No Strippers Were Harmed in The Making of This Lie

Danny Debonaire is back to talk about Sammy Davis Jr's roots in Vaudeville, and Mae dives into the rumor mills of Nebraska

Episode Transcript

(00:11):
Welcome, darlings and deviants, to Let's Burlesque, where we
bring you the art, the heart, and the unapologetic sparkle of
the stage. I may December your guide
through the glitz. And I'm Creme de Violence here
to peel back the layers of burlesque, the history and the
hustle and the secret sauce thatmakes it sizzle, whether you're

(00:31):
a seasoned. Performer or a curious?
Kitten, there's always room in our bouture.
So grab a drink, settle in, and let's talk sequins, sass, and
the stories behind the feathers.Are you ready to bear it all?
Creme oh, always may. Let's start the show and.
Let's burlesque. You're going to tell me when we

(01:05):
start recording or Because last time you didn't tell me and we
were recording. I had no idea.
Well, I mean, it says right there that we've been recording
for 10 seconds. Trigger.
Hello my Hello there. Greeting and salutations.

(01:27):
I'm May December. And I'm Danny Debonair.
And we're going to tell you somestories today for Let's
Burlesque. Exactly.
I took the last week off becausethings, stuff and things.
So, but I'm back now. Everything's cool.

(01:48):
It's all kosher. We have a lot of stuff coming up
though, so things are about to get crazy.
We have a big show coming up, May 24th, the legislate, this
fundraiser for Planned Parenthood.
Very exciting. We just cast everybody today, so

(02:09):
we know everybody who's going toperform.
We've got the list. I'm waiting on promo pictures
and then I'm going to make some posters.
It's going to be amazing. Yes, it will be for sure.
Yeah, I'm excited to see you. Yeah.
You'll be front row. Exactly helping out.
Unless I make you run run the sound or something.

(02:32):
Run the sound or the lights or whatever.
Since I can't get you to MC has.Happened No no MC.
I could use it but. No, not this.
You want to have a good show, not a bad show.
You're a good MC tell all the good.
Dad jokes. This is no, this is not a

(02:53):
debate. It really is not.
Well, poo, yeah. So this is let's burlesque after
dark. It is kind of late.
I have had a a zombie this evening.
It's almost gone. My brother is oh let me turn it

(03:13):
around so that this will this always.
Yeah, if you're on our Patreon, you can see this really cool
glass zombie glass that his brother got him.
So my brother is quite into tikiand he's into tiki drinks.
He's been trying to convert me to his tiki religion.

(03:36):
He well funded us in booze and accoutrement to make tiki
drinks. He keeps buying me more and more
glasses size and look for glasses and these are quite
cool. These are zombie glasses and
they've got bats and zombies on them and.

(03:57):
They're so rockabilly. I love it.
They really are. And he got recently bought us
some that are they say black orchid on them and they're you
know, somebody designed some small batch glasses and so he
got us a pair and they're reallycool.
They're like black and purple this size.

(04:18):
This was I made myself a zombie this evening, based on the 1950
recipe. It was quite delicious.
She doesn't like him, she's not into it.
I don't like bitter drinks. It's better I.
Don't think it is. His brother, when he came to
town, he bought us a ridiculous amount of rum, like all kinds of

(04:41):
rum. And then he did a tasting with
his parents and he made like, hemade a stupid amount of drinks
and he was like, I'm gonna find one that she likes and he
didn't. Not yet, no.
He's still working on it, though.
He hasn't given up on you. Yeah, Yeah.
I just like sweet drinks. I don't like bitter things.

(05:04):
I don't like sour things. I don't like sour candy.
I like sweet things. Yeah, we'll find one.
We'll find one too. Well, I can't drink right now.
Anyway, that's true, so moratorium and.
Yeah. Alcohol and pain relievers till
the doctor says. Yeah, good times.

(05:26):
So anyways, you have a really good story, I hear.
I've heard bits and pieces of it.
Yes, I do feel like I have a pretty good story.
It's kind of it's not fully burlesque.
It's like burlesque adjacent, but I'm, I'm into, you know,

(05:50):
jazz and swing and oh, like 30s forties, 50s music and related
things. And obviously I'm into, maybe
not obviously, but I'm into Sinatra.
And so This is why I kind of went into this dive.

