Toni Elling: Difference between revisions
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Revision as of 08:31, 1 May 2023
Toni Elling | |
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Born | Rosita Sims May 13, 1928 Detroit, Illinois, U.S. |
Died | April 2, 2023 | (aged 94)
Occupation(s) | Dancer, entertainer |
Years active | 1960–1974 |
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 9 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 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
- ^ Barnes, Michael (9 April 2014). "Toni Elling, 85, still a queen of burlesque". Austin-American Statesman. Retrieved 2017-08-03.
- ^ a b "SO BURLESQUE: SO BURLESQUE: INTERVIEW WITH LEGEND OF BURLESQUE TONI ELLING". www.soburlesqueblog.com. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
- ^ a b c "Burlesque legend Toni Elling to visit Windsor". Windsor News - Breaking News & Latest Headlines | Windsor Star. Retrieved 2016-02-02.
- ^ Detroit burlesque legend Toni Elling has died at 94 years old