las Vegas Arts district at 1027 S Main st. #110, BHOF is a tourist destination and non-profit 501 (c)(3) educational organization offering tours of its vast Collection of costumes, memorabilia, props and ephemera from burlesque's heyday through contemporary practice; classes for individuals and groups at all levels including beginner; movie screenings; research access for students and journalists; and a gift shop.
Juanita Dale Slusher, better known by her stage name Candy Barr, was an American stripper, burlesque dancer, actress, and adult model in men's magazines of the mid-20th century.
Tempest Storm, also dubbed "The Queen Of Exotic Dancers," was an American burlesque star and motion picture actress. Along with Lili St. Cyr, Sally Rand, and Blaze Starr, she was one of the best-known burlesque performers of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Her career as an exotic dancer spanned more than 60 years, and she was still performing in the early 21st century.
The Night They Raided Minsky's is a 1968 American musical comedy film written and produced by Norman Lear, with music and lyrics by the duo of Charles Strouse and Lee Adams, and directed by William Friedkin. Based on a 1960 novel by Rowland Barber, the film is a fictional account of the invention of the striptease at Minsky's Burlesque in 1925. It stars Jason Robards, Britt Ekland, Norman Wisdom, Forrest Tucker, Harry Andrews, Denholm Elliott, Elliott Gould and Bert Lahr.
Ann Corio was a prominent American burlesque stripper and actress. Her original surname was Coiro, changing it to Corio for stage purposes and because some family members did not approve of her profession.
Minsky's Burlesque refers to the brand of American burlesque presented by four sons of Louis and Ethel Minsky: Abraham 'Abe' Bennett Minsky (1880–1949), Michael William 'Billy' Minsky (1887–1932), Herbert Kay Minsky (1891–1959), and Morton Minsky (1902–1987). They started in 1912 and ended in 1937 in New York City. Although the shows were declared obscene and outlawed, they were rather tame by modern standards.
Hinda Wausau (1906–1980) aka Hinda Wassau, Hinda Wasau, or Hindu Wausau, was a star stripteaser in burlesque. She claimed, and has been credited with, inadvertently inventing the striptease around 1928 at either the Haymarket or State-Congress Theater in Chicago when her costume started coming off during a shimmy dance.
Edith Zack, better known by the stage name Sherry Britton, was an American burlesque performer of the 1930s and early 1940s. The 5-foot-3-inch (1.60 m) Britton had an 18-inch (46 cm) waist, and was once said to have a "figure to die for."
Betty Jane Rowland was an American burlesque dancer and actress, with a career spanning over eight decades. She was the last living performer of the "Golden Age of Burlesque" era.
Angel Cecelia Helene Walker was an American exotic dancer specializing in stripping and burlesque under her stage name Satan's Angel.
American burlesque is a genre of variety show derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall, and minstrel shows. Burlesque became popular in the United States in the late 1860s and slowly evolved to feature ribald comedy and female nudity. By the late 1920s, the striptease element overshadowed the comedy and subjected burlesque to extensive local legislation. Burlesque gradually lost its popularity, beginning in the 1940s. A number of producers sought to capitalize on nostalgia for the entertainment by recreating burlesque on the stage and in Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s. There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990s.
The Mutual Burlesque Association, also called the Mutual Wheel or the MBA, was an American burlesque circuit active from 1922 until 1931. Controlled by Isidore Herk, it quickly replaced its parent company and competitor, the Columbia Amusement Company, as the preeminent burlesque circuit during the Roaring Twenties. Comedians Bud Abbott, Lou Costello, Harry Steppe, Joe Penner, Billy Gilbert, Rags Ragland, and Billy Hagan, as well as stripteasers Ann Corio, Hinda Wausau, Gypsy Rose Lee, and Carrie Finnell, performed in Mutual shows. Mae West appeared in Mutual shows from 1922 to 1925. Mutual collapsed during the Great Depression.