Lili St. Cyr Queen of Burlesque

Born Willis Marie Van Schaack June 3, 1918 Minneapolis, Minnesota

At age two, her family moved to Pasadena, where she took ballet lessons. She was employed as a waitress in Pasadena when photographer Jack Powell saw her and introduced her to modeling. Lili fell into the entertainment business almost by accident. She accompanied her sister to an audition with Nils T. Granlund, who immediately hired both women.

She began her career at the Florentine Gardens in Hollywood. Granlund acceded to Lili's wishes to try some specialty numbers, and featured her in a mini-musical called "Eve and the Apple." At that time, Granlund billed Lili as "The American Goddess."

Two years later she appeared at San Francisco's Music Box. Her associations of this period included Yvonne DeCarlo and Marie McDonald in Pasadena, and Rosetta and Vivian Duncan, of Broadway and London stage fame, and of course Granlund.

She set her course from circumstances in her immediate experience, showing the acumen that perhaps helped set her apart from the crowd. Lili realized that nudity on stage translated into big earnings. Her synthesis of theatrical dance and nudity was realized through another association, this time with producer Ivan Fehnova at the Hollywood Theatre in San Diego. When Fehnova first saw her act, he fired her, then rehired her. He said she had nothing-she was so beautiful, but she had nothing, he said. For her late night second appearance, he fitted her with a G-string attached to a fish line. The G-string was supposed to fly off and the houselights would go dark. The gimmick failed, and the G-string flew into the front row and into a customer's drink. The incident was a hit not soon forgotten, and "the flying G" helped launch the young entertainer on the road to stardom.

Lili worked several hours a day for five years under Fehnova's tutelage. She studied Russian ballet and became an exceptionally talented dancer. She was known for a time as Lili Fehnova, but her talent for shaping an image led her to change her name. She had chosen the name Lili after Lillie Langtry and Lillian Russell. St. Cyr she took from a story she had read about France.

In her act, Lili chose to portray the great women of history: Salome, Cleopatra, and Eve. Her act continued to evolve. Costumes became more lavish, the overall effect more sumptuous. She performed "Afternoon of a Faun," and "In a Persian Harem." Other performances, such as "Leda and the Swan" and "The Chinese Virgin" echoed still more old world and Asian themes, with the overall theme being truly international in flavor.

She played Ciro's in Hollywood, opening her act in only a G-string. She then proceeded to dress with the help of a maid, perfecting the striptease in reverse. She helped build Las Vegas, appearing at El Rancho Vegas, the first resort casino to open on what later became known as the Strip. She headquartered there in her own cabin and grew very fond of the town, which she called charming-a small town.

Her shows became more lavish, thanks to the backing of millionaire interior decorator Tom Douglas, who backed a $15,000 stage set. She wore hats and dresses from top west coast designers-after bathing in a glass tub. Lili's bath routine, sumptuous with bubbles, continued to be one her mainstays throughout her career.

She continued practicing dance, benefiting from instruction from husband dancer, Paul Valentine, her third marriage, which ended in 1949. (Lili had been married to motorcycle racer, Cordy Milne, and to Richard Hubert, headwaiter at the Florentine Gardens.) Lili's devotion, not only to ballet, but to her sets, costumes and performances, made relationships difficult if not impossible, and a fourth marriage to Armando Orsini ended in 1953.

Can there be any doubt that fame exacts a price? Lili was arrested(October 18, 1951) in Los Angeles after her "Interlude Before Evening" show at Ciro's. She was charged with lewd and lascivious performance, which purportedly contributed to sex crimes and constituted a corruption of public morals. The charges it seems, stemmed from complaints placed by a group of women of the community who took it upon themselves to review the performance in person. Lili's attorney, Jerry Geisler, later stated that he succeeded in having the case laughed into acquittal.

Geisler thought of asking for a jury of Lili's peers, but decided instead to portray the act as artistic, and asked that a jury be selected from those who might be able to judge the case accordingly. The request was ignored, but Geisler felt he had made his point when people began to reassess their opinions and wonder if the artistic aspect might be valid. The witnesses for the prosecution were police and deputy sheriffs who used words like "shocked" and "horrified" and this Geisler seized on, suggesting to the court that their testimony was perhaps hypocritical. These burly men dealt with non-Sunday-school forms of behavior in their work, and should not be truly shocked by Lili's act, Geisler said.

He put Herman Hover, Ciro's owner on the stand and asked him to demonstrate a bump and grind. The portly Hover was goaded by the defense attorney, and when he finally attempted the movement, the entire court room roared with laughter. Geisler gives some credit for the acquittal to the young prosecuting attorney. Geisler had called Los Angeles newspaperwoman, Florabel Muir, to testify. She did not agree that Lili had done anything wrong. In cross-examining her, the prosecutor kept referring to her as "Madam," and Mrs. Muir finally leaned forward and fairly warned him not to call her madam. He slunk away.

The final straw was the question of Lili's exit from the bath. The aforesaid shocked and horrified law officers testified they could see her nakedness though her towel. The defense produced the terry cloth towel for all to see, and that was that.