(06:15):
So my person I'm going to talk about today is Sammy Davis
Junior. Hopefully all of you've heard of
him. He was quite iconic.
A lot of those stars from back then started very burlesque
adjacent, right. So it's definitely, I mean,

(06:36):
vaudeville, right? Yeah, exactly.
It counts. Proceed.
OK. I have your permission to
continue or we just cut it righthere.
We're just done. OK, unfortunately like my
information is over here in on my computer.
So I will very literally be looking literally that's is that

(07:00):
a? Word.
That's not a word, my love. I don't.
It sounds right. It's.
A. It's a new word.
Sounds very wrong. So Danny Dictionary.
I guess it is now, so I'll be looking this way for those of
you who are watching the video, the Patreon people, just so you
know. He said sorry for you.

(07:20):
I'm sorry, yeah, OK. Sammy Davis Junior was a multi
faceted entertainer whose remarkable talents and
resilience left an indelible mark on the entertainment
industry. He was born December 8th, 1925
in Harlem, New York to vaudeville dancers.

(07:43):
Sammy Davis, senior and I don't know that I'm pronouncing this
correctly, but it's Elvira Sanchez.
Elvira. That's a neat version.
Like I've only ever heard Elvira, right?
And I have known people named Elvira.

(08:04):
Not just the Elvira right, but Elvira.
That's a pretty name. It is pretty.
I like it. Elvira Sanchez So Davis was
introduced to the world of performance at an early age.
So both of his parents were vaudeville performers.
They performed together so and Davis already always said that

(08:27):
his mother was Puerto Rican, butshe was actually of Afro Cuban
descent and was born in New York.
But he was afraid that particularly in like the
Sixties, 50s and 60s, he was afraid that the anti Cuban
sentiment could hurt his record sales.

(08:48):
So he always said his mom was Puerto Rican.
His parents performed with the vaudeville troupe Will Masten's
Holiday in Dixieland. So I've saw some conflicting
information in my research. I saw one thing said that he was
basically raised by his grandmother until the age of 2

(09:12):
and at that point he joined his parents in the vaudeville show
and then other things I saw thathe joined their vaudeville show
at the age of three. Either way, like, I don't know,
two between 2:00 and 3:00, I guess there is a lot of growth
and change in it and a tiny human.

(09:33):
But it was around that time thathe joined his parents in
vaudeville and became a performer at a very, extremely
young age. He was often billed in those
early days as a 44 year old silent Sam the dancing Midget in

(09:56):
an effort to get around child labor laws.
Do you think anybody actually believed he was 44 years old?
Like, I feel like somebody's going to the show and being
like, oh, this is going to be really cool.
And then they see him and they're like what the fuck?
I mean, I don't know if if they had him not speaking and you're

(10:18):
in an audience from a distance, maybe you don't know and all you
know is what you're told. And if you're, you know, the,
the code enforcement or whateverpolice coming around, I mean,
they, they might just have to take your word for it, I guess,
if they don't see him up close. But I've also seen, so he was in

(10:41):
a movie at the age of 7. And I didn't put this in my
notes, so I can't remember what the movie is, but I have seen
the clip and he does a little song and dance.
And he, I mean, for being 7, he's pretty grown up, you know
what I mean? He's he's, he's not, I don't
know. He's just very mature as a

(11:02):
child. Well, I mean, a lot of kids, I
would think growing up in that kind of environment, they grow
up fast. Yeah, 'cause they're treated
like adults. That's all they're hanging out
with. Yeah.
So it says he played the title role in the film Rufus Jones for
President that. Sounds correct, yes.

