The burlesque dancer Tempest Storm, who was credited for bringing 'the art of striptease to the masses' passed away at the age of 93 on April 20. The dancer was famous for her fiery red hair and flamboyant personality.
Storm, who was born as Born Annie Blanche Banks was battling dementia. According to the Las Vegas Review-Journal, she died in her Vegas apartment on Tuesday. The dancer was struggling with her health after undergoing hip surgery on April 8 and was under round-the-clock supervision until her death on Tuesday.
The Burlesque Hall of Fame executive director Dustin Wax told the Review-Journal in an interview that Storm was one of the highest regarded and best known burlesque performers of all time. She was an active part of the community until the very end. He also added that Storm will be missed terribly in the burlesque community and beyond.
Storm's business partner and longtime friend Harvey Robbins called her the last of the great legends of the Golden age of burlesque. He also said that that she was perhaps the biggest burlesque dancers of all.
Tempest Star left her home for Hollywood in seventh grade at the age of 15. She initially worked as a waitress and later got an audition with Follies Theatre in 1951 after a customer suggested that she'd make money as a striptease performer.
Storm was the highest-paid burlesque performer ever with a $100,000 contract for 10 years at the Bryan-Engels burlesque production company. She also worked in the 1995 film Teaserama with the American Model Bettie Page.
The dancer was also featured in the 2016 documentary Tempest Storm which was based on her life and focused on her career and her relationship with her daughter Patricia.
Storm's final performance was at the Plaza for the Burlesque Hall of Fame reunion show in 2010 and she hosted the "Tempest Storm’s Las Vegas Burlesque Revue" a few months after her last performance.
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