Le Crazy Horse Saloon or Le Crazy Horse de Paris is a
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
ian
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or d ...
known for its stage shows performed by nude female dancers and for the diverse range of magic and variety 'turns' between each nude show and the next. Its owners have helped to create related cabaret and
burlesque
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. shows in other cities.
Unrelated businesses have used the phrase "Crazy Horse" in their names.
History
The Paris Crazy Horse occupies former wine cellars (12 in all, which have been combined) of an impressive
Haussmanian building at 12
Avenue George-V
Avenue George V is a street in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It starts at Place de l'Alma, and ends at No. 99 avenue des Champs-Elysées. It marks the western limit of Paris's "golden triangle" ().
Until 14 July 1918, the avenue was called ...
(from the British king
George V
George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until Death and state funeral of George V, his death in 1936.
Born duri ...
, in French "George Cinq").
Alain Bernardin opened it in 1951 and personally operated it for decades until his death by suicide in 1994.
Many of the original waiters (their names stitched in large letters onto the backs of their waistcoats) were also substantial shareholders in the original company. The enterprise remained a family business, in the hands of Bernardin's three children, until 2005, when it changed hands. By this time the name "Le Crazy Horse de Paris" was used for the original venue and ''Crazy Horse Paris'' for one in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
(formerly ''La Femme'') at the
MGM Grand.
Along with its dancers, the Crazy Horse has also been a popular venue for many other artists, including magicians, jugglers, and mimes. Bernardin explained that he loved magic because it corresponded with his vision: "
agicis a dream. There is no show that is more dreamlike than a magic show. And what we do with the girls is magic, too, because they aren't as beautiful as you see them onstage. It's the magic of lights and costumes. These are my dreams and fascinations that I put onstage."
Under new shareholders and new management from 2005, Crazy Horse started featuring famous or prestigious artists stripping for a limited number of shows, including
Dita Von Teese
Heather Renée Sweet (born September 28, 1972), known professionally as Dita Von Teese, is an American vedette, burlesque dancer, model, and businesswoman. She is credited with re-popularizing burlesque performance, earning the moniker "Queen ...
,
Carmen Electra
Tara Leigh Patrick (born April 20, 1972), known professionally as Carmen Electra, is an American actress, model, singer, and media personality. She began her career as a singer after moving to Minneapolis, where she met Prince, who produced h ...
,
Aria Cascaval,
Arielle Dombasle
Arielle Dombasle (born April 27, 1953)Dombasle's year of birth has been a subject of much debate, and various sources have given dates ranging from 1953 to 1958. is an American-born French singer, actress, director and model. Her breakthrough ro ...
or
Pamela Anderson
Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-American actress and model. She is best known for her glamour modeling work in ''Playboy'' magazine and for her appearances on the television series ''Baywatch'' (1992–1997).
Anders ...
. They also hired
Philippe Decouflé
Philippe Decouflé (born October 22, 1961) is a French people, French choreographer, dancer, mime artist, and theatre director. as choreographer.
Kelly Brook
Kelly Ann Parsons (born 23 November 1979), known professionally as Kelly Brook, is an English model, actress, and media personality. She is known for her modelling work in the UK, and in the US for her role as Prudence on the NBC sitcom ''One ...
appeared in the autumn of 2012. Also in 2012, the dancers went on strike for higher pay. Before the strike, which caused the cancellation of a high-profile revue for one day but generated a fantastic buzz for the cabaret, some sources mentioned a salary of €2,000 per month. Other sources said that settlement of the strike yielded a 15 percent pay raise. These numbers were denied by the management of the cabaret.
The Paradiso Girls have named their album ''Crazy Horse'' after the club, as one of their members
Aria Cascaval worked there. The club is referenced in the song "
Live with Me
"Live with Me" is a song by the Rolling Stones from their album ''Let It Bleed'', released in December 1969. It was the first song recorded with the band's new guitarist Mick Taylor, who joined the band in June 1969, although the first record ...
" by
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band formed in London in 1962. Active for six decades, they are one of the most popular and enduring bands of the rock era. In the early 1960s, the Rolling Stones pioneered the gritty, rhythmically d ...
in 1969, and also mentioned in the 1987
Mötley Crüe
Mötley Crüe is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee, lead guitarist Mick Mars and lead singer Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe has sold over 100 million albums ...
song "
Girls, Girls, Girls".
Film history
*In 1977, the club created and appeared in a documentary film, known as ''Crazy-Horse, Paris-France'', or ''Crazy Horse de Paris''.
*''Crazy Horse-Le Show'': a 2004 documentary in DVD format.
*''Crazy Horse, Paris'': a 2009 documentary in DVD format. The video features a
Neo-Burlesque
Neo-Burlesque, or New Burlesque, is the revival and updating of the traditional American burlesque performance. Though based on the traditional burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; neo-burlesque acts can r ...
performer
Dita von Teese
Heather Renée Sweet (born September 28, 1972), known professionally as Dita Von Teese, is an American vedette, burlesque dancer, model, and businesswoman. She is credited with re-popularizing burlesque performance, earning the moniker "Queen ...
.
*''Crazy Horse'': a 2011 documentary by
Frederick Wiseman
Frederick Wiseman (born January 1, 1930) is an American filmmaker, documentarian, and theater director. His work is "devoted primarily to exploring American institutions". He has been called "one of the most important and original filmmakers wor ...
