A loving farewell to Joan Arline, Burlesque Legend.
Joan Arline, just starting out in show business.
Sad news made its way around the burlesque community yesterday- Joan Arline, The Sexquire Girl, passed away on Sunday, October 16 from leukemia. Her last official performance was in June at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Reunion, and it has been reported that she was diagnosed with her illness that same month.
Just last January, Joan visited Seattle to perform in The Swedish Housewife’s Gypsy Rose Lee Centennial Show. I had the extreme honor of visiting with Joan at her hotel for an hour to talk about her career, and she made an indelible impression on me. As anyone who met Joan knows, she was a dyed-in-the-wool showgirl and “broad” in the most classic sense, and she was quite a talker- energetic, funny, unapologetic, and quick to recount a story as if it was yesterday. Joan was nothing if not tenacious and plucky, peppering me with questions about local producers and asking me to keep certain trade secrets to myself, for fear another showgirl might steal her teaching curriculum. She didn’t mince words, talking earnestly about her start in strip, her four husbands, and the way that she planned her life and then made it happen. Joan was a determined professional who believed in the power of bringing an audience to the edge of their seats through the careful buildup of the tease