“Forgotten Hollywood”- A Top-Down Tribute…
Manny P. here…
Legendary San Francisco stripper Carol Ann Doda created a splashy act that helped introduce topless entertainment to the city more than 50 years ago. She first went bare in 1964 at The Condor Club — a moment that changed every nightspot on busy Broadway in Frisco.
Doda, known for her augmented bust, rode onto stage atop a piano on an elevator platform, debuting her act the same day President Lyndon B. Johnson drew half-a-million people in a visit to the city by the bay. The Condor Club had an illuminated sign carrying her likeness. Doda’s breasts became known as the new twin peaks of San Francisco. Bobby Freeman and Sly Stone were among the rockers that performed while the dancer did her thing. CAROL DODA —>
During its heyday in the early 1970s, the street in North Beach buzzed with more than two dozen night spots where carnival-like barkers beckoned passers-by to watch the scantily clad dancers, wearing nothing but a bikini bottom and high heels. The era spanned some 20 years.
Doda had a role in Head, a 1968 film featuring The Monkees, which was produced by Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson.The movie was produced by Columbia Pictures. In the flick, she appeared in a Golden Boy parody with Annette Funicello, Sonny Liston, and Davy Jones. She was profiled in Tom Wolfe’s book The Pump House Gang. For a decade, Doda was the spokesperson for what is now the San Jose television station KICU-TV Channel 36, then known as KGSC-TV. She finally left The Condor Club in 1985, and became the proprietor of Carol Doda’s Champagne and Lace Lingerie Boutique. She would perform in a rock band (organized by pop star Greg Kihn), do some modeling and comedy, and eventually sang and danced at another club. Some compare her influence as a cultural icon to the comedy of Lenny Bruce.
The ample Carol Doda was 78.
Until next time> “never forget”
This entry was posted on Thursday, November 12th, 2015 at 12:59 am and is filed under Blog by Manny Pacheco. You can follow any comments to this post through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.
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