Review
“A well-researched, intimate portrait of burlesque and the women who teased and seduced their ways into the hearts of the American public.” (Nancy Powell, Shelf Awareness)
“…many creatively named burlesque stars — Tempest Storm, Candy Cotton, Blaze Starr, Candy Barr, Val Valentine, Tee Tee Red, the list goes on — interviewed at poignant, amusing and enlightening length in a new book, Behind the Burly Q: The Story of Burlesque in America.” (Rick Kogan, Chicago Tribune)
“…entertaining, and often poignant book…opens up even more tales behind the twirling tassels.” (Liz Smith)
“This rich history, rife with vibrant quotes and first-hand insights from burlesque’s biggest dancers, is indispensable for fans of the ribald pastime.” (Publishers Weekly)
“The salty reminiscences of participants in the classic age of burlesque enliven this companion volume to a documentary film directed by the author.
Zemeckis assembled an impressive number of surviving performers from roughly the 1930s through the late ’50s to recount their experiences toiling in this often misunderstood cul-de-sac in American performing arts. An evolution of vaudeville, burlesque added striptease to the program in an effort to lure audiences back from the movies by giving them something unavailable on the silver screen. Such luminaries as Blaze Starr, Tempest Storm and Dixie Evans dish on backstage rivalries, the depredations of the road, the stigma of stripping and all other aspects of burlesque life, providing an engaging behind-the-scenes analysis of an art form most people have heard of but few understand. In fact, the performers themselves contribute contradictory perspectives, describing the shows variously as bawdy but innocent escapism for cash-strapped regular folks or exploitative flesh parades with audiences full of men furtively masturbating behind newspapers. However, the interviewees share a common spirit of toughness and rueful good humor, which jibes with their status as, in the main, poverty-stricken young women who could earn more disrobing than waiting tables. A defiant pride in burlesque's second-rate status in the entertainment firmament—the performers may not have had the goods to make it in “legitimate” venues like the movies or Broadway, but they left the audiences happy—also unites the subjects, who take poignant pride in their brief moments of relative fame. The narrative moves briskly and will engross anyone interested in midcentury Americana. There is much colorful ground-level showbiz detail and descriptions of what it was like to work circuses, carnivals and the rotating theatrical circuit known as “The Wheel,” and the anecdotes are never less than good fun.
An affectionate and historically valuable document of an intriguing, little-served corner of American entertainment.” (Kirkus Reviews)
“A privileged front-row seat to the history of burlesque! Glorious ladies in their heyday . . . their long-ago stripteases still pack a sensual, sassy, what-the-hell punch, while juicy anecdotes run from raunchy to touching to funny to flat-out incredible.” (Ronnie Scheib - Variety)
“Utterly entertaining Behind the Burly Q is a painstakingly researched love letter to the women and men who once made up the community of burlesque performers…its treasure trove of vintage photographs and performance footage is enough to make historians and fans of classic erotica swoon…insightful, fascinating.” (Ernest Hardy - The Village Voice)
“[Zemeckis] has preserved for us a lively, lovely corner of American life.” (Richard Schickel)
“Charming . . . often entertaining . . . The present-day interviews with these women are a delight and also poignant, partly because of the contrast between their older and younger selves, though mostly because of the lives they lived . . . It’s great that she immortalized these women.” (Manohla Dargis - New York Times)
“"Behind the Burly Q takes you back . . . to burlesque's last hurrah in the 1960s.” (Bob Mondello - NPR.org)
About the Author
Leslie Zemeckis is an author, actress, and award-winning documentarian. Zemeckis wrote, directed, and produced the award-winning Bound by Flesh about Siamese twins Daisy and Violet Hilton as well as the critically acclaimed Behind the Burly Q, a definitive history of burlesque.
