Lili St. Cyr - How the Beauty of a Nude Pinup Goddess Brought Vegas to Its Knees

With her blonde hair, long legs, sexy body and incredible good looks, Lili St. Cyr was born to be a star. Born Willis Marie Van Schaack on July 3, 1918 in Minneapolis, Minnesota (USA) Lili's early life was pretty typical. As the burlesque and stripping scene started growing in the 1950s, she decided to give it a try and see if she had what it took. Her first official job was dancing in a chorus line at Hollywood, California (USA). She began her career as a burlesque dancer in 1937, when she was 19 years old.

The crowds loved her incredible body and flawless natural breasts so Lili, with the help of a few others, struck out on her own to do a show. At 5 feet, 9 inches (175 centimeters) tall, Lili stood tall among the other dancers, but it was her show-stopping 34-24-34 inches (86-61-86 centimeters, see Table 2), 119 pounds (54 kilograms) frame that called all eyes to her when she took the stage. The shows weren't very good at first, but this goddess of Burlesque had charm and charisma in spades. It didn't hurt that her body was flawless, and her perfect, perky 34C US (75C EU/Int, see Table 3) tits could nearly hypnotize you as they bounced and jiggled.

Within two years, Lili St. Cyr had discovered her first trademark move. At the end of the show, a guy would come out on stage with a fishing rod. It was attached to Lili's G-string. He would pull on the pole, and her panties would fly off, sailing through the air and landing in the rafters causing the lights to dim. It brought the house down and would become known as "The Flying G." It would be a staple of her act for years to come.

Early in her dancing career Lili St. Cyr was approached by a number of photographers who wanted to shoot her for a variety of men's magazines. Her first shoots varied from her wearing sexy lingerie or skimpy bathing suits to her wearing nothing but a smile as she posed in some very tasteful nude positions. Lili was never one to go full frontal, but she wasn't shy about showing off her fabulous C cup boobs or the incredible, mouth-watering curves of her body. This vintage pornstar knew you didn't have to show your pussy to turn people on. She could make guys melt in her hands with a wink of the eye, a turn of the hip, and a flash of a tit!

It had been roughly 20 years since Las Vegas had legalized gambling, and the city was growing by leaps and bounds. Desperate for entertainment acts that might draw people to Las Vegas, casinos started expanding the type of entertainment they offered. Lili St. Cyr was one of the first burlesque dancers to be offered her own show.

Lili's shows fit the glitz and glam of Las Vegas perfectly. They were over the top with larger than life costumes, big dance numbers and plenty of nudity. She would take a bubble bath on stage, letting the crowd soak in her nude body as she sang and scrubbed away.

This retro striptease dancer was one of the first to do the reverse strip where she came out naked and slowly put on clothes as the act went on. She knew bigger was better, and delivered shows that were entertaining, fun and so sexy they could bring you to your knees and have you worshiping and her alter. Lili's act was so intoxicating Marilyn Monroe attended several of her shows so she could study her moves. Later Ms. Monroe would mimic those moves in various movie roles.

Lili St. Cyr was so popular in Las Vegas she was recruited by famed photographer Irving Klaw to be in his movie "Varietese/Teaserama" a documentary about the brightest stars in Burlesque. Lily and legend Bettie Page headlined the movie that showed these sexy ladies shaking their breasts, grinding their hips and stripping off their clothes as only they could.

With Lili leading the way, more and more casinos started offering burlesque and strip shows. To this day, they are a mainstay of Las Vegas entertainment.

With her success as a Las Vegas showgirl driving her, Lili was more in demand as a model than ever before. She graced the cover of "Glamorous Models" magazine and shocked the world when she appeared nearly nude on the cover of "People". There was a naked revolution sweeping the nation and Lili St. Cyr was one of its faces.

In 1947, Lili was arrested at the "Follies Theatre" in Los Angeles for appearing nude. She defended the performance as art but was found guilty and forced to pay a $350 dollar fine. In 1951, she was arrested again at the same club for the same charges. This time she enlisted the help of an influential lawyer who helped her successfully defend herself during a highly publicized six-day trail. The publicity from the trial quickly turned Lili into a celebrity.

Famed photographer Bruno Bernard (AKA Bernard of Hollywood) did numerous photo shoots with her including a very sexy picture where she is naked in a transparent bathtub washing her long, sexy legs. Bruno went so far as to say that she was his favorite model to work with and his muse.

In 1955, Lili tried her hand at acting with a role in "Son of Sinbad." This pin-up legend returned to the silver screen in 1958 for the film version of Norman Mailer's "The Naked and the Dead." While she was paid nicely for some roles ($5,000 to appear in "Love Moods" (1952) and $3,500 for her role in "Striporama" (1953), this classic sex star never became the leading lady she had dreamed of, but she continued to take small roles in other movies for several years. You will surely have a good chance seeing Lili St. Cyr in a vintage XXX video action if you join Vintage Cuties now.

Although her film career wasn't blowing up, her world-class naked body kept her in demand with photographers, clubs and casinos. She worked regularly until her retirement in 1965, and even after her death on January 29, 1999 (age 80), her 28-year career influenced many Las Vegas stage acts as well artists in fashion, music and movies.

Join Vintage Cuties now and get access to all of Lili's pictures as well as access to thousands of additional pictures and videos featuring other pinup girls, strippers and burlesque dancers. You will also get access to our enormous classic porn library and our immense collection of vintage erotica. This fabulous site will blow your socks off!