(11:22):
I in which he sang and danced with Ethel Waters.
Yes. It it is really cute, I will
say. So you should go check that out.
OK. So after his parents separated
when he was three, he stayed with his father.
I watched an interview where he talked about how when his

(11:43):
parents split up, he stayed withhis father and his sister stayed
with his mother. So he was saying in this
interview that he didn't see hismom again really until he was
12. Wow.
And it sounded like he had a pretty good relationship with
her as as he grew up. And in this interview I watched,

(12:05):
I think he said he was 45 and heshe was still alive and he had a
good relationship with her at that time.
But there was a lot of years there where he was with his dad.
He and his dad and his uncle were the Will Masten trio.
So he was already performing on stage and showcasing a natural

(12:28):
aptitude for entertaining audiences.
So he traveled with his dad and his uncle performing.
He never had formal school. He never went to school.
I don't think I have it in my notes either, but I was reading
that he had, I think I do touch on this a little bit.
When he was in the military, he had a rough time of it at the

(12:51):
beginning because because of racism basically.
But he had somebody that that was a higher up than him that
kind of took an interest in him and taught him how to read and
taught him things that he didn'tget to learn in school.
So, So growing up on the road with the Will Masten Trio, Davis

(13:14):
received his education from the stage and fellow performers
rather than traditional schooling.
This unconventional upbringing immersed him in the performing
arts, allowing him to master singing, dancing, acting, and
even playing instruments like drums and trumpet.
Wow. His versatile B became a

(13:35):
hallmark of his career, setting him apart as a unique and
unrivaled performer. In 1944, during World War 2,
Davis was drafted into the US Army.
During his service, he faced profound racial prejudice and
violence from fellow soldiers. Remember reading his nose was

(13:58):
broken at least twice while he was in the Army, and that was
from guys he was with that wasn't from fighting the enemy.
Despite these challenges, he found solace in performing,
entertaining troops and honing his craft.
This period was pivotal as it reinforced his resilience and
commitment to his art. So at some point he was

(14:22):
transferred to to being an entertainer in the military.
So he didn't start out that way,but he ended up this guy that
took an interest in him, got himinto the entertaining side of
things and he really was able toshine.
After his military service, Davis Reed joined the Wellmaston

(14:45):
Trio, and their popularity soared.
His breakthrough came in 1951 when he impressed audiences at
Cyril's nightclub in Hollywood. This performance led to a
recording contract and his firsttwo albums showcasing his
exceptional singing talent. Davis's ability to captivate

(15:07):
audiences with his dynamic performances solidified his
status as a star. In 1954, he was involved in a
severe car accident, resulting in the loss of his left eye.
During his recovery, explored various religions and ultimately

(15:29):
converted to Judaism, finding parallels between the struggles
of Jewish and African American communities.
This personal transformation added depth to his public
persona and influenced his future endeavors.
OK, so let's pause there becauseI didn't put this into my notes

(15:53):
either. However, we did kind of go down
a rabbit hole today when I was doing research.
So apparently he was a member ofthe Church of Satan and more not
necessarily it was more for the counterculture aspect of it was

(16:14):
kind of what interested him. He got into it in the late 60s.
He met Anton Lavey. I saw some pictures of him with
Anton Lavey. And Can you imagine how I'm
meeting one? I cannot I really.
Can't. That would be crazy.

(16:34):
Well, apparently he he'd sometime how got invited to one
of their orgies and that's kind of what got him into it.
But he at some point he tried tocreate a a television show.

(16:55):
I don't know if it was really a sitcom, but it seemed kind of
more sitcom Y where he was a lowlevel demon trying to make work
his rank way up through the ranks of of hell by getting this
guy to sign his soul over to thedevil.

(17:17):
And the devil was played by Christopher Lee, well known in
the horror world and well known for playing Dracula lots of
times and things like that. And then also he's just well
known for all sorts of things. Lord of the Rings, everything.
James Bond was designed after him because his cousin wrote it

(17:40):
or whatever. Yeah, that dude's story's crazy.
He, yeah, he's quite. Christopher Lee has an insane
story. I've never heard it.
He really is quite incredible. He has lived the life.
Yeah, and who was the guy that, oh, Jack Klugman was the was the

(18:00):
soul that Sammy Davis Junior's character was trying to convert,
trying to win over for Satan? Jack Klugman, some of you older
people might remember, was in the television version of The
Odd Couple. He was Quincy, who was a doctor

