Black Burlesque History Timeline, 1940-1949 (Part III)

If you haven't already, be sure to check out the Black Burlesque History Timelines Part I: 1880-1929 and Part II: 1930-1939. These graphics and posts cover a lot of shake dancer history that leads up to this timeline, which covers only a highlight of the 1940s. They also give a bit more background information on how I "defined" burlesque for this research (spoiler alert: it's a very, very loose definition including any performance that shows skin or invites the audience to view our talent through the lens of our sensual body).

After the post-Reconstruction era and heading into the 1930s, we saw the dawn of Black nightclub shakers in parties at hotels, dancehalls, theaters, and other venues all across America. Shake dancers could also be seen in "midnight rambles," which were late-night screenings of African-American "race" films that were made specifically for Black audiences. Segregation ruled America during this time, so most shake dancers performed in "for-us-by-us" environments. It was rare to see Black dancers performing with or for other races unless it was at a "black-and-tan" establishment, which were notorious for welcoming diverse audiences; these were some of the first queer-friendly nightclubs in America.

In the 1940s, there was a proliferation of these types of venues, which led to more and more shake dancers and Black burlesque performers! As I've noted in the other timelines, many shakers began to strike out and do their own thing, as noted by Estelle "Caldonia" Young starting her own traveling revue and setting up her own stages in 1943, or by Eunice Wilson breaking into major films and taking on starring roles as she did in "No Time for Romance" in 1948. And some venues, like the Dew Drop Inn in New Orleans, began to make a real investment into their entertainment menu -- drag queen Patsy Vadalia hosted while shake dancers and musicians livened up the place. This helped catapult Dew Drop Inn into being one of the most popular Black nightclubs in American history. Here's a photo of a shake dancer onstage at the Dew Drop:

Unfortunately, the African-American "race" films and soundies began to die out after the closing of the Oscar Micheaux Film Corporation in the early 1940s. A few of the major longstanding revues shut down as well, such as the white-owned Rabbit Foot Minstrels and the black-owned Creole Palace Revue in San Diego (although this may be disputed, since Hotel Douglas, the home for the Creole Palace, didn't shut down until the 1950s).

While these were major vehicles for the promotion of shake dancers, these closings did not stop Black femme performers from sharing their talent on stages and floor shows across America. Marie Bryant, who went on to be one of the most celebrated jazz dancers in the country, started her tour with Duke Ellington in 1940 and didn't stop being a performing powerhouse until she fell ill in the 1970s. In 1941, Willa Mae Lane debuted her costume featuring gloves that "only covered strategic parts of her anatomy" -- a bit of fashion history that was scandalous enough to make the newspapers at the time, and has since gone on to be copied by everyone from burlesque performers to costume designers (see Beyonce on tour and burlesque legend Lilly Christine in a promo shoot below). Unfortunately the newspapers weren't brave enough in 1941 to print a photo of Willa Mae Lane in all her nude gloved glory. I do wonder if she was the first to do the "glove costume" - so far, I haven't found an earlier mention of it.

In addition to making headlining appearances in the last of the African-American soundies, shake dancers also covered magazines! Mable Lee is featured on the cover of the March 1947 issue of Ebony magazine, in what is one of my favorite shake dancer promo stills of all time. Her smile, the sparkle in her eyes, her pasties and sheer bra, the high-cut of her panty that modern performers still wear to this day, the fringe at her shoulders and adorning her hips -- it's all so quintessentially "burlesque" that I dare anyone to say shake dancers don't have a special place in burly history. Mable Lee was called "The Queen of the Soundies" because she danced in more than 100 films during the 1940s.

I also would've been remiss not to include the 1949 cult classic "A Burlesque in Harlem", one of the only full-length burlesque musicals still in existence today. Many of us have seen Tarza Young busting into her split (I've shared it previously on my Instagram) and the other shakers (Gertrude "Baby" Banks, Gloria Howard, and Princess D'Orsey) doing their thing, but I also wanted to highlight singer Luella Owens shake-dancing and doing a little striptease that ends in a perfect split:

There's so much more shake dancing history that happened in the 1940s, but I love doing these timelines to show a brief at-a-glance view of what was happening during a specific time period in shake dancing history.

Next up: 1950-1959, what I honestly call the "Golden Age of Shake Dancing". This is debatable though, so make sure you check it out so we can discuss!!

Until next time and always with love,

Bebe Bardeaux

P.S. To my Patreon subscribers, look out this week for an extended version of this post with links and citations to primary source materials and even more shake dancer history!