Sally Stanford

Sally Stanford (May 5, 1903–February 1, 1982) was a madam, restaurateur, and the mayor of Sausalito, California.

Born Mabel Busby in Baker, Oregon (Baker County) in 1903, she came to San Francisco in 1924. She eventually came to run one of San Francisco's well known and elegant bordellos at 1144 Pine Street near Jones Street on the south slope of Nob Hill in a house built by Stanford White (demolished in 1961 to build condominiums). She was the madam of this house of ill repute from 1940 to 1949, when it was raided by Edmund G. Brown, Sr., then the attorney general of California. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1999/12/19/SC14MYF.DTL Top Ten By the Bay ] ] It was said by Herb Caen, writer for the San Francisco Chronicle that "the United Nations was founded at Sally Stanford's whorehouse", because at the founding conference of the United Nations in San Francisco in June 1945, many of the delegates were customers of Sally Stanford and a large part of the actual negotiations took place in the living room of her cathouse.

In 1950, she opened the Valhalla restaurant in Sausalito. She ran six times for Sausalito City Council and finally won in 1972, was vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce, a Little League sponsor and in 1976, was re-elected with a majority that made her mayor at the age of 72.

Stanford died of a heart attack at age 78, in Marin General Hospital, on February 1, 1982.

Sally Stanford adopted the name Stanford as one of many pseudonyms for Mabel Busby. According to her autobiography, "Lady of the House", she saw a newspaper headline about Stanford University winning a football game and adopted the surname.

Famous quote

"Madaming is the sort of thing that happens to you—like getting a battlefield commission or becoming the dean of women at Stanford University."

References

*"Lady of the House", autobiography written with Bob Patterson (New York: G. P. Putnam, 1966)
*"Lady of the House", TV movie starring Dyan Cannon, 1978

Notes

External links

* [http://www.sfsheriff.com/inmates/inmate11.htm San Francisco Sherriff's webpage]
* [http://www.thetigerisdead.com/sallystanford.html Obituary]

Stanford, Sally