Mary Morlas is a lovely brunette who popularized The Sack Dress, which was a controversial attire in the 1950's. Born Mary Rose Smith in Tulsa, Oklahoma on January 21, 1931, Mary was raised in a household with six brothers. She married John Morlas, an aspiring actor, and moved in Hollywood where she appearned in magazines like Pageant, Tid-Bits, Today's Woman, Focus, Photoplay, and Cover Girls Models. She was briefly a cigarette girl at Ciro's too.
She didn't have much of an acting career, with mostly walk-on roles. It wasn't until the following decade where she would star in the cult classic This is Not a Test (1962). She was cast in Hatari! (1962), but ultimately didn't appear in the film. Of her three marriages, the most notable was to Race Gentry, a once prominent actor at Universal Pictures. They raised three children together, one of whom became an actress as well. Another milestone for her was a photoshoot in the book How to Photograph Women by Peter Gowland, which is popular among photographers.
Retired, Mary Morlas lives in Los Angeles, California with her daughter. She answers mail from fans and hopes to return to modeling in commercials, as there are a lot more opportunities for older women than decades prior.
50s
Taffy O'Neil
Taffy O'Neill defied the stereotypes of strippers by being as tasteful, wholesome, and dignified as a stripper could be. She performed at the Lake Club, the York Club, and other burlesque-related venues. During the daytime, she was a wife - to her husband Howard Holmes- and mother who cared for her polio-stricken son David. Although she planned to did stripping for two years, it became a long-term career that spanned over a decade. Her routine was immortalized when she starred in Kiss Me Baby (1957), which became a cult classic. Her last interview was in the book Behind the Burly Q: The Story of Burlesque in America. She lives in Torrance, California.
"I'll stop stripping in a couple of years. The furniture should be paid off by then." - Taffy O'Neil
50s
