Faith Bacon - 2
Burlesque Past and Present: The sad story of Faith Bacon
April 17, 2012 / Anna
The art of the tease is on everyone's lips; with a growing interest in burlesque, cabaret clubs are thriving, and new acts are appearing weekly. At Playful Promises, we absolutely adore a bit of cheek and would love to introduce you to our favorite burly girls, both past and present! Keep your eyes peeled, as each week we feature inspiring performers guaranteed to set pulses racing!
Said to be the most beautiful woman in the world, at least according to Florenz Ziegfeld, Faith Bacon was a starlet turned burlesque dancer who suffered a sad demise.
At 20 years old, Faith appeared on Broadway in Earl Carroll's 'Fioretta' and the Ziegfeld Follies. Carroll was a hit Broadway producer, earning the name "the picker of pulchritude". At the time, it was only legal to have nude women on stage if they acted as unmoving statues, which often resulted in shows of grand artistic tableaux.
This was not enough for Carroll, who pushed the censorship laws in 1924 by staging a show titled "Vanities," where most of the female acts cavorted nude on stage. Enough was enough for the New York District Attorney, who demanded that Carroll cover his performers. He refused and continued with the show, leading to a humorous moment when a police officer tasked with stopping any displays of nudity ran onto the stage with a blanket. The officer raced after a naked star, who escaped and dashed away – it was like a scene from the Keystone Kops for the audience.
Carroll battled with censorship throughout his career, serving jail time for some of his debaucheries (including throwing lavish parties with nude women bathing in illegal alcohol), and was always on the lookout for new ways to flash some flesh.
Faith had an idea: "Mr. Carroll... Why can't we do a number where I'm covered while I move and uncovered when I stop? For example, let's say the orchestra plays a waltz. I dance around, but on every third note, the music stops, and I stand still and uncover!" Clearly impressed, he asked her what she could use to cover herself while moving, and she suggested ostrich feathers. According to Faith, that’s how the fan dance was born.
Faith took her fan dance across America, creating a sensation both among the public and the police. The fan dance gained popularity, and in 1933 she competed against Sally Rand (who is remembered as the more popular and even the originator of the fan dance) at The World's Fair.
From there, her life took a downturn. In 1936, she participated in a performance at Chicago's State-Lake Theater, where she was instructed to stand on a glass box for the finale. "Well, the curtains parted, and I crashed through the box. All the girls started screaming for a doctor and running around the stage, but somehow I climbed out of all the broken glass and danced." Her role was to embody the allure of beauty, which must have been quite a shock as she danced covered in blood.
Faith was hospitalized for a month and left with deep scars on both legs. It took two months before she could dance again, and she even had to relearn how to walk.
Her star faded; the only jobs she could find were in less reputable venues, eventually leading her to small-town bars and carnivals. In 1938, she had a minor role in a cheap, low-budget film called Prison Train, playing a dancer named Maxine. Ten years later, she sued a carnival owner for throwing tacks onto the stage while she danced barefoot, allegedly trying to force her to break her contract.
On September 26, 1956, after a particularly long search for work and distressed by her lack of success, she argued with her roommate about her decision to return to her family in Pennsylvania. Faith ran from the room and suddenly opened a window in the stairwell. Her roommate attempted to grab her skirt, but Faith broke free and jumped. Her body landed on the roof of a one-story saloon next door, resulting in her death at the age of 46.
Her friend later told reporters that Bacon "craved the spotlight once more. She would have accepted any opportunity in show business."
Faith's reported effects included clothing, one ring, a train ticket home, 85 cents, and a pair of rented shoes and fans.
See also [ Faith Bacon ]
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