Blaze Starr
| Blaze Starr | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Fannie Belle Fleming April 10, 1932 Wayne County, West Virginia, U.S. |
| Died | June 15, 2015 (aged 83) |
| Occupation | Stripper, American burlesque star, nude model, actress, gemologist |
| Years active | 1950–1983 (stripper) 1956–1989 (actress) 1989–2015 (gemologist) |
| Spouse(s) | Carroll Glorioso |
| Modeling information | |
| Height | 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) |
| Hair color | Red |
Blaze Starr (born Fannie Belle Fleming; April 10, 1932 – June 15, 2015) was an American stripper and burlesque comedian. Her vivacious presence and inventive use of stage props earned her the nickname "The Hottest Blaze in Burlesque". She was also known for her affair with Louisiana Governor Earl Kemp Long. The 1989 film Blaze is based on her memoir.
Starr was born on April 10, 1932 in rural Wayne County, West Virginia, along Twelvepole Creek, (also spelled Twelve Pole Creek) the second eldest of 11 siblings born to Lora (née Evans) and Goodlow Fleming).
Reared in the Newground Hollow (also spelled New Ground Hollow) area of Wilsondale, West Virginia, she left home at either age 14 or 15 and moved to Washington D.C., where, according to her autobiography, she was discovered by a promoter while she was employed in a doughnut shop.
She recalled:
I was 15 and working as a waitress at the Mayflower Donut Shop in Washington, D.C., when a man named Red Snyder told me I was pretty and ought to be in show business. I said I had been raised to believe it was sinful to dance, but I could play the guitar. "Good," he said. "I'm going to make you a star." Red said he wanted me to dress up as a cowgirl, play the guitar a little and then strip. I had never heard of striptease before. But Red sweet-talked me and said the girls who did all had to be really beautiful. When you have never even shown your belly button, the thought of stripping is scary. So when I went onstage for the first time in my red-and-white cowgirl outfit, I used my hat to cover myself. After the show I threw up. It wasn't that I thought there was anything wrong with stripping. I was just overwhelmed by the emotion of getting into show business.
Snyder became Fleming's first manager, encouraged her to start stripping, and gave her the stage name Blaze Starr. She suffered a gang rape during her teenage years.
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