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IMDbPro

Lili St. Cyr(1918-1999)

  • Actress
  • Director
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Lili St. Cyr in "Varietease" 1954 Beautiful Productions **I.V.
Set during the Pacific War against the Japanese, this WW2 drama discerns between achieving one's mission at any cost versus preserving the lives under one's command and enforcing discipline through fear as opposed to mutual respect.
Play trailer2:35
The Naked and the Dead (1958)
3 Videos
11 Photos
Buxom, highly painted blonde Lili St. Cyr was a notorious striptease artist of the 1940s and 1950s who replaced Gypsy Rose Lee and Ann Corio on the burlesque queen pedestal. Lili actually took the stripper out of burlesque and put her squarely on the Las Vegas stage. She was also noted for her pin-up photography, especially for photos taken by Bernard of Hollywood. She was married and divorced six times, including small-time actors Paul Valentine and Ted Jordan and well-known restaurateur Armando Orsini.

Born Willis Marie Van Schaack on June 3, 1918, the Minneapolis-born entertainer's early life remains somewhat of a mystery. She was raised by her grandparents and had two sisters that went into show biz. Trained in ballet, Lili started out as a chorine at such notable places as the Florentine Gardens. She went on to develop and choreograph her own solo act while featuring herself in the nude. Lili's bare-all debut, at the Music Box, proved disastrous, so she put together a new act.

Lili first became famous performing at the Gaiety Theater in Montreal in 1944. Her club acts quickly became the talk of the town as she would be seen taking a bath on stage or doing the reverse strip. One famous gimmick involved having her G-string, which was attached to a fishing rod, fly off into the balcony as the lights dimmed. This gimmick was known as the "Flying G," and other such novelty bits of business became trademarks as well. She eventually conquered Las Vegas, and it was there that she created her "bubble bath" bit on stage while being dressed by a maid for the crowd. Her notoriety eventually extended outside the U.S.; she was especially well received in Montreal.

While Lili was featured in a couple of mainstream acting roles in movies, including The Miami Story (1954) and The Naked and the Dead (1958), she usually played a stripper or appeared as herself. Some short soft-core films which featured her dancing are more interesting today, such as the Irving Klaw film Varietease (1954).

Lili's private life was a feast for the tabloids: six marriages, highly publicized brawls, and attempted suicides. She eventually tired of it all and retreated, starting up a Frederick's of Hollywood-like lingerie business. Her last decades were spent in virtual seclusion until her death on January 29, 1999.
BornJune 3, 1918
DiedJanuary 29, 1999(80)
BornJune 3, 1918
DiedJanuary 29, 1999(80)
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank

Photos11

Lili St. Cyr in Love Moods (1952)
Lili St. Cyr
Suzanne Alexander, Charlotte Alpert, Suzanne Ames, Bette Arlen, Roxanne Arlen, Joanne Arnold, Nejla Ates, Bobette Bentley, Mari Blanchard, Anna Lee Carroll, Sue Casey, Helen Chapman, Lili St. Cyr, and Kalantan in Son of Sinbad (1955)
Suzanne Alexander, Charlotte Alpert, Suzanne Ames, Roxanne Arlen, Joanne Arnold, Leon Askin, Bobette Bentley, Eve Bernhardt, Mari Blanchard, Marilyn Bonney, Carol Brewster, Shirley Buchanan, Gwen Caldwell, Anna Lee Carroll, Sue Casey, Helen Chapman, Sally Forrest, Jay Novello, Lili St. Cyr, Patricia Channing, and Connie Cane in Son of Sinbad (1955)
Sally Forrest, Dale Robertson, and Lili St. Cyr in Son of Sinbad (1955)
Mari Blanchard, Sally Forrest, Dale Robertson, and Lili St. Cyr in Son of Sinbad (1955)
Mari Blanchard, Sally Forrest, Dale Robertson, and Lili St. Cyr in Son of Sinbad (1955)
Bettie Page, Rosita Royce, Georgia Sothern, and Lili St. Cyr in Striporama (1953)
Bettie Page and Lili St. Cyr in Varietease (1954)
Bettie Page, Rosita Royce, Georgia Sothern, and Lili St. Cyr in Striporama (1953)

Known for

Cinderella's Love Lesson
4.4
Short
  • Cinderella
  • 1953
Boudoir Secrets
  • Actress
  • 1955
Mari Blanchard, Sally Forrest, Dale Robertson, and Lili St. Cyr in Son of Sinbad (1955)
Son of Sinbad
5.3
  • Nerissa
  • 1955
Lili St. Cyr in Josette from New Orleans (1958)
Josette from New Orleans
  • Josette
  • 1958

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actress

  • Jock Mahoney and Lili St. Cyr in Runaway Girl (1965)
    Runaway Girl
    • Edella
    • 1965
  • I Mobster (1959)
    I Mobster
    • Lili St. Cyr
    • 1959
  • Lili St. Cyr in Josette from New Orleans (1958)
    Josette from New Orleans
    • Josette
    • 1958
  • The Naked and the Dead (1958)
    The Naked and the Dead
    • Willa Mae aka Lily
    • 1958
  • Kiss Me Baby (1957)
    Kiss Me Baby
    • 1957
  • Boudoir Secrets
    • 1955
  • Mari Blanchard, Sally Forrest, Dale Robertson, and Lili St. Cyr in Son of Sinbad (1955)
    Son of Sinbad
    • Nerissa
    • 1955
  • Beverly Garland and Barry Sullivan in The Miami Story (1954)
    The Miami Story
    • Stripper (uncredited)
    • 1954
  • Bedroom Fantasy (1953)
    Bedroom Fantasy
    • Short
    • 1953
  • Cinderella's Love Lesson
    • Cinderella
    • Short
    • 1953

Director

  • Cinderella's Love Lesson
    • Director (uncredited)
    • Short
    • 1953

Writer

  • Cinderella's Love Lesson
    • creator (as Miss St. Cyr)
    • Short
    • 1953

Videos3

Official Trailer
Trailer 1:30
Official Trailer
Original Trailer
Trailer 2:35
Original Trailer
Varietease
Trailer 1:47
Varietease

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Miss St. Cyr
  • Height
    • 5′ 9″ (1.75 m)
  • Born
    • June 3, 1918
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
  • Died
    • January 29, 1999
    • Los Angeles, California, USA(undisclosed)
  • Spouses
      Joe ZomarOctober 30, 1959 - July 8, 1964 (divorced)
  • Relatives
    • Dardy Orlando(Half Sibling)
  • Other works
    In the 1950s and 1960s, Lili lent her name to a mail-order line of intimate women's apparel.
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Biographical Movie
    • 1 Print Biography
    • 1 Article
    • 13 Pictorials
    • 3 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Got her big break in Hollywood in 1951 when she was charged with indecent exposure during a bubble bath performance at Ciro's nightclub. By the time she beat the charge in court, the publicity had made her a headliner and led to a series of low-budget movies.
  • Quotes
    Sex is currency. What's the use of being beautiful if you can't profit from it?
  • Salaries
      Striporama
      (1953)
      $3,500

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