(18:25):
on the television show. Anyway, they made a pilot.
From everything I read, the pilot of this show was
absolutely horrible and did not go anywhere.
I don't know if it's available to find anywhere to watch, but I
feel like that would be kind of interesting and fun to
investigate. I can't imagine like 1950s

(18:48):
America. This would have been, it was
like late 60s or early 70s, maybe like 72 or something.
I don't remember. Now I don't.
OK, well, maybe in the 70s 'cause they were starting to get
into, you know, the, the religious horror movies and

(19:09):
stuff like that, you know? That's true, but apparently not
only was it horrible, but also it wasn't picked up because
there was a lot of religious protests against it.
Oh yeah, I imagine. In any case, I guess it wasn't.
It was like a not too long afterthat, maybe a couple of years

(19:29):
after that, that he kind of parted ways with the Satanic
Temple. But the.
Church of Satan. Yes, I mean that's.
What? I mean, Satanic Temple wasn't
around yet. That's a different thing.
I'm not an expert on that. You're, you know more about
that. OK, Good gravy.

(19:50):
All right. So Davis became a prominent
member of the Rat Pack alongsideFrank Sinatra, Dean Martin,
Peter Lawford and Joey Bishop. This group of entertainers was
known for their Las Vegas performances and films like
Ocean's 11. I don't have it in my notes, but
one of my favorite movies is Robin and the Seven Hoods, which

(20:14):
is a retelling of Robin Hood, but they're all like 30s
gangsters. It's a musical.
It's fantastic. Freaking fantastic.
Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin. It's got Bing Crosby, obviously.
Obviously Frank Sinatra is RobinHood.

(20:35):
Dean Martin is Little John. I don't remember what who's
Sammy Davis Junior was, but he does a cool number where he's
like dancing on a bar and shooting guns.
Anyway, it's fantastic. I love it.
Let's see. Their camaraderie and collective
talent brought a new level of cool to Hollywood, with Davis

(20:58):
often stealing the spotlight with his electrifying
performances. Throughout his career, Davis
faced and challenged racial barriers.
He was one of the first African American performers to achieve
mainstream success, performing in venues that were previously

(21:19):
segregated. His relationships, including his
marriage to Swedish actress Mae Britt in 1960, were scrutinized,
reflecting the racial tensions of the time.
So I don't know if you look up Mae Britt, it was a very public

(21:40):
interracial marriage. She's very, I mean, she's
Swedish, so I guess maybe that'sall you got to say.
The Swedes are a a very pale. They are very pale, pale, pale,
all right. Despite social societal
pressures, Davis remained unapologetic about his choices

(22:02):
contributing to the advancement of civil rights.
Davis's influence extended beyond entertainment.
He was a trailblazer who paved the way for future African
American artists. His commitment to his craft,
resilience in the face of adversity, and efforts to bridge
racial divides left a lasting legacy.

(22:25):
Even after his passing on May 16th of 1990, Davis's story
continues to inspire and resonate.
Sammy Davis Davis Junior's life was a testament to talent,
perseverance, and breaking barriers.
From its early days with the Well Mastin Trio to becoming a
celebrated member of the Rat Pack, his journey was marked by

(22:50):
groundbreaking achievements and personal challenges.
His legacy endures as a symbol of artistic excellence and
social progress. So I didn't have this in my
notes, but I did read that he did March with Martin Luther
King. I just want to say this, I did

(23:10):
plug this information into ChatGPT to kind of assemble the
information together. And the reason why I bring that
up is because I noticed that thenotes say African American.
I don't know if that's the current turn we just using.

(23:31):
I don't know if you. Generally I think anymore we see
POC like people of color. Right, that's what I was
thinking as I was just reading reading the script, but I felt
like that wasn't necessarily what is the current literally
correct term term to use. So I don't mean to offend

(23:53):
anyone. I'm sorry, I apologize.
I think that's so usable, it's just not preferred.
But I don't I don't know. Well, y'all can tell.
Us. I just want to yeah, let us
know. I don't know.
We're we're. Palm colored people.
Please kindly let us know. So yeah, that was good.

