About this item
Lili St. Cyr was, in the words of legendary reporter Mike Wallace, the "highest paid stripteaser in America." Wallace was so fascinated by Lili that out of all the presidents and celebrities he interviewed over a long career, towards the end of his life, she was the one he remained fixated on. Her beauty had that kind of effect.Lili St. Cyr, the one time queen of burlesque, led an incredible life -six marriages, romances with Orson Wells, Yul Brenner, Vic Damone, a number of suicide attempts, all alongside great fame and money. Yet despite her fierce will she lost it all; becoming a recluse in her final decades, she eked out a living selling old photos of herself living with magazines taped over her windows.Goddess of Love Incarnate will be the definitive biography of this legendary figure, done with the cooperation of Lili's only surviving relative.
About the Author
Leslie Zemeckis is an entertainer, author and award-winning documentarian, specializing in early American forms of entertainment (from burlesque to the circus) . With an impressive burlesque collection that streteches from the 1920s through the 1960s, with items from Gypsy Rose Lee to Blaze Starr. Zemeckis wrote/produced/directed the critically acclaimed documentary shown on Showtime "Behind the Burly Q" the true story of old-time burlesque. Her second film, "Bound by Flesh" about Daisy and Violet Hilton, sideshow "freaks" won many festival awards as both best documentary and best director and can be seen on Netflix. Her second book "Goddess of Love Incarnate; the Life of Stripteuse Lili St. Cyr" was published Fall of 2015 by Counterpoint Press and is the in-depth story of Hollywood in the '30s-50s, Montreal nightclubs, and Swinging 52nd Street in New York as Lili dances and strips her way to great fame and fortune, shedding 6 husbands and numerous lovers, such as Orson Welles and Artie Shaw along the way.
