Berlesker: Handcrafted Literary Journal vol II | Page 20

2007 Q&A with Dixie Evans
by Angie Pontani

When you started in Burlesque, did you have apprehensions
about doing something so risqué/taboo?

Yes, I certainly had apprehensions. My mother was very religious
and because of her, whenever I would have photos taken, I would
say, “Just do a headshot, so I can show my mother.” That way I could
tell her I was a singer or a model for Sears and Roebuck! When I
started doing very well is about the time when my mother found
out what I was really doing. I took my first paycheck from Minsky’s
in Newark and went and bought her a mink stole. She was very
happy with that. She called it her Minksky!

photos this page and next provided by
Estate of Dixie Evans

Your favorite act:

The first number I did was my Hollywood act; that was my own. When
I went to Minsky’s, he labeled me the
“Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque,” and
that became my act. I changed my attitude to be like Marilyn. I had an act
for every film Marilyn did. My favorite
would have been The Prince and The
Showgirl. I had a dummy dressed as a
prince and a full throne. That was my
most accomplished act. I wasn’t much
of a dancer, and I wasn’t the statuesque
girl that could just strut and twirl, so I
would pretend to be, and I would make
up my own steps thinking, “This is my
own step, so no one can say I am doing
it right or wrong, because it’s mine.”

Favorite performance memories/moments/celebs:

Soon after Marilyn Monroe and Joe Dimaggio, he came to see my show. I was doing an act that night based off of
their split. I was backstage and they told me he was in the audience. I said, “I can’t go on! Joe Dimaggio is here!”
The boss said, “Of course your’re going on. Why do you think he is here!” I spoke in the act and I called high into
the spotlight and did my monologue, which ended with, “ Joe, now you’re gone and I’m all alone, you’re gone ... but
I’m glad you left your bat.“ The audience went wild and Joe loved it.
Frank Sinatra would also come and catch a lot of my shows in Miami. Frank Sinatra and Joe Dimaggio, you
can’t get much bigger than that.
I danced at Place Pigalle for 10 years, 3 shows a night, 10 - 20 minutes in length each. My last show would be
at 4:45am. That’s when I wake up now and I always think, “Gosh, I would be going on now.” It was a very popular
nightclub, and I never missed a show. We had 14 acts that were just dynamite. There was never a bad show. BS Pully
was the comic, and the mobsters just loved him and Sinatra. They would be there a lot to see his act.