Joan Arline(1932-2011)

Burlesque dancer and stripper Joan Arline was born on December 11, 1932 in New Britain, Connecticut. The only child of Doris and James Connery, Arline started taking Russian ballet dance lessons at the age of three before going on to expand to jazz, tap, ballroom, and theater lessons. Joan performed in numerous recitals, dances, shows, and reviews as well as was one of the youngest dancers to perform in repertory theater in Connecticut. Moreover, Arline played the mother in her high school senior class production of "Mother Was a Freshman." Joan lived in New Britain until the age of twenty. Arline auditioned and was accepted as a Rockette in New York City, but ultimately decided to move to Buffalo, New York due to a waiting period with the Rockettes. Joan began her show business career as a chorus girl at McVan's nightclub, where she met band leader and future first husband Don Roth. Roth encouraged Arline to perform in burlesque and even wrote a little "ripple" in the music Arline danced to as a cue as to when she should start removing her clues in her routine. Known as the Sexquire Girl, Joan was a headliner on the burlesque circuit from 1953 to 1958. Arline performed on stage with two trained Russian wolfhounds and a pink-furred chaise lounge.

After retiring from burlesque to raise a family, Joan moved to Detroit, Michigan and opened a dance studio in the basement of her home. She later went on to become a precious metals commodities broker in the Detroit area. Arline successfully auditioned for the Palm Springs Follies in 1994 and subsequently moved to Palm Springs, California. Joan went on to join the Branson Follies in Branson, Missouri in 2006. Arline returned to burlesque around this time and was elected into the Burlesque Hall of Fame. Her last official public performance was as a living legend at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Reunion in June, 2011. Joan died at age 78 from leukemia on October 16, 2011.