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Vintage 8x10 in. US single-weight glossy copy photograph (not a vintage original photo printed at the time it was taken) depicting the American burlesque star and motion picture actress TEMPEST STORM. She is depicted in a vintage black-and-white shot wearing a black bra and panties while posing not the top of a sofa. This photograph was inscribed by Tempest Storm later in her life to the Hollywood Book & Poster Company ("HPB") thusly: To - HPB Co - Love - Tempest - Storm - 4/8/2012. It is in fine+ condition with some creases of varying sizes in the right third of the photo and random small surface scratches. Miss Storm's inscription and signature are fresh and vibrant without any issues. There are no pinholes, tears, stains, or other flaws. Hollywood Book & Poster Company was a well-known movie memorabilia shop on Hollywood Blvd. that was owner by collector/dealer Eric Caidin, the son of Stanley Caiden, a prominent Beverly Hills attorney who also was an avid collector of original movie posters. Eric met many film, television, wrestling and other celebrities over the years and had them sign photographs to him directly or to his business.
Silent Cinema Inc. (the seller here) guarantees the authenticity of Tempest Storm's inscription and signature.
Tempest Storm (born Annie Blanche Banks; February 29, 1928 – April 20, 2021), also dubbed "The Queen Of Exotic Dancers," was an American burlesque star and motion picture actress. Along with Lili St. Cyr, Sally Rand, and Blaze Starr, she was one of the best-known burlesque performers of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Her career as an exotic dancer spanned more than 60 years and she was still performing in the early 21st century. In Los Angeles circa 1945 at age 17, Storm worked as a carhop waitress at Simon's Drive-In and then as a cocktail waitress, though still underage. A patron suggested she consider striptease as a profession, and arranged an audition with Follies Theater talent manager Lillian Hunt. Three weeks after being hired as a chorus dancer at $40 a week (approximately $570 in 2020 dollars), Storm accepted a promotion to $60 (approximately $855 in 2020 dollars) as a stripper. A week afterward, she recalled in 1968, Hunt said she needed a stage name: I asked her if she had any suggestions. She said, what about Tempest Storm? I asked her if she had any other suggestions. Well, she said, what about Sunny Day? Well, I said, I guess it might as well be Tempest Storm. Annie Blanche Banks legally changed her name to Tempest Storm in 1957, one of the few strippers to have done so. Storm was a regular performer for many years at El Rey, a burlesque theater in Oakland, California, as well as at clubs around the United States, including Las Vegas. She was featured in numerous men's magazines and burlesque movies, including French Peep Show (1950), Paris After Midnight (1951), Striptease Girl (1952), Teaserama (1955), and Buxom Beautease (1956). In 1953, she moved to Portland, Oregon, and worked at the Star Theater. A few months later, she moved to the Capital Theater down the street after her then-husband, John Becker, bought it. The owner of the Star then brought Becker's ex-wife, and rival burlesque star, Arabelle Andre, to the Star to perform as "John's Other Wife". This sparked a "burlesque war" that made it into the pages of Life magazine on November 30, 1953. In 1954, Storm was restrained from billing herself as the "$50,000 Hollywood Treasure Chest" following a successful suit brought by the "Treasure Chest Girl" Evelyn West. She died on April 20, 2021, in Las Vegas, at the age of 93, following a short illness.
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