lili st. cyr

Lili St. Cyr (born Willis Marie Van Schaack on June 3, 1918 in Minneapolis, Minnesota; died January 29, 1999) was a well-known striptease artist of the 1940s and 1950s. She first became famous performing at the Gayety Theater in Montreal in 1944. Her performance was notable for such acts as taking a bath on stage and the reverse strip. She was married six times, including to the actors Paul Valentine and Ted Jordan and the restaurateur Armando Orsini; she reportedly dated Orson Welles and Victor Mature. She was quoted as saying "Sex is currency. What's the use of being beautiful if you can't profit from it?" Her movies include:

Love Moods (1952)
Bedroom Fantasy (1953)
Striporama (1953)
Varietease (1954)
Son of Sinbad (1955)
Buxom Beautease (1956)
The Naked and the Dead (1958)
Runaway Girl (1962)

A passing reference is made to her in the song "Don't Dream It" from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Lili St. Cyr

See also