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{{Short description|Burlesque dancer (1928–2023)}}
{{Orphan|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Toni Elling
| image = ToniEllingMissExoticWorld2007 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Performing at [[Miss Exotic World]], 2007
| birth_name = Rosita Sims
| birth_date = {{birth date|1928|05|13}}
| birth_place = [[Detroit]], [[Michigan]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|04|02|1928|05|13}}
| death_place =
| years_active = 1960–1974
| occupation = Dancer, entertainer
}}


'''Toni Elling''' (born '''Rosita Sims,''' May 13, 1928 – April 2, 2023), also known by her stage name '''Satin Doll''', was an American [[American burlesque#Burlesque in America|burlesque]] dancer.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.mystatesman.com/entertainment/toni-elling-still-queen-burlesque/kDachJYhKcobQNSIhYBtMO/|title=Toni Elling, 85, still a queen of burlesque|last=Barnes|first=Michael|date=9 April 2014|work=Austin-American Statesman|access-date=2017-08-03|language=en}}</ref>
[[File:ToniEllingMissExoticWorld2007.jpg|thumb]]
'''Toni Elling- Satin Dol'''l is a [[American burlesque|burlesque]] dancer. She was born in [[Detroit]] to Joseph and Myrtle Sims, the eldest of three children.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|title = SO BURLESQUE: SO BURLESQUE: INTERVIEW WITH LEGEND OF BURLESQUE TONI ELLING|url = http://www.soburlesqueblog.com/2011/11/aujourdhui-un-petit-evenement-chez.html|website = www.soburlesqueblog.com|access-date = 2016-02-02}}</ref> She was unhappy with her job as a telephone operator at The Michigan Bell Telephone Company where she had worked for 9 years, because she could not get promotion being an African American. She got into burlesque dancing in 1960, when she was 32 years old after her friend Rita Revere suggested she get into stripping, and continued performing until the early 1970s.<ref name="auto"/> She married but she soon divorced, as her husband was abusive. They had no children.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|title = Burlesque legend Toni Elling to visit Windsor|url = http://windsorstar.com/life/burlesque-legend-toni-elling-to-visit-windsor|website = Windsor News - Breaking News & Latest Headlines {{!}} Windsor Star|access-date = 2016-02-02|language = en-US}}</ref> She took her name from her friend and confidant, bandleader [[Duke Ellington]]. She was also friends with the likes of [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] and fighter [[Joe Louis]].<ref name="auto1"/> She would never take off her panties in her act or wear a g-string because, “It’s entertainment, yes, but the idea is to suggest what’s there, not throw off all your clothes and reveal everything. That’s why they call it strip-tease.”


Elling was born in [[Detroit]] to Joseph and Myrtle Sims, the eldest of three children.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|title = SO BURLESQUE: SO BURLESQUE: INTERVIEW WITH LEGEND OF BURLESQUE TONI ELLING|url = http://www.soburlesqueblog.com/2011/11/aujourdhui-un-petit-evenement-chez.html|website = www.soburlesqueblog.com|access-date = 2016-02-02}}</ref> She was unhappy with her job as a telephone operator at the [[Michigan Bell Telephone Company]] where she had worked for nine years, because she could not get promoted because she was an [[African American]]. She got into burlesque dancing in 1960 when she was 32 years old after a friend suggested she get into stripping, and continued performing until the early 1970s.<ref name="auto" /> She married but she soon divorced, as her husband was abusive. They had no children.<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|title = Burlesque legend Toni Elling to visit Windsor|url = https://windsorstar.com/life/burlesque-legend-toni-elling-to-visit-windsor|website = Windsor News - Breaking News & Latest Headlines {{!}} Windsor Star|access-date = 2016-02-02|language = en-US}}</ref> She took her name from her friend and confidant, bandleader [[Duke Ellington]]. She was also friends with [[Sammy Davis Jr.]] and fighter [[Joe Louis]].<ref name="auto1" /> She would never take off her panties in her act or wear a [[G-string]] because it is “entertainment, yes, but the idea is to suggest what’s there, not throw off all your clothes and reveal everything. That’s why they call it strip-tease.”
More recently,{{when|date=February 2016}} she was inducted into the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.<ref name="auto1"/>

Elling is referenced in a comedy routine by comedian [[Richard Pryor]], who said he was the emcee at the strip club she worked in around 1960.

Elling retired in 1974. In 2016 she was inducted into the [[Burlesque Hall of Fame]] in [[Las Vegas]].<ref name="auto1" />

Elling died on April 2, 2023, at the age of 94.<ref>[https://www.metrotimes.com/news/detroit-burlesque-legend-toni-elling-has-died-at-94-years-old-32970216 Detroit burlesque legend Toni Elling has died at 94 years old]</ref>


==References==
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elling, Toni}}
[[Category:1928 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:American burlesque performers]]
[[Category:People from Detroit]]
[[Category:American female erotic dancers]]
[[Category:American erotic dancers]]
[[Category:Dancers from Michigan]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American women]]



{{Dance-bio-stub}}
[[Category:Burlesque performers]]
[[Category:People from Detroit, Michigan]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

Latest revision as of 01:47, 13 November 2024

Toni Elling
Performing at Miss Exotic World, 2007
Born
Rosita Sims

(1928-05-13)May 13, 1928
DiedApril 2, 2023(2023-04-02) (aged 94)
Occupation(s)Dancer, entertainer
Years active1960–1974

Toni Elling (born Rosita Sims, May 13, 1928 – April 2, 2023), also known by her stage name Satin Doll, was an American burlesque dancer.[1]

Elling was born in Detroit to Joseph and Myrtle Sims, the eldest of three children.[2] She was unhappy with her job as a telephone operator at the Michigan Bell Telephone Company where she had worked for nine years, because she could not get promoted because she was an African American. She got into burlesque dancing in 1960 when she was 32 years old after a friend suggested she get into stripping, and continued performing until the early 1970s.[2] She married but she soon divorced, as her husband was abusive. They had no children.[3] She took her name from her friend and confidant, bandleader Duke Ellington. She was also friends with Sammy Davis Jr. and fighter Joe Louis.[3] She would never take off her panties in her act or wear a G-string because it is “entertainment, yes, but the idea is to suggest what’s there, not throw off all your clothes and reveal everything. That’s why they call it strip-tease.”

Elling is referenced in a comedy routine by comedian Richard Pryor, who said he was the emcee at the strip club she worked in around 1960.

Elling retired in 1974. In 2016 she was inducted into the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas.[3]

Elling died on April 2, 2023, at the age of 94.[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Barnes, Michael (9 April 2014). "Toni Elling, 85, still a queen of burlesque". Austin-American Statesman. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
  2. ^ a b "SO BURLESQUE: SO BURLESQUE: INTERVIEW WITH LEGEND OF BURLESQUE TONI ELLING". www.soburlesqueblog.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  3. ^ a b c "Burlesque legend Toni Elling to visit Windsor". Windsor News - Breaking News & Latest Headlines | Windsor Star. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
  4. ^ Detroit burlesque legend Toni Elling has died at 94 years old