She was in her prime at 118 pounds and 5-foot-9. She was 36-24-35 and headed for Hollywood. Howard Hughes signed her to a seven-year contract with RKO Studios. Her film debut came in 1954. Sol Lesser's "Carmenesque" showcased Lili's dancing talents, and in "Son of Sinbad" (1955) Lili entered mainstream films opposite Dale Robertson. She appeared in several films (see list, Filmography) including "Runaway Girl" which many feel was her best role. She did not like working in Hollywood, stating that you couldn't be your own person. She married again in Las Vegas, but husband number five, Ted Jordan, himself a Broadway and Hollywood actor, brawled with one of her customer-admirers, and the marriage dissolved. She married husband number six, special effects artist Joe Albert Zomar, in 1959 and divorced again in 1964.

Jordan wrote a book on Marilyn Monroe called "Norma Jean," in which he asserts that Marilyn and Lili were lovers. Jordan dated Marilyn before he and Lili ever met. In fact Marilyn wanted to see Lili's act, and Jordan states that the actress became excited when she saw the performance. Afterwards, Marilyn insisted they stay for Lili's second show. Some time later Jordan noticed a change in Marilyn's screen presence, and in the way she carried herself. Marilyn attributed the change to St. Cyr's tutelage. She had learned some tricks from Lili, Marilyn said. When Jordan asked why St. Cyr was helping her, Marilyn replied she thought Lili was in love with her. Did she mean to say they were having sex? Jordan asked. Yes, she did.

Lili St. Cyr earned $5,000 a week for her dedication, talent, and creativity. Her sets were expensive, as were her costumes and jewelry. She wore Dior gowns and women flocked to her performances to see them, or perhaps we should say they came to see how Lili wore them. And men of course came to her shows because they couldn't stay away.

She topped a 1957 list of the ten top strippers of all time and bathed in compliments far beyond any mere list. Magazine articles (see Magazine list) on her abound, as do the superlative adjectives of praise for her uniqueness, her style, her beauty, and talent. Harold Minsky, a recognized student of burlesque said: "She's not a stripper in the ordinary sense, but she immediately excites the audience. There's class in everything she does."

Feb.1 About Town(1946)
Bits of Beauty No. 1 (1946)
Sept. Picture Show (1948)
Nov. Night & Day (1948)
April Flirt (1949)
Jan. Night & Day (1950)
April Taboo (1950)
Sept. Gala (1950)
Dec. Night & Day (1950)
Feb. Big Time (1951)
July Night & Day (1951)
Sept. Famous Modles (1951)
Jan. Modern Man (1952)
Feb. Night & Day (1952)
Mar. Hit! (1952)
Mar. Modern Man (1952)
May Pix (1952)
Nov. Cover Girl Models (1952)
Nov. Show (1952)
Nov. 19, People Today (1952)
Modern Man #2 (1953)
April He (1953)
Aug. Uncensored (1953)
Sept. Art Photography (1953)
Nov. Night & Day (1953)
Nov. Tab (1953)
Jan. 25 Tempo (1954)
Feb. Eye (1954)
April Modern Man (1954)
Peep Show (1954)
May Sir (1954)
Modern Screen Pin-Ups (1955)
Jan. TV Girls & Gags (1955)
March Picture Scope (1955)
April Night & Day (1955)
Cabaret Yearbook #2 (1955)
Pix Annual (1955)
May Cabaret (1955)
July Vue (1955)
Aug. Cabaret (1955)
Aug. Modern Man (1955)
Sept. Cabaret (1955)
Cabaret Quarterly #4 (1956)
Pix Annual (1956)

Cabatet Yearbook #1 (1955)
Jan. Confidential (1956)
April Cabaret (1956)
April Escapade (1956)
Aug. Modern Man (1956)
Oct. Adam (1956)
Nov. Jem (1956)
Cabaret #6 (1957)
Ideal Models (1957)
Jan. Cabaret (1957)
Feb. Suppressed (1957)
Feb. Uncensored (1957)
Mar. Cabaret (1957)
Mar. Gala (1957)
April After Hours #2 (1957)
April Exposed (1957)
Aug. Cabaret (1957)
Aug. Caper (1957)
Feb. Inside Story (1958)
March Follies (1958)
April TV Scandals (1958)
Aug. Modern Man (1958)
Caper's Choicest (1959)
Modern Man Yearbook (1959)
May TV Closeup (1959)
Candida Vol. 2-2 (1960)
July The Lowdown (1961)
Striparama Vol.2-6 (1963)
March Millionaire (1966)

Love Moods (1952)

Strip-o-Rama (1953)

Bedroom Fantasy (1954)

Carmenesque (1954)

The Miami Story (1954)

Varietease (1954)

Son of Sinbad (1955)

Boudoir Secrets (1955)

Josett of New Orleans (1958)

The Naked and the Dead (1958)

I Mobster (1958)

Runaway Girl (1966)