Stripping History: Lynne O’Neill

Elaine Jose Nolan was brought into this world on March 8, 1918. She started her life in Baltimore Maryland but just twelve years later her parents would make the move to Evanston Illinois. She would go on to graduate high school in 1935 right there outside of Chicago.

World War Two was all anyone could think about. It started as a trickle with Japan waging war on China in 1931. It felt so far from the safe shores of America but in time the trickle would be come a torrent. The entire world overlapping their moral compasses to the eventuality of an all out world war... yet again. But this one would end differently and even more darkly.

There was a tremendous loss felt around the world but our piece in that war wouldn’t start until 1942.

Over time there was need for entertainment to boost military spirits as WWII raged on.

Eventually she would go on tour throughout the Midwest with the USO as an entertainer.

Elaine always loved ballet and would continue to practice it throughout her young adult life. Perhaps it was that love of ballet that led her to be the leggy, statuesque burlesque figure that she would later commit her life to becoming.

Elaine was undergoing some incredible changes in her world, and was oddly, supported by her mother. It was not common in those days to accept a stripper daughter...

You see Elaine was beginning to meet her inner Lynne O’Neill.

It’s a very special thing when a performer finds their alter ego. It can be a life-changing experience and sometimes sadly earth shattering. Especially without the love of a supportive family. But Elaine had that, she had a mother who not only benefited from her successes but also pitched in to get the job done.

Nothing is ever the same after stripping. Nothing ever looks, smells or feels the same after you have stood in your naked power on stage in front of an adoring audience. Lynne was emerging and wanted to be seen in all of her glory.

She soon started booking burlesque gigs in Chicago under her newly acquired stage name “Lynne O’Neill”. Lynne’s mother was not only supportive, she was totally on board!

Now every stripper needs a good gimmick, at least every American stripper did back then. With Hollywood on the rise, strippers were fighting for attention. Folks were happy to stay home and watch TV or indulge in a movie.

Burlesque houses were hit hard.

People now have free entertainment at their fingertips at home.

It was even harder to lure the audience out to a night on the town.

Clubs were generally tight with money and booked only the acts that could put asses in seats. The more unique her act was on stage the more sure she was to get booked.

It was necessary to have a gimmick. Something that really set her apart from the vast sea of Chicago striptease wannabes. Something that secured her spot in the nightclub scene.

Lynne’s mother came up with just such a gimmick.

As a waitress by trade, she probably was used to anticipating people’s desires and could see that the audience wanted to take home a piece of the performance and feel included in the nights act. She came up with the idea to make garters for Lynne to toy with enticingly on stage. Lynne would take the opportunity to enter the audience, make nice, grab a few bucks and hand out a garter or two to unsuspecting guests, creating something more unique than just a performance, Lynne and her mother were creating a moment.

I remember as a child working my dad’s photography studio he used to tell me to “treat people with care when they walk in the door because we’re not selling them photographs Danielle, we are selling them a moment, a piece of us. That’s what they really want, they can get pictures anywhere, they come back for the moment.”

A good stripper is never afraid of her crowd. That’s where you make your money, that’s where you make loyal fans, that’s where you make your future. If you don’t get out in the crowd, you are more forgettable. Patrons want to feel like you just might approach them, whether you do or you don’t, it doesn’t matter, they want to feel like they might be the lucky one that gets your attention for just a few seconds. They WILL come back for that!

It was Lynne’s mother’s ingenuity that won Lynne O’Neill the moniker “The Original Garter Girl”.

Lynne had signs made (I currently own one) that she would set up next to her garter stand. And her mom would sell those garters before and after her daughters show. Not only making money from the club for the booking but also in tips from the customers and before and after the show with product. Lynne wasn’t just a stripper, she was now a career showgirl. She had the gimmick, she had the merchandise, she had her mother backing her up and she had beautiful costuming! This is an example of one of Lynn O’Neill’s original costumes. This costume is from my personal collection. I would date this costume in the 1950s considering its condition, materials and style. I’m currently doing research to find out more information and get an exact date. I would love to know where this costume was used and see if I can find any documentation of it.

As I look through Lynne O’Neills costumes I can see that many of them are obviously handmade.

I’m curious to know whether she made them herself or if her mother made them for her? Possibly they made them together?

This is such an incredible story not only of a striptease, burlesque dancer. This is also a story of an unusually understanding relationship between a mother and a daughter. I’m sure they had their ups and downs like every relationship does, especially through Lynn O’Neill’s arrest in the 1960s when she served four days days in behind bars on a 10 day sentence for sending nude photographs through the mail.

I have come across several of these nude photographs and will certainly document them for you. It was very simple, she would place an ad in the back of a magazine, such as, “Man to Man” in which she wrote a regular article.

She would simply tell people to send her a self-addressed stamp envelope and she would write to them and send a little photo. I’m sure there was money exchanged, at least I sure hope there was! That’s a lot of work for nothing otherwise. I’m pretty sure I have a letter around here that states that she would be paid one dollar per nude photo. I’ll see if I can find that to show you as well.

What a supportive mother.

What an incredible life, And they stayed together through everything. Even after Burlesque was no longer popular and the once opulent theaters they once headlined were boarded up or rented out as porn theaters in the 1970s. They stayed together.

By 1972 she would move to New York with her mother to get into Real Estate. She would do that until her death.

Elaine Nolan died August 5, 2010.

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About our model

Bastet Dafoe

Bastet Dafoe, the southern slow burn belle, is an up and coming burlesque performer from Arkansas.

She first hit the stage at Spa City Sweethearts February 2020. Since then, she's been leaving people's homes engulfed in flames by way of virtual performances since April.

She is a member of the Arkansas Shake Shakers, the first POC burlesque troupe in Arkansas.

She hopes to hit stages all over the world one day.

Social media- IG: bastetdafoe

While our model was paid for this appearance, if you feel that you would like to tip her for her work feel free, right here💗

Venmo-@

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This beautiful video is the work of

Madison Hurley Photography