- Tempest Storm
Tempest Storm (born Annie Blanche Banks
February 29 ,1928 ) is an American stripper,burlesque star andmotion picture actress . Along withLili St. Cyr andBlaze Starr , Storm was among the most famous burlesque performers of the 1950s and 1960s.Fact|date=August 2008 She is regarded as having one of the longest careers as a burlesque performer spanning over fifty years. She still regularly performs.Early years
Tempest was abused as a child,Fact|date=August 2008 and ran away from home. By age 20 she had been twice married and divorced and at this age she headed for
Hollywood . Her beauty landed her work as a chorus girl, but her curvaceous figure, natural 40" bosom, and 22" waist combined with a magnetic stage personality led to a highly successful career in burlesque. Her professional debut was at the El Rey Theater inOakland, California . She adopted thestage name Tempest Storm around 1950 and changed it legally in 1957.Fact|date=August 2008Career
Tempest was a regular performer for many years on stage at a burlesque theatre in
Oakland, California as well as at other clubs around the United States including in Las Vegas. Tempest was famous for her astounding physical measurements (44DD-25-35) and her red hair. She was featured in numerous magazines and burlesque movies including Russ Meyer's "French Peep Show " (1950), "Paris After Midnight " (1951), "Striptease Girl " (1952), Irving Klaw's "Teaserama ", (1955) (which also featuredBettie Page ) and his "Buxom Beautease " (1956), and other films. She travelled extensively during her career, and did many performances in Las Vegas andReno, Nevada . In the late 1950s, herbreast s, or her "moneymakers" as she called them, were insured byLloyds of London for one million dollars.Fact|date=August 2008 In the 1950s and 60s she starred in a number of motion pictures both as herself and in a character role.Retirement and current life
With writer Bill Boyd, Ms. Storm told her life story in a 1987 book titled "Tempest Storm: The Lady Is a Vamp". (ISBN 0-934601-25-9). She was inducted into the
Exotic World Burlesque Museum Hall of Fame in Helendale,California , herG-string part of the museum's display.Tempest officially retired in 1995 at the age of 67, but has done the occasional stage performance since then. She still receives requests for interviews about her life.
In 1999 she stripped in
San Francisco 's O'Farrell Theatre to mark the club's 30 year anniversary; Mayor Willie Brown declared a "Tempest Storm Day" in her honor. [ [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/1999/07/15/DD78079.DTL Storm Still Packs a Wallop 1950s burlesque icon takes it off again for O'Farrell Theatre anniversary] . "San Francisco Chronicle ", 15 July 1999]Tempest was married four times. She has one daughter. She currently resides in
Las Vegas, Nevada . [ [http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/247861.php Vegas stripper, at 80, still does it 'classy' | www.azstarnet.com ® ] ]References
External links
* [http://magazine.ministryofburlesque.com/interview-with-tempest-storm/ Video Interview With Tempest Storm]
* [http://www.taschen.com/pages/en/excerpts/sex/show/1/136.htm "Tempest in a D-Cup"]
*imdb name|id=0832626|name=Tempest Storm
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