.
*
Beyoncé's music video for 'Partition' was inspired by, and partially filmed at Crazy Horse. The video is part of her
2013 self-titled 'visual album.'
Public transit access
*
Alma – Marceau
![Paris m 9 jms](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Paris_transit_icons_-_M%C3%A9tro_9.svg)
*
Champs-Élysées – Clemenceau
Other clubs
![MGM Crazy Horse entrance](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/MGM_Crazy_Horse_entrance.jpg)
Other entertainments with varying degrees of resemblance and similar names, but unaffiliated with the original, include:
*
The Crazy Horse
The Crazy Horse is a cabaret venue on the Rue de Phénicie in Beirut, Lebanon. Named after the Parisian cabaret Crazy Horse, it was an infamous nightclub during the 1960s and 1970s when it was both a bar and a brothel, and considered the most outra ...
, Beirut, Lebanon
*
Crazy Horse Too
Crazy Horse Too is a closed strip club located at 2476 Industrial Road in Las Vegas, Nevada, Las Vegas, Nevada, a few blocks west of the Las Vegas Strip. The club was known as Billy Jo's during the 1970s. In 1978, the club was purchased by Americ ...
, Las Vegas
*Crazy Horse,
Orlando, Florida
Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...
*Crazy Horse,
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the east coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as "The Grand Strand" in the northeastern part of the state. Its y ...
*Crazy Horse Gentlemen's Club,
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
*Crazy Horse,
Adelaide, Australia
Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The demo ...
*Crazy Horse,
Gold Coast, Australia
The Gold Coast is a coastal city in the state of Queensland, Australia, approximately south-southeast of the centre of the state capital Brisbane. With a population over 600,000, the Gold Coast is the sixth-largest city in Australia, the nati ...
*Crazy Horse,
Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...
*Crazy Horse,
Akron, Ohio
Akron () is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Summit County, Ohio, Summit County. It is located on the western edge of the Glaciated Allegheny Plateau, about south of downtown Cleveland. As of the 2020 C ...
*Crazy Horse,
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
*Crazy Horse,
Bedford Heights, Ohio
Bedford Heights is a city in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, United States. It is a suburb of Cleveland. The population was 11,020 at the 2020 census.
History
Bedford Heights was founded on February 20, 1951. It was originally part of Bedford Township an ...
*Crazy Horse,
Kaohsiung, Taiwan
Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
*Crazy Horse Cabaret, Bronx, New York
See also
*
Peepshow
A peep show or peepshow is a presentation of a live sex show or pornographic film which is viewed through a viewing slot.
Several historical media provided voyeuristic entertainment through hidden erotic imagery. Before the development of the ci ...
*
Sirens of TI
''The Sirens of TI'' was a free nightly show provided by the Treasure Island Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The show entailed a group of sensual and tempting sirens engaging with a band of renegade pirates led by th ...
*
Absinthe
Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavoured spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. Historical ...
*
Moulin Rouge
Moulin Rouge (, ; ) is a cabaret in Paris, on Boulevard de Clichy, at Place Blanche, the intersection of, and terminus of Rue Blanche.
In 1889, the Moulin Rouge was co-founded by Charles Zidler and Joseph Oller, who also owned the Olympia (P ...
*
Le Lido
Le Lido is a cabaret and burlesque show located on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. It opened in 1946 at 78 Avenue des Champs-Élysées and moved to its current location in 1977. It is known for its exotic shows including dancers, singers ...
*
List of strip clubs
This is a list of notable strip clubs, both active and defunct. A strip club is a venue where strippers provide adult entertainment, predominantly in the form of striptease or other erotic or exotic dances.
Strip clubs Multinational
*
*
Canad ...
*
Folies Bergère
The Folies Bergère () is a cabaret music hall, located in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trév ...
*
Casino de Paris
The Casino de Paris, located at 16, rue de Clichy, in the 9th arrondissement, is one of the well known music halls of Paris, with a history dating back to the 18th century. Contrary to what the name might suggest, it is a performance venue, not ...
*
Paradis Latin
The Paradis Latin is a theater at number 28, rue du Cardinal Lemoine, in the Latin Quarter of Paris, in the fifth arrondissement, near Notre-Dame, the Panthéon, and the Tour d'Argent restaurant. The closest métro stations are Cardinal Lemoine a ...
*
Cabaret Red Light
Cabaret Red Light was a theater group based in Philadelphia that performed vaudeville, burlesque, spoken word and puppet theater, set to original music by The Blazing Cherries. In their first season, between November 2008 and July 2009, Cabaret Re ...
*
Tropicana Club
El Tropicana Night Club in Havana, Cuba located in a lush, six-acre (24,000 m²) estate tropical garden opened on December 30, 1939 at the Villa Mina in Marianao. It is located next door to the old Colegio de Belen, presently, the Instituto Técn ...
*
Jubilee!
''Jubilee!'' was a Las Vegas Strip-based spectacular revue. It opened on July 31, 1981 at an initial cost of 10 million dollars and was originally produced by Donn Arden. Donn Arden set the standard for all the spectacular Las Vegas shows th ...
References
External links
Crazy Horse official websiteHistory of Crazy Horse and La Femme
{{DEFAULTSORT:Crazy Horse
Cabarets in Paris
Strip clubs in France
Buildings and structures in the 8th arrondissement of Paris
1951 establishments in France
Burlesque theatres