(24:15):
That's it. He's he's pretty fucking
fantastic in my opinion. Nice.
Was that the only wife he had? I didn't have it in the notes,
but he, I believe I saw that he was married three times.
I know he had three children, but I think they're all with the

(24:35):
same person. But I watched several interviews
of his and one of them he was talking about how it was really
interesting. He was very, you could tell he'd
done a lot of internal work because he was talking about how

(24:56):
he has a good relationship with his kids now.
But, you know, he was very honest about as a, for the most
part, he hadn't been a good father up until, you know, like
at the time I was watching the interview, like, it'd been like
10 years, seven years or something since he'd kind of Bri

(25:18):
started a good relationship withhis kids.
But for a long time, he put himself 1st and, you know, made
a lot of choices that were only for him and weren't helping his
family as as much. I read some things, he spent a

(25:39):
lot of money on cars and jewelryand being flashy.
And he talked about how, you know, it was all about getting
attention, right? You know, right?
That's a movie star thing, you know.
Yeah. But that was a good story.
Thank you. Appreciate that.

(26:00):
Good job. Thanks.
So I'm gonna tell a story. It's a little true crime.
I mean, it's it's a little less than true crime, I guess.
But it was just I thought it wasa very interesting story.
Hopefully you guys will find it interesting.
I'm down with some true crime. Is this scandalous?

(26:22):
It's a scandal that we're talking here.
Sorry about my Slurpee getting the last the dregs of the dregs
of the drink. By all means, enjoy.
It's probably not good podcast etiquette.
OK well so I got this story off of my lovely friend Iona

(26:45):
Fortune's website. So if you go to ionafortune.com
she has all kinds of cool history stuff.
I love having her on the podcast.
We tried to record earlier and Internet was being a poopy
shithead and so. Technology is fantastic when it

(27:06):
works, and when it doesn't it ispits.
It's been awful, but we are going to record again this week.
We'll try again. So, but anyways, thank you, Iona
for this really interesting story.
OK, so the year was 1935. The story is about a City

(27:32):
Council, a Tavern and a nude dance review.
Oh shit. This was a political powder keg
ready to blow, so we're talking some big time small town scandal
with them nudie girls. Lay it on me, I'm ready.

(27:52):
OK, it all began in March of 1935 in a small city that like
to see itself as pure as most small cities in 1935 probably
did That's right, the sweet and innocent little town as they say
yes, the sweet little innocent town of Lincoln, NE is where
this. My I've got a cousin that lives

(28:14):
there. Well, they must be sweet and
innocent. They are they really?
They truly. Are that's all that comes out of
Lincoln, NE That's right. So it was also known back then
as the holy city. That's how that's how sweet and
pure they were. Oh.
OK. All right.

(28:35):
Utah be damned, the holy city isLincoln, so they bragged about
having clean streets, strong morals, and there were churches
on every corner. OK.
Which kind of reminded me of my hometown cause OK, so side note,
there's a an oil tycoon guy that's that lived in Amarillo.

(29:00):
I think he was from Emeril but TBoone Pickens and say.
That name again? T Boone Pickens Why?
It's just cute when you say that.
I don't know. Does my Texan come?
Out. Yeah, they really did.
Oh, slipped out there. Whoops.
OK, well anyways, T Boone Pickens had made the statement

(29:25):
that you can't swing a cat in Amarillo without hitting a
church. OK, so that's always a saying I
I enjoyed. So have you tried it?
I haven't. I wouldn't swing a cat, but you
know, but apparently you can't swing a cat in Lincoln, NE
without hitting a church either.So.

(29:48):
But under that crisp white surface, something far more
provocative was a Cimarron. They were bored people, so the
headline that cracked the city wide open ran in the Nebraska
Daily News press and it said Lincoln stirred by nude dance

(30:09):
charge high officials accused ofbeing present at quote UN quote
wild party. Can you imagine clutching your
pearls? I'm.
Clutching them even as we speak.The article dropped like a bomb.
It claimed that there had been anew dance taking place at a

(30:33):
private party inside the Amen Tavern.
Even the fucking Tavern. Like so you.
Only drink holy water in. The I, I mean, it was the the
owner's name. OK, his name was Amen, but so

(30:54):
apparently he hosted it. His name was Pete, and many city
officials were in attendance, including the mayor.
Oh, so there were police officers, politicians, the very
people that these fine folks elected to enforce morality and

(31:16):
law. How dare they?
How? Dare they?
Now, this wasn't just a tipsy burlesque act at a local club.
This was alleged to be a salacious party behind closed
doors, with dancing girls and liquor flowing freely in the

(31:36):
midst of prohibitions. Dying Grip.
Oh. My gosh, on the country.
If this was true, it meant the city's moral core was rotten.
Rotten to the core. Something is run, and in a town
like Lincoln, that is blasphemy.How dare they?

(31:57):
Check somebody. So the City Council convened an
emergency hearing. Is there burlesque happening
here? Oh my God, what is happening?
It's the end of the world. So the witness list they had was
long, but curiously, not one person who actually attended the
infamous party was called to testify in those early hearings.

(32:21):
That is interesting. Kind of crazy, so.
But instead, gossip echoed louder than evidence.
One man, a former city official,his name was Whole Fish, found
himself at the center of it all.Not a half fish.
Whole fish. Yeah, this poor guy was kind of

(32:47):
the scapegoat. So was Pete Amen the the Tavern
owner. But when the time came to ask
real questions, the City Councilfell curiously silent.
Still, details were leaked in the Omaha Sunday B News.

(33:08):
One witness described a new dance performed at close
quarters, claiming that, quote, officers of the law watched and
did nothing. But true.
This story was titillating, shocking, and utterly
disruptive. Pastors showed up at the

(33:30):
hearings. Crowds gathered at City Hall,
hungry for truth or blood, whichever one came first.
Oh my gosh. I mean, these had to be very
bored people in the 1930s. Nothing better to do.
Obviously they're too good to goto burlesque shows, so they were

(33:51):
just chomping at the bit to, I don't know, take people down.
Yes, can. So just a side note you on this.
Yeah, it just, it brings to mindto me and maybe I shouldn't,
maybe I shouldn't put this out there, but I've, but I've had a

(34:14):
zombie. OK, so here's the thing I'm
thinking it is reminding me of. So we had a, a box of like 8mm
film, actual film, you know, reel to reel stuff that my first

(34:35):
wife took to work and she put iton like Super 8 for me.
And she didn't do it in a any kind of order.
She just would take the films out, put them on the thing.
She basically set up a video camera, ran the film on a
projector and videoed it as so we, you know, she brought home

(34:59):
these films. We sat down with my mom because
a lot of them are film of her when she was a child and things
like that. And then in the middle of all
these things. Oh no.
Is and I don't remember to. I have to.
I have them still someplace. But is like, what's the term?

(35:21):
There's a term form, but. But like Stag.
Film. Yeah.
Like a stag film. Yeah.
Of, you know, a lady dancing topless.
I don't know. It just was quite shocking.
My mom was embarrassed that thiswas in her dad's stuff.
I think that's. Hilarious.
And here it is in the middle of all this other, you know,

(35:44):
family. Did you recognize anybody?
In the stag film, yeah. You know.
I just, I mean it would be cool if it was like Tempest storm or
something. Oh well, I mean, at the time I
wouldn't have known that 'cause I didn't.
Wouldn't. Didn't know anything.
About burlesque. If y'all are sitting there
watching it and you go, that's Tempest storm.

(36:06):
Now I want to. Now I really do want to find it.
God. Your mom would be like, how do
you know who it is? Oh man, now we gotta hunt it
down. Yeah, alright.
Your mom still have it? So I have the Super Eights
someplace here, but then I thinkat my mom's house, she's got the

(36:27):
actual film. The problem was the film was
getting old and like the little holes we're breaking.
So they might have one more watch worth or we probably need
to take him to some place to be professionally.
There is a thing I saw online where you can take your old

(36:51):
videotapes and stuff like that and they'll make them, They'll
digitize them. Yeah, we we'll have to look in.
That we do need to look at. I got some other stuff.
We'll do some investigating. Anyway, I just totally
sidetracked this back to the Lincoln NE.
OK. OK, sorry, I'll keep talking.

(37:11):
You get the yawns out. Oh, I'm just, I'm always tired.
It's after dark. You're the one that I'm the one
that had the drink. I know, but it's but you're
yawning my bedtime. It's past our bedtime.
It is so OK. Alright, we'll go on.
Continue. OK, so City Council fell

(37:32):
curiously silent, but still details were leaked in the Omaha
Sunday B News. One witness described a new Oh,
I already read that part, and I.Climbing that up.
I totally sidetracked you. That's my fault.
I'm sorry. Do you want me to read it for
you? No, I just don't know where I
am, OK? Pastors showed up at the

(37:54):
hearings. Crowds gathered at City Hall,
hungry for truth or blood, whichever came first.
OK, but the council's final verdict?
Not guilty. Both Pete Amen and the city
officer implicated were absolvedof all wrongdoing.

(38:16):
Quote UN quote. Nobody wanted to admit that they
were there. It was just a fishing
expedition. Now what they call those?
Yeah, the official statement. I know whole fish.
It was a whole fishing expedition.
Folks, since I'm able to read her notes, it's HULFISH, but it

(38:38):
still sounds like whole fish WHO.
Anyway, continue. The official statement from the
Lincoln City Council said the party had occurred, but there
was no evidence of new dancing that could be substantiated.
So the case they claimed was just a political frame up, quote

(39:02):
UN quote. And just like that, the
investigation was over. This was before DNA.
I mean, you know, nobody had their cell phone in their pocket
with it conveniently on. Everything's on video now.
So that's. Right.
No strippers were harmed in the making of this drama.

(39:24):
Exactly. But, you know, just because City
Council was done did mean Lincoln was done because the
chickens were clucking. OK.
The Columbus Telegram dubbed thehearings a quote UN quote
whitewash. The nailing news.

(39:44):
Neeli news. Neeli News.
I. Don't know how to pronounce that
word, but they reported that tremors were felt in Lincoln.
The mayor was accused of turninga blind eye.
Public trust in the administration collapsed and
what began as a titillating taleturned into a political

(40:04):
reckoning. The city fell into a bitter
election season. Oh my gosh.
April's primaries became a battle between the old guard and
the so-called quote UN quote reform element.
The scandal fueled outrage. Pastor backed candidates,
campaigned hard against the moral decay, and on May 8th,

(40:30):
1935, the verdict from the people came in and Charles West
Bryan, a reformer, was elected mayor.
So the scandal didn't just end careers, it rewrote Lincoln's
political future. Interesting.
In the aftermath, 4 city officials lost their positions.

(40:50):
One dismissed official, when asked what came next, said there
will be more political corpses are just beginning to pile up.
And he was not wrong that Eamon Tavern quietly faded from the
headlines and Pete continued hisbusiness.
No arrests were ever made, No names were ever officially

(41:12):
confirmed for who attended that infamous party.
But Lincoln would never be the same because of the may, maybe
burlesque performers, maybe not.I'm guessing probably what
happened was they had this event, they had somebody or

(41:33):
multiple ladies come dance and there was one or two guys in
there that were surprised and not expecting this to be at the
event and which shocked that this happened and they just had

(41:53):
to stir the pot for everybody else.
Well, I mean, they could, they could be anything, because with
such political fallout, kind of leads me to wonder if these
political opponents didn't have something to do with them.
That would make sense. It would be so much easier back

(42:15):
then to just play the telephone game and be like, oh, I heard
so, so, so and ruin somebody's political career like that well.
OK, go ahead. I'm sorry, I keep interrupting
and I'm. So no, you're fine.
Because, well, I'm sure part of it is I'm a little looser than

(42:36):
last time, and so I'm speaking freely and then I always have
stories that come into my mind as we're talking.
OK, tell me. Well, I mean, I've already told
you this story, but obviously since this is my second time on
the podcast, I've not told it onthe podcast, OK, But it just
this situation makes me think of, you know, I, I did speak

(43:00):
previously about doing theater. I did community theater.
I had friends in community theatre and one of my friends
got married and the his bachelorparty was at his house.
One of his good friends and business partner also did

(43:22):
community theatre but he was also, and I think he was the
best man for the wedding. So he kind of set this all up
and invited everybody. But this friend was also in the
local barbershop quartet group. OK.
Which my dad is a very active part of, right?

(43:46):
So I got invited to this bachelor party and my dad got
invited to this bachelor party and there were strippers there
and my dad and I were very uncomfortable being there
together. I felt it was my responsibility
to not watch the strippers because my dad was there.

(44:06):
So he and I and some of the other, I'm sure very surprised
that there were strippers there,barbershop guys hung out in the
kitchen while the stripping wenton in the front room.
And I was still pretty young too, at the time.
I was in my early 20s. So I was still riding the line

(44:27):
of, you know what's what's shocking and what's pure and
what's not pure. With your dad in the.
Room with my dad in the room. What?
What's allowable to see? So that was awkward.
Anyway, that's funny. That's my story.
So I don't know that this was assalacious as that moment in

(44:50):
time. I think my point of bringing
that up was the whole like guys being at an an event and not
expecting there to be strippers there and all of a sudden there
were strippers there so. All right, no, you're fine.
So what I find so fascinating about this case is that we may

(45:10):
never know if there was actuallydancers there.
Maybe it was a setup, maybe it wasn't.
But the reaction that tells us everything.
The real scandal wasn't just about nudies or burlesque
performers. It was all about control.

(45:31):
In a city obsessed with appearances, the mere suggestion
of impropriety was enough to destroy reputation.
And maybe that's the real lessonhere.
When a society values image morethan truth, rumors become
weapons, and a whisper can be deadlier than any crime.

(45:52):
That is definitely true. Yes, so that was a story found
by the lovely Iona Fortune. Pretty cool, huh?
That was very interesting, yeah.I got a couple more, yeah, so.
Very poignant. We've all experienced things
being rumors and the things. Oh yes, yes we have.

(46:19):
Rumors are dumb. Yeah.
So that's all I got to say aboutthat because it's my bedtime
now. It is Tony thing to plug.
You want to plug your Patreon? Any of that kind of.
Stuff, Yeah, I mean, we still got our Patreon, we're doing the

(46:40):
Discord in there so you can chatwith us and we can do watch
parties through Discord. I haven't set up another watch
party but. Yeah, some issues with the first
one. Yeah, but now I've found that if
you're on Discord, Discord has away that you can watch YouTube.

(47:02):
Oh. So and there are some, yeah,
there are some movies on YouTube.
So I'll go through and look through those and if you guys
have a recommendation for that and you want to watch a movie
with us, let me know and. I need to get you my reference,
my sources for this, yeah. References.
Yeah, I've kind of been slackingon the website, so I need to get

(47:27):
back with that. We're getting our ducks in a row
here. Yeah, getting back in the groove
of things. Yeah.
So yeah. OK, I don't have anything else.
I've already told more stories that anyone really needed to
hear. No, you're wonderful.
Thank you for coming and spending some time with me as if

(47:51):
we don't spend enough time being.
I would spend every second of every day with you.
I try to. Some days, yeah.
That's good. I love you.
I love you. OK.
Love you guys. Bye.
Bye. All right, love lies.
That's a wrap for today's show, but don't just take our word for

(48:14):
it. Our sources are listed in the
episode notes at letsburlesquepodcast.wordpress.com,
so dig a little deeper and checkthem out for yourselves.
There's so much more to discoverabout this beautiful body world
of burlesque. And while you're at it, don't
forget to follow the What's for Less podcast on your preferred

(48:35):
podcast app, plus Instagram, Facebook, Threads, Blue Spy, and
you can e-mail us at [e-mail].
But if you want to have access to all of the glitter, glam, and
backstage moments that you trulycrave, you can support us on
Patreon. It's been a pleasure, as always,
diving into the sparkle with you.

(48:56):
Until next time, Papa pasting. The.