Willie Vincent Piazza (c. 1865 – November 2, 1932) was a
prostitute and
brothel proprietor in the
Storyville during that red light district's period of legal operation.
From 1898 until the district's closure in 1917, Piazza worked as a madam and specialized in providing
octoroon
In the colonial societies of the Americas and Australia, a quadroon or quarteron was a person with one quarter African/ Aboriginal and three quarters European ancestry.
Similar classifications were octoroon for one-eighth black (Latin root ''oc ...
women for her clients; she herself was mixed-race.
Early life
Little is known about Piazza's early life. Her parents, Italian immigrant Vincent Piazza and woman of colour, Celia Caldwell, were both still teenagers and unmarried at the time of her birth. Their daughter had at least two other siblings. Piazza was born in
Copiah County, Mississippi
Copiah County is a county located in the U.S. state of Mississippi. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,368. The county seat is Hazlehurst.
With an eastern border formed by the Pearl River, Copiah County is part of the Jackson, MS Me ...
and first moved to
in the mid-1890s.
"Countess" Willie Piazza
Operating for a period of about twenty years, Piazza became known in Storyville for her brothel parlor. She was one of several women of mixed ancestry to operate brothels in the area,
Lulu White
Lulu White (Lulu Hendley, ca. 1868 – August 20, 1931) was a brothel madam, procuress and entrepreneur in New Orleans, Louisiana during the Storyville period.Landau, EmilyLulu White, KnowLA Encyclopedia of Louisiana, 2010-11-29. Accessed ...
being perhaps the most prominent.
Purchasing her 317 N. Basin Street premises for $12,000 in 1907, she spent an additional $30,000 on furnishings and other upgrades; the brothel was immediately successful, allowing Piazza to pay off the mortgage within two years.
Piazza's "girls" were known around New Orleans for their fine clothes, private coaches, and for their abilities to sing and play musical instruments;
jazz pianist
Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...
sometimes played her upright white piano. The average annual income for a Willie Piazza octoroon was thought to be $1,000-$2,000. Piazza herself became known as "Countess Willie Piazza" and cultivated an image of European sophistication. She used a “two foot ivory, gold and diamond” cigarette holder to smoke Russian cigarettes.
After the closure of Storyville in 1917, Piazza continued to work as a prostitute and procuress.
Piazza was one of the main characters (played by
Virginia Mayo
Virginia Mayo (born Virginia Clara Jones; November 30, 1920 – January 17, 2005) was an American actress and dancer. She was in a series of comedy films with Danny Kaye and was Warner Brothers' biggest box-office money-maker in the late 1940s. ...
) in the 1978 Dennis Kane film ''
French Quarter
The French Quarter, also known as the , is the oldest neighborhood in the city of New Orleans. After New Orleans (french: La Nouvelle-Orléans) was founded in 1718 by Jean-Baptiste Le Moyne de Bienville, the city developed around the ("Old Sq ...
''.
Death
Willie Piazza died from cancer on November 2, 1932, in
. Due to careful investments, she reportedly left a significant estate.
References
Bibliography
*
*
*
External links
*
Willie Piazzaprofile at Know Louisiana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piazza, Willie
1860s births
1932 deaths
American brothel owners and madams
American prostitutes
Deaths from cancer in Louisiana
People from Jackson, Mississippi
American people of Italian descent