Tempest Storm
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Tempest Storm (born Annie Blanche Banks, February 29, 1928 – April 20, 2021) 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.
Life and career
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 in Las Vegas. She was featured in numerous men's magazines and burlesque movies, including The 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.
Storm was married four times. Her first two marriages were short-lived and took place when she was in her early to mid-teens. The first of these marriages was annulled after one day. Her third marriage was to the owner of a burlesque theater. Her fourth marriage was to Herb Jeffries, film and television actor as well as a popular music and jazz singer-songwriter, known for his baritone voice, with whom she had a daughter. The marriage to Jeffries, according to the New York Times, "broke midcentury racial taboos, costing her work". Storm commented on her final two marriages thusly, "A guy marries a girl in this business and he thinks he can handle it. They love you when you’re engaged, but they can’t handle it when you’re married. All of a sudden they want you to wear dresses all the way up to your neck."
See also
