Happy Birthday, Gay Dawn!

Today is a very special day!

I don't even have time to apologize for not blogging in the past few months, because right now I'm much too excited to relate how the power of the internet brought a happy ending to a small mystery I've been trying to solve! I'm referring to this blog post of 3 years ago, when I was searching for more to the story on "Everybody's Girl".. Miss Gay Dawn!

Here's the exciting part! Just last night I received an email from an acquaintance who reported that Gay Dawn's daughter, Gayleen Hays, had seen that blog post...then, wonder of wonders, this morning I received a lovely email from Gayleen herself! To me, this is like hearing from a celebrity!

 

THANK YOU!!!!!

Last night I was feeling so lonely without her and then I found your blog!! It was a wonderful gift, almost as though you two were sending me smiles. I toasted to you and Mommy, remembering the days when I sat next to the piano player and watched her as she bumped and shimmied out of her clothes, so beautiful, I was seven. She was funny, wise, childlike, complicated, full of secrets and sweet. You two are a perfect match. Big hugs, You made her birthday unforgettable!!!
 

 

If this wasn't thrilling enough, I was also provided with an update on family and grandchildren, one of whom is Serina Dawn of the Serina Dawn Band.  I was also intrigued to find out that Gayleen authored a book, published in 1992, entitled 'Policewoman One' .. a tell-all about her 20 years on the LAPD! Now how could I have missed that?? and guess who will be visiting Amazon today for a book purchase??

Many, many thanks to Gayleen Hays for reaching out to me! I couldn't be more thrilled that my little post finally found its way home...and a HAPPY, HAPPY birthday to 'Everybody's Girl'.. GAY DAWN! xoxo

 

 

BurlyQ Princesses

I don't think Walt Disney had a mind as dirty as mine...or yours. I have a feeling Walt's mind was probably filled with colorful, lovable forest creatures, virgins, heroes, rainbows and happy endings......hey, NOT THAT KIND OF HAPPY ENDING! Stop it! You know what I mean.

But these depictions of the fair, virginal Disney Princesses by artist MADHANZ prove that some people may have tended...possibly since childhood...to look at Disney's fair, virginal Princesses in a more...imaginative way! I love these with all my heart!!

Cinderella

Ariel

Aurora

Belle

Snow White

Jasmine

Rock-A-Raise!

We Seattle-ites may be all the way across the country (2852 miles from here to NY as the bird flies) but that doesn't stop us from caring about our friends on the East Coast, many of whom are still struggling after the devastation of Hurricane Sandy!

So I'm proud to announce that this Sunday night I'll be performing at ROCK-A-RAISE...a dance party and burlesque show dedicated to raising money for this worthy cause! In fact, 100% of the proceeds will be going to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Hurricane Sandy Relief and Rebuild Fund!

This event is going to be held at CHOP SUEY on Seattle's Capitol Hill...aaaand...I'm very excited to be sharing the stage with that Hot Hot Mess of Seattle Burlesque, the fabulous Mitzy Sixx!

Check out the TUMBLR link! My thanks to the producers for making me feel like a big-time celebrity! What a thrill!!

Anatomy of An Act

Hard to believe it's been 5 years since I graduated from Miss Indigo Blue's Academy of Burlesque...and so much has happened in those 5 years...I realized my dream of being crowned Belltown Betty, I produced my own one-woman show, and I celebrated my 20,000th day alive! So, to commemorate my anniversary as the one-and-only Gams Galore, I thought it would be fun to put together an actual burlesque strip routine, which I performed in last Friday night's Academy of Burlesque Alumni Show - The Beginning of the End!

I told the story of my BLONDE AMBITION...how I went from blah to blonde...from glum to glam...from frumpy to faboo...simply by putting on my beloved bad wig!

I gotta tell ya, kidz...singing is sooo much easier with sooo much less room for error! And much less preparation, too, I might add. Case in point are these notes I made while creating my act. Note how they start off nice, neat and well-organized...

...still looking pretty tidy and sensible...

...then things get a little more complicated...

Oops! Then the shit make no sense at all!!

I'm pleased to announce that it all came off without a hitch...literally and figuratively! And since every burlesque strip routine calls for an appropriate pair o' pasties for a final 'reveal', I created these beauties for my boobies! Sparkly!

Host Post

Hello my darling darlings! I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving filled with food, fun and friends! As for me, I enjoyed my own annual tradition of going out for a couple pints of the strongest (around 9% alcohol!) seasonal ale around town, Maritime's Jolly Roger... and some good ol' fashioned fish and chips!

So while I was noshing away on my untraditional fishy feast, it occured to me that I never told y'all about my latest gig! For the last few months I've been the 'official' show host, aka Mistress of Ceremonies,  for Chameleon Productions...a fabulous troupe of burlesque and bellydance performers who put together a show every month at a local bar known as Dante's... a favorite U of W frat hangout since the 60's!

I just so happen to have a video from September's themed show, 'Mix It Up!' ...why don't you 'check it out'?


Next month is an Xmas theme, of course...entitled 'Tis The Season... and guess who got to design the poster??

Wacky Wacky Waxie

Here it comes! Here it comes! The film I have been waiting..and waiting..and waiting for! It's my all-time favorite boylesque sexsation in his first feature length film.........Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel!
This will be premiering at the upcoming Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in October...but thanks to your pal Gams, you can enjoy this fun and colorful trailer NOW!

Captain Jamie

Oh, and one more thing, loved ones...if you'd like to see the creator of those cute little aqua 'flight suits'...

...check out another uber-fabulous friend of mine, designer Jamie Von Stratton...on Perez TV!

By the time you get to almost  the end, you'll see Jamie wearing the exact same Captain Jamie uniform...with none other than the legendary Bob Mackie! Yay!

Fun Fundraising

Darlings, I'm so excited to be telling you that tomorrow night I'll be hosting a fundraiser for The Burlesque Hall of Fame Legends Challenge...

...where we'll be raising money to send our fabulous friend, Velvet Ice...

...off to Las Vegas for the BHOF Weekend coming up in June!! Velvet Ice is billed as one of the "Titans of Tease"....along with "The Untouchable" Ellion Ness and too many other amazing living legends to name! Take a look at them gams, my friends...who'da guessed they've been struttin' their stuff since the 70's?? Sensational!!

I was lucky enough to meet both these beautiful "Living Legends" at last year's BurlyCon...here's the pic...which proves, without a doubt, that burlesque performers, glamour...aaand Blonde Ambition...are timeless!...ageless!! Right, darlings?

You can find out more...more...and so much more by visiting BHOF Weekend 2012!
Now...whatevahhhh shall I wear???

Velvet Ice photo courtesy Chris Blakeley

Eye Candy

Much too glamorous to hide under the mattress!

More! More! More! Vintage Burlesk here!

Good Housekeeping

Remember my pink trompe-l'œil apron? It's turning out to be a real workhorse! I've worn it on several occasions and it's always such a hit that I dared to wear it again last month in my role as housekeeping hostess of Vacancy: A Burlesque Tale of Holiday Travel. I recently received these pictures from the show, and naturally assumed you'd enjoy seeing the apron in action!!

Do note, if you will, darlings, my long-line Playtex Living Gloves, size S, in a stunning shade of pink! With my trusty duster at hand, I'm ready to go to work!

It's a good thing they have me to pick up empty bottles laying around and...hey...what's so funny?

Oh, I know I look cute now...

...but just watch as I get drunker...

...and drunker...

...and drunker!

I did manage to fool one or two unsuspecting audience members into thinking I was tipsier than I really was! My friends, however, are apparently so used to seeing me be the life of the party, they thought nothing of it.

Many thanks to photographer Ralph Gayle for glorifying the Gams!

Everybody's Girl

I'm a huge fan of biographies, but never really understood why someone would want to go to the trouble of researching and writing 500-some pages of facts about a person they never knew. That is, until...

Sometime last year, my personal hairdresser, Mr. Angelo, handed me an old newspaper clipping about a vintage burlesque queen known as Gay Dawn...

...along with a few small, candid snapshots of her, taken by a fan (who shall remain nameless), some years after she retired her pasties and g-string...

I've been smitten ever since! According to the article, Miss Dawn hails from a little lumber town near the Washington coast called Hoquiam, which butts right up against another little town known as Aberdeen, almost famous now for being the hometown of a young man named Kurt Cobain...

Not just another pretty peeler, Gay Dawn had a career in burlesque spanning over 15 years, starting in 1950 at the Follies Theatre in L.A...

...playing burly-q theatres in the USA from Minsky's in Newark, NJ to The Rivoli in Seattle...

...and everywhere in between: Boston, St.Louis, Baltimore, Cleveland, San Francisco, Oakland, and more. So popular was she, in fact, that she even starred in a movie called "Everybody's Girl"...

...and had plenty of press coverage, if not clothing coverage...

...as well as some cheeky cheesecake! Isn't she lovely?

But whatever happened to lovely Miss Gay Dawn? I see she passed away in 1998, in Juneau, Alaska. The newspaper article references a daughter whom she named Gayleen and groomed to be a pageant princess, however, I think the former Miss Tujunga may have given up on pageants to join the police force. Further searches for either of them were fruitless. Does anyone out there have any clues or other information to help me with my Search For Gay Dawn? For some reason, I feel an affinity towards her, and finally, I know how it feels to be passionate enough and curious enough to attempt writing a life story about a perfect stranger. I'm not saying I'll ever write it...but hey, she loved show biz and money! Now, that's what I call Blonde Ambition, darlings.

I was lucky enough to find this video clip from good ol' Something Weird...so now, for your pleasure, ladies and gentlemen, may I present Everybody's Girl, Miss Gay Dawn!