Phyllis Dixey
Phyllis Dixey was a pioneering striptease performer whose daring routine pushed back the boundaries of public decency in 1940s Britian.
But a plan to honour Phyllis Dixey, the first stripper to appear in London’s West End, with an English Heritage blue plaque has met with fierce resistance.
The plan has run into opposition from residents of Wentworth Court concerned about the attention the plaque would bring to the building.
Dixey, a music hall entertainer, lived in the block during the late 1930s, just before she found fame as the “Queen of Striptease”.
Her shows attracted the attentions of police and authorities but were eventually tolerated and her stripperperformances at the Whitehall Theatre became a fixture of wartime and post-war London.
The wording of the proposed plaque is: “Phyllis Dixey 1914 to 1964, Striptease Artiste lived here in flat number 15.”
English Heritage has contacted all residents in the block to get permission, but they have so far refused to grant it.
The residents’ association has suggested to English Heritage a different form of words, such as “burlesque” dancer – but its request has been turned down, on the grounds that burlesque describes an American tradition.
The one and only Phyllis Dixey
Author: Saxon
Strip-magazine.com is covering the European Striptease industry with monthly updates on or famous London Gossip, Interviews with industry people, articles and news from the world of striptease. We also offer a Striptalk forum, Industry Directory with Stripclubs and Agents and a Job board for the Striptease industry in Europe.