After attracting attention for her roles in Russ Meyer's films, Babette Bardot began touring the United States in 1968 as a burlesque dancer under the guidance of her husband and manager, Bob Baker. With the seductive coif of platinum blonde hair and the billing caption "44-24-38 World's Most Sensational Exotic Entertainer" her appearances included the Gayety Theatre in New York, the Town Theatre in Chicago and the Colony Club in Dallas. While covering the burlesque circuit, she became a frequent guest on TV and radio programs, including The Wally Phillips Show (WGN-Chicago), The Steve Allen Show and The Phil Donahue Show.
She toured in a number of countries, and later found a home at the Majestic Inn (on MacLeod Trail and 50th Ave South) in Calgary, Alberta. The liberal stripping laws in Alberta allowed her to fully strip; however Babette would only remove her tops while retaining a thong. She was the headliner for the hotel bar, the Majic Stik, opening during the Calgary Exhibition and Stampede to a packed house nightly for six months before departing for Las Vegas.
Although unconfirmed, Babette claimed that she was a distant relative of Brigitte Bardot and had once modeled for Pablo Picasso while in her late teens.[2] Author David K. Frasier denies relatives to Brigitte.[3] During the Vietnam War, her popularity and public notoriety resulted in a photo insertion in the GI newspaper Stars and Stripes.
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot, often referred to by her initials B.B., is a French former actress, singer, and model as well as an animal rights activist. Famous for portraying sexually emancipated characters, often with hedonistic lifestyles, she was one of the best known activists in the sexual revolution of the 1950s–1970s. Although she withdrew from the entertainment industry in 1973, she remains a major popular culture icon and a noted figure in ushering in the sexual revolution. She has acted in 47 films, performed in several musicals, and recorded more than 60 songs. She was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1985.
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.
Russell Albion Meyer was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, and editor. He is known primarily for writing and directing a series of successful sexploitation films that featured campy humor, sly satire and large-breasted women, such as Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!. Meyer often named Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) as his definitive work.
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is a 1965 American exploitation film directed by Russ Meyer and co-written by Meyer and Jack Moran. It follows three go-go dancers who embark on a spree of kidnapping and murder in the California desert.
Pasties are patches that cover a person's nipples and areolae, typically self-adhesive or affixed with adhesive. They are usually worn in pairs. They originated as part of burlesque shows, allowing dancers to perform fully topless without exposing the nipples in order to provide a commercial form of bare-breasted entertainment. Pasties are also, at times, used while sunbathing, worn by strippers and showgirls, or as a form of protest during women's rights events such as Go Topless Day. In some cases this is to avoid potential prosecution under indecency laws.
Tura Satana was a Japanese American actress, vedette, and exotic dancer. From 13 film and television credits, some of her work includes the exploitation film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), and the science fiction horror film The Astro-Zombies (1968).
Common Law Cabin is a 1967 exploitation film directed by Russ Meyer. The movie features Alaina Capri and Meyer regulars Babette Bardot and Jack Moran.
Alaina Capri is an actress who appeared in director Russ Meyer's films Common Law Cabin and Good Morning and... Goodbye!
Francesca Isabel Natividad, known professionally as Kitten Natividad, was a Mexican-American film actress and exotic dancer. She was noted for her 44-inch bust, and appearances in cult films made by her ex-partner, director Russ Meyer.
Eve Meyer was an American pin-up model, motion picture actress, and film producer. Much of her work was in conjunction with sexploitation filmmaker Russ Meyer, to whom she was married from 1952 to 1969. She was killed in the Tenerife airport disaster in 1977.
Mondo Topless is a 1966 pseudo-documentary directed by Russ Meyer, featuring Babette Bardot and Lorna Maitland among others. It was Meyer's first color film following a string of black and white "roughie nudies", including Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! While a straightforward sexploitation film, the film owes some debt to the French New Wave and cinéma vérité traditions, and is known to some under the titles Mondo Girls and Mondo Top.
Lorna is a 1964 independent film starring Lorna Maitland, produced and directed by Russ Meyer. It was written in four days by James Griffith, who played the preacher in the film.
Finders Keepers, Lovers Weepers! is a 1968 film by Russ Meyer. The story involves the goings-on at a topless go-go bar on the Sunset Strip. Meyer himself makes an appearance in this film. The composition Finlandia by Jean Sibelius is used in one of the film's love scenes.
A handbra is the practice of covering female nipples and areolae with hands or arms. It often is done in compliance with censors' guidelines, public authorities and community standards when female breasts are required to be covered in film or other media. If the arms are used instead of the hands the expression is arm bra. The use of long hair for this purpose is called a hair bra.
Lorna Maitland, born Barbara Ann Popejoy, is an American film actress. She appeared in three Russ Meyer films: Lorna (1964), Mudhoney (1965), and Mondo Topless (1966).
Cheri Caffaro is an American actress who appeared mainly in low-budget exploitation films in the 1970s.
Big Al's was one of the first topless bars in San Francisco and the United States since the mid-1960s. It was the first full nudity bars in San Francisco. It is next to the Condor Club, where the strip-club phenomenon began; and as of 1991, claimed to be one of the largest porn stores in San Francisco.
The Zanzibar Tavern in Toronto, Ontario, is an adult entertainment nightclub and local landmark found on Toronto's Yonge Street strip. It is one of Toronto's oldest nightclubs, which celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2020. The venue's name is a cheeky reference to the shortest war of history; between the African Sultante and the British Empire.
Babette Goes to War is a 1959 French CinemaScope film starring Brigitte Bardot. It was Bardot's first movie since becoming a star where she did not take off her clothes.
RM Films International is a film distribution company based in Hollywood, California. It was started by filmmaker Russ Meyer to distribute his movies. Since Meyer's death in 2004, RM Films International has been owned and operated by the Russ Meyer Charitable Trust and is a recognized 501(c) private foundation.
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