R.I.P. Tempest Storm

[BackInTex]

Tempest Storm, burlesque star who dated JFK and Elvis, dead at 93

Tempest Storm, the fiery redhead known as a burlesque icon who starred in early Russ Meyer films, has died. She was 93.

Storm died in her Las Vegas apartment Tuesday, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported, and had been battling dementia in recent months. She also was struggling after undergoing hip surgery on April 8 and was under round-the-clock care until her death.

"Tempest was easily one of the best-known and highest-regarded burlesque [performers] of all time, and was an active part of the burlesque community right to the end," Burlesque Hall of Fame executive director Dustin Wax told the Review-Journal. "She will be missed terribly in the burlesque community and well beyond it."

Born Annie Blanche Banks in 1928, Storm left home in the seventh grade and moved to Hollywood at the ripe age of 15 to pursue a career. Working as a waitress, a customer suggested she’d make money as a striptease performer. She got an audition with Follies Theater by 1951 and had to choose a stage name — either Sunny Day or Tempest Storm.

[silverscreenselect]

I think that the word "dated," in regard to both Elvis and JFK, is a euphemism. Donald Trump similarly dated Stormy Daniels (and now we know how Stormy got her name).