The first biography of the iconic Lili St. Cyr does not spare the star’s blushes with a deep look into this seminal artist’s life.
Kelly Dinardo’s detailed history is available now.
By any definition, Lili St. Cyr is a legend. Her class and beauty have influenced many performers of the sensual arts that have come since — even those who don’t know it, but perhaps most notably Marilyn Monroe and Madonna. As a striptease artiste, she rose to fame in the 1940s with her polished and glamorous acts that were unusual in that there was often a storyline and which she continued to perform well into her fifties.
Although the dancer wrote two autobiographies, Kelly DiNardo’s work is the first biography written about St. Cyr. She presents a detailed chronological account of the life of her subject, taking the reader from the star’s humble beginnings in Pasadena through her glory days in the top nightclubs of New York, Chicago, Montreal and other grand American cities, a long stint in a budding Las Vegas and finally her last years as a Garbo-esque recluse in the Hollywood hills, addicted to heroin and lamenting the loss of her beauty.
Supported by countless quotes taken directly from interviews with those surrounding St. Cyr, DiNardo tells an incredibly in-depth story of St. Cyr’s professional and personal tribulations not least her six divorces, countless affairs and her dealings with the courts for public indecency. No potential avenue is left unexplored; there’s even an interview with St. Cyr’s heroin dealer.
The author’s precise language is marred by chapter titles like An Epidemic of Striptacoccus; these hideous puns may be taken directly from newspaper headlines written about St. Cyr in her heyday but do little to recommend the book. DiNardo goes to great lengths relating the iconic stripper’s career and personal life to socio-cultural events in 1940s and 1950s America like the Women’s Movement and the rise of sexual openness in the arts and cinema. Albeit a necessary step, it is one provides valuable insight into the prevailing culture. For example, it was an age when a bubble bath routine that could perhaps be considered coy and sweet by today’s standards landed its star with a very high-profile lawsuit over public indecency.
Gilded Lili is not always an easy read, purely because the subject is approached from an academic angle rather than for entertainment purposes. DiNardo belittles “bumping and grinding” on more than one occasion which may offend those who feel it has it has a valid place in the world of striptease and dance. The book is a rewarding effort, however, for anyone wanting to know more about the star who aimed higher than “bananas or pork chops” in the Depression and the exciting times she lived in.
It is above all a necessary read for anyone involved in the business of burlesque and striptease seeking to understand the life that played out behind that stunning, impish face emerging from the bathtub. St. Cyr’s influence is still evident everywhere. To avoid her work is nigh on impossible, not to mention a mistake if you wish to see how classic minimalism was and still should be done.
Gilded Lili: Lili St Cyr And The Striptease Mystique by Kelly DiNardo is available on Amazon and at other booksellers.
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