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Well....bless her heart!
80 year old stripper?
LAS VEGAS, Nevada (AP) -- Tempest Storm is fuming. Her fingers tremble with frustration. They are aged, knotted by arthritis and speckled with purple spots under paper skin.
Tempest Storm at the Burlesque Hall of Fame's annual All-Star Burlesque Weekend in Las Vegas.
But the manicure of orange polish is flawless and new, and matches her signature tousled mane.
She brushes orange curls out of her face as she explains how she's been slighted.
She is the headliner, you know. She is a star. She is classy.
"I don't just get up there and rip my clothes off," she says.
Indeed, the 80-year-old burlesque queen takes her clothes off very slowly.
More than 50 years ago she was dubbed the "Girl with the Fabulous Front" and told by famous men she had the "Best Two Props in Hollywood."
Since then, Storm saw the art that made her famous on the brink of extinction. Her contemporaries -- Blaze Starr, Bettie Page, Lili St. Cyr -- have died or hung up the pasties.
But not Storm. She kept performing. Las Vegas, Reno, Palm Springs, Miami, Carnegie Hall.
Her act is a time capsule. She knows nothing of poles. She would never put her derriere in some man's face. Her prop of choice is a boa, perhaps the occasional divan.
It takes four numbers, she says adamantly, four numbers to get it all off. To do it classy.
But the producers of tonight's show, just kids, they want her to go faster. She gets just seven minutes.
"I did seven minutes when I started," she says.
They gave her trouble last year, too. They even cut her music before she finished.
There may not be a next time for this show, she says. The threat lasts just minutes.
"No, no. I'm not ready to hang up my G-string, yet. I've got too many fans that would be disappointed."
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July 14, 2008, 21:33 |
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pepper
56 / female daytona, Florida, US
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Re: Well....bless her heart!
Tempest is still beautiful, but my favorites are Lili St. Cyr and Bettie Page. There's just something about them. Burlesque was so classy compared to what comes off on stage today. (I know, I am a dancer, but I still admire the ladies who started it all)
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July 17, 2008, 20:09 |
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Re: Well....bless her heart!
Chazzy... you got that right, Bless her heart, it takes a special lady with determination to succeed, not only being a Striptease or Stripper, just everything in life itself!
xox
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July 18, 2008, 10:33 |
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Re: Well....bless her heart!
I've seen her photo, and the gal looks fantastic for 80.
I very much agree with Pepper, burlesque is an art that should not be lost.
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July 18, 2008, 20:17 |
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