- Burlesque Hall of Fame
The Burlesque Hall of Fame is the name of the burlesque museum based in
Las Vegas, Nevada . Formerly known as Exotic World, the museum historically was located on the site of an abandonedgoat farm inHelendale, California . Themuseum documents the history ofburlesque from its 19th century origins through its golden age in the mid 20th century, and displays artifacts commemorating historic burlesque performers.Exotic World originated as the private collection of retired
exotic dancer Jennie Lee. It's currently curated by retired burlesque performerDixie Evans , who often personally leads tours through the exhibits.Exotic World also serves as the home office for the
Exotic Dancers' League of America trade union , and as the site of the annualMiss Exotic World Pageant .History
Retired dancer Jennie Lee started collecting burlesque memorabilia when she owned the Sassy Lassy
nightclub inSan Pedro, California . After Lee was diagnosed withbreast cancer , she and her husband moved to an abandoned goat farm in Helendale, California, located in theMojave desert about one third of the way betweenLos Angeles, California andLas Vegas, Nevada .Lee intended to create a burlesque museum, found a burlesque school and run a
bed and breakfast , and the goat farm site had enough room to contain her growing collection. Only the museum got started within her lifetime.After Lee died in 1990, Dixie Evans took over the farm and turned it into the Exotic World Burlesque Museum, aided by Lee's widower, Charlie Arroyo. Lee's memorabilia formed the core of the collection, but people from around the world soon started to donate items to Exotic World. The collection grew large enough to fill the entire farm.
In late 2005, the museum was temporarily closed for inventory and renovations in the wake of Arroyo's unexpected death and significant weather damage to the museum facilities. The museum remains currently closed while it is being relocated to
Las Vegas, Nevada . Although the museum was not open at the time of the annual Miss Exotic World Pageant in 2006, the pageant was nevertheless held at an alternate venue, the Celebrity Theater inLas Vegas, Nevada .Collection
The Exotic World museum collection includes
poster s,photograph s,publicity stills,newspaper clippings, andplaybill s related to famous burlesque performers includingBlaze Starr ,Lili St. Cyr ,Chesty Morgan ,Candy Barr andTempest Storm .The museum includes
costume elements and props such asfeather boa s, fans,glove s,garter belt s, gowns,shoe s,pasties ,g-string s, andjewelry . Many of these items are specially made for use in striptease routines.Unique individual items include ivory fans used by
Sally Rand , gloves and a blackvelvet shoulder cape worn byGypsy Rose Lee , a heart-shaped couch owned byJayne Mansfield and thecremation ashes ofMiss Sheri Champagne .Miss Exotic World Pageant
Exotic World hosts the annual Miss Exotic World pageant on the first Saturday of every June. Each year a burlesque performer is crowned Miss Exotic World in a contest often referred to as the
Miss America of burlesque. Winners receive both the title and a trophy.Dixie Evans initiated the Miss Exotic World pageant in 1990 as a way to draw people to the museum. She garnered attention by sending out a
press release claiming that "Lili St. Cyr, Tempest Storm, Blaze Starr and 30 other alumni of burlesque will all be invited to attend this reunion." While technically true, none of those invitees attended that year. However, the release garnered press attention for the pageant, which was successful enough to become an annual event.Each contest features burlesque performances by both stars from burlesque's golden age and younger women involved in the
New Burlesque scene.The organization initiated a Hall of Fame whose inductees include:
*Josephine Baker
*Theda Bara
*Candy Barr
*Sheri Champagne
*Ann Corio
*Yvonne De Carlo
*Diana Dors
*Gypsy Rose Lee
*Bettie Page
*Blaze Starr
*Jayne Mansfield
*Chesty Morgan
*Sally Rand
*Lili St. Cyr
*Tempest Storm
*Mamie Van Doren
*Mae West References
External links
* [http://www.exoticworldusa.org/ Exotic World Burlesque Museum]
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