Jennie Lee (born Virginia Lee Hicks, October 23, 1928 – March 24, 1990) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

stripper 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 a bachelor party or other private event. M ...

pin-up model A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

, union activist, and a minor role movie actress, who performed several

striptease 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 "ex ...

acts in

nightclub A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music. Nightclubs gener ...

s during the 1950s and 1960s. She was also known as "the Bazoom Girl", "the Burlesque Version of Jayne Mansfield", and "Miss 44 and Plenty More".

Early life

She was born with the name Virginia Lee Hicks on October 23, 1928 in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. Due to her figure (42D"–26"–37), she became known as "The Bazoom Girl," "The Burlesque Version of

Jayne Mansfield Jayne Mansfield (born Vera Jayne Palmer; April 19, 1933 – June 29, 1967) was an American actress, singer, nightclub entertainer, and ''Playboy'' Playmate. A sex symbol of the 1950s and early 1960s while under contract at 20th Century Fox, Man ...

," and eventually, "Miss 44 and Plenty More".

Career

Lee's act centered on how fast she could get her pastie propellers to spin and how dizzy she could make the audience. By the early fifties she broke into acting with minor roles in ''Peek-A-Boo'' (1953), ''Abandon'' (1958), ''Cold Wind in August'' (1961), and '' 3 Nuts in Search of a Bolt'' (1964) with

Mamie Van Doren Mamie Van Doren (born Joan Lucille Olander; February 6, 1931) is an American actress, singer, and sex symbol. She is perhaps best known for the rock 'n' roll, juvenile delinquency exploitation film ''Untamed Youth'' (1957). Early life Van Do ...

. Despite her ambitions of mainstream stardom, she found herself

typecast In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...

in side roles, and never got her acting career off the ground. In 1955, she helped start a union for dancers, The Exotic Dancers' League of North America (or EDL), acting as the club's first president. During this time in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, dancers' pay rates were extremely low and the EDL helped fight these matters as well as pushing for improved working conditions. Lee's own salary was extremely low as well, and she was forced to live in run-down

studio apartment A studio apartment, also known as a studio flat ( UK), a self-contained apartment (Nigeria), efficiency apartment, bed-sitter (Kenya) or bachelor apartment, is a small apartment (rarely a condo) in which the normal functions of a number of ro ...

s. The dancer tried to keep this from her friends, claiming in a 1980s interview: "They would've thought I was a hooker for sure." During her career Lee appeared on the cover of several magazines, including: ''Stare'' in 1954; ''Risk'' in 1957; ''Frolic'' in 1958, among many others. She wrote an article on herself for a 1955 spread in '' Modern Man''. Besides her life as a stripper, Lee was a noted

pin-up girl A pin-up model (known as a pin-up girl for a female and less commonly male pin-up for a male) is a model whose mass-produced pictures see widespread appeal as part of popular culture. Pin-up models were variously glamour models, fashion models ...

throughout her career, but like most of her contemporaries, never posed

nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

, though in later years she did. She also wrote a monthly column on the burlesque and nightclub scene for several years that appeared in a variety of magazines.

Late life and death

As the years went by, the EDL became more of a social organization for retired dancers and collectible items associated in their acts. Lee gathered press pictures, gowns, pasties, and

G-string A G-string is a type of thong, a narrow piece of fabric, leather, or satin that covers or holds the genitals, passes between the buttocks, and is attached to a waistband around the hips. A G-string can be worn both by men and by women. It may al ...

s of burlesque dancers for the organization and displayed them at businesses she ran, including her nightclub/bar The Sassy Lassy. The collection would become part of the Exotic World museum (now the Burlesque Hall of Fame) in Helendale,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, which was founded in 1961 by Lee. By the late 1960s, an aging Lee lost interest in her own burlesque career but was still interested in supporting the next generation of Exotic Dancers and memorializing her own generation of burlesque performers. She died in 1991 at the age of 61 from cancer. With her death, fellow burlesque dancer,

Dixie Evans Mary Lee "Dixie" Evans (August 28, 1926 – August 3, 2013) was an American burlesque dancer and stripper. Career Evans was best known for a burlesque parody she performed as Marilyn Monroe. Evans entered show-business as a model and later choru ...

, took over the Exotic World museum and helped keep burlesque and Lee's legacy alive. In 1958, she was immortalized in the song named after her, Jennie Lee, recorded by Jan & Arnie. The song was credited to Jan & Arnie because Dean Torrence was in the army at the time of the recording so their friend Arnie Ginsburg, recorded the song with

Jan Berry Jan and Dean was an American rock duo consisting of William Jan Berry (April 3, 1941 – March 26, 2004) and Dean Ormsby Torrence (born March 10, 1940). In the early 1960s, they were pioneers of the California Sound and vocal surf music styles ...

References

External links

Jennie Lee
at the Golden Days of Burlesque Historical Society * *
Burlesque Legend and BHoF Founder Jennie Lee (VIDEO and COLORING PAGES)
at the

Burlesque Hall of Fame The Burlesque Hall of Fame (BHOF) is the world's only museum dedicated to the history, preservation, and future of the art of American burlesque, burlesque. Located in the Las Vegas Arts district at 1027 S Main st. #110, BHOF is a tourist des ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lee, Jennie 1928 births 1990 deaths American film actresses American female erotic dancers American erotic dancers American vedettes 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American dancers American burlesque performers