Victory Burlesque..Theatre

[Can4You]

Ahhh..the memories ...when the woman were woman.......and the men were men..

Was at the Herongate Theatre the other night in Pickering and would you believe it.........the old seats from Victory Theare at Dundas and Spadina.

I know I am aging myself...but those were the days...when the dancers danced...and the band player...real Strippers...tassles...wangers in the back of the theatre........and comedy as you could hassle or be hassled by the dancers who could give as good as you could.

Vicki Velvet....Chesty Morgan.........to name a few.......end of an era...but could not help me think back, as a young 16 year old skipping school and going to the chaser movies after every 6 dancers...no one questioned our ID...hard to believe but true....and could these woman entertain. WOW...it was our first look at real woman other than Eaton's catalogue.

Later when in college travelling to darken bars in the USA you would find them still in some seedy little Peter Gun establishments. I do not expect many to reply but to those of you who are still hobbiest...as Archie would say

"Those were the Days"

Headliners that are part of the culture of the 50's 60's...

Then "Stavin Marvins" and "Le Strip" ushered in a new era..only to be replaced by the "Horseshoe" strippers $5.00 dances at Filmores, Zanzibar, and Bermuda....is it really better today?

The Yonge Street Mall...as street blocked off ...and Asmsterdam type establishment with the woman in the window...BDSM live shows in the backrooms............and rush up the stairs to see the girls waiting to give massage full service. Yes, that was Toronto....

 

[Svend]

I remember TVO aired a nice sleazy New Year's event from there with Mainline featuring Joe Mendelson and strippers in the early seventies. http://www.bullseyecanada.com/template.php?TypeID=Artist&PageID=artist_page&ArtistID=132
Real educational to a young boy like me.

 

[wollensak]

Bump 'N Grind Revue

Mendelson Joe, then Joe Mendelson and part of McKenna Mendelson Mainline, celebrated Toronto blues-rock band, organized a couple of these events at the Vic. Doubtless the most entertaining strip show I've ever seen. Imagine the curtain going up and here's a blues-rock band dressed in drag just wailing away. I remember the last dancer straddling a giant yellow banana. This was all 20+ years ago, the band played the entire show, the dancers could really dance. Yes, I was physically there for both concerts and it was a blast.

 

[anon1]

The Yonge Street Mall...as street blocked off ...and Asmsterdam type establishment with the woman in the window...BDSM live shows in the backrooms............and rush up the stairs to see the girls waiting to give massage full service. Yes, that was Toronto....

Yeah, then some sicko raped and murdered the shoeshine boy and everything was shut down.
All it takes is one jerk to ruin it for the rest of us. Yes, that was Toronto....

 

[great bear]

Anyone remember the Casino?

 

[lickrolaine]

Starvin Marvin's,the Warwick hotel,Younge Street Mall,all but distant memories now,sigh,,,,,,Emanuel Jacks death was the end of TO's inocence for sure.

 

[drrogers]

Anyone remember the Casino?

Man, even I'm too young to have gone to the Casion but I used to stand out front and look at the pictures - my neighbours dad was a Trombone player in the Casino pit band.

DRR

 

[Svend]

Just seeing the word 'Warwick' evokes the smell of stale beer, urine, gawdy harsh lights and sleazy strippers. I believe the draft came in small 10 or 25 cent glasses (?) in the mid 70's, that sounds unbelieveable today.

 

[xarir]

...the old seats from Victory Theare at Dundas and Spadina.

There was a theatre @ Dundas & Spadina?! Wow - how times change.

How long ago was this?
I feel like such a young, uneducated whippersnapper now ...

 

[hambone]

There was a theatre @ Dundas & Spadina?! Wow - how times change.

How long ago was this?
I feel like such a young, uneducated whippersnapper now ...

Don't know when it opened but I was there in '65

 

[lickrolaine]

Just seeing the word 'Warwick' evokes the smell of stale beer, urine, gawdy harsh lights and sleazy strippers. I believe the draft came in small 10 or 25 cent glasses (?) in the mid 70's, that sounds unbelieveable today.

The Nickalodian (spelling?) had draft on certain days for .05 cents,wow,poured out of there a few times!

 

[zydeco]

This is a great thread! I have not thought about some of these places in years. Nice to see that there are some other old farts out there!

 

[blogs]

I was there in 68 when Shopsys was a great deli, and the shmata trade was everywhere on Spadina

Great fun at the victory with Rummy Bishop and Ophiela Teitz

blogs

 

[wollensak]

Other Goofy Names

Some Other strippers there: Ineda Mann, Pilar Monnae, Amber Haze. Back then strippers had to have two names.

 

[Svend]

I remember one band from the mid 70s that backed up dancers, I think it was the Zanzibar but I'm not sure. They had a catchy tune of their own entitled "I'll Get Down On My Knees If You Get Down On Your Elbows" that is still stuck in my head.

 

[Lady Kyla]

Men Who are Men

Now guys who have hobbied all these years...are the type of guy who turn me on...as you love tradition...hmmmmmmmm. Enjoyed reading about it...got to go to Le Strip when I first came to Canada. Interesting view even for a woman. Smile.

Warmly
Kyla...........when the men were men.........and the women were women..Hmm

 

[Speedo]

Hard to believe places like that existed in Toronto, but they did. Like the original Yorkville, the city has "DAK'd" its burlasque past.

If you're ever in Baltimore and feel adventurous, take a stroll along "The Block" -- one of America's most time-honoured burly regions. It's dark, dank, dreary and dangerous but it's like taking a trip in a time machine. (Only from the outside -- wander inside and the hustle is on for your greenbacks from some women who could qualify as minus-x on a 1-10 scale...)

 

[Can4You]

Toronto..Amsterdam of NA

Just saw another update of the early years in Toronto, for those of us who can still enjoy this special lifestyle.

Someone commented about us old guy rehashing the old days. Let us enjoy our memories. However, by far, the menu is a lot more full today and the addition of the internet has opened up the lifestyle to everyone.

However, to grow up when the Eatons Catalogue was our first look at bras adn lingerie...has to tell you something. Yet we survived and prosper.

Can4You

 

[drrogers]

The Casino -

Anyone remember the Casino?

I'm an old bugger but the casino was demolished when I was about 12 -

never went there - did remember the Victory from my UofT days - worst comic, Rummy Bishop

 

[blackdog]

The Emanuel Jaques case changed the face of toronto permenently. Every time I drive down Yonge st i I see that building where he was killed. Its such a horrible story. Im surprised at how many people dont know anything about it.