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Liz
Renay , by Michelle Carr
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So,
anyway, I had to do something FAST, cuz I was there with no money,
two kids in the hotel, no way to keep them. I needed a way out. I'd
been to 52nd street, thought the acts seemed quite easy; I thought
"I could put something together like that. But, I didn't have any
money at all except this $20 bill. I was able to buy a little pair
of panties, and a bra-black.
I
bought a whole bunch of colored ribbons and just strung the ribbons
from the panties to the floor and then the only thing I had money left
for was a piece of sheet music. In those days, it was like 80 cents.
I alsobought
a thin, flimsy veil. I tied it around my face like a bandit. I bought
the veil because I didn't think that I’d even want to show my face.
I had no idea what the music was like; I'd never heard it. I was looking
through the sheet music, and I came across one called "The Vagabond."
That made sense because me and my 2 kids were like vagabonds, so I grabbed
that.
I got to the club, and the wardrobe lady said "Oh, that costume's
great." Everything was spilling over and pouring out and
pooching out - it was WAY too small, but I was crammed into it somehow,
with the ribbons flinging around. I was almost nude to begin with!
I had to make up a name on the spot, so I said "Miss.......... Mystia,
from the Far East! Well, the whole act was a mystery to me, and that's
how I began on 52nd street.
Of course as time went on my acts got more elaborate, and they were
just piling so much money and diamonds and jewels and minks, it just
seemed silly to be working. So, I quit; I got married. The papers
made a big thing about "Mickey Cohen's girlfriend marrying a millionaire"
and everything. I mean, he did get a lot of publicity and that just
turned him green. He hated to be connected with all these things.
He lumped burlesque in the same category. I eventually got rid of
him instead of my career.
the
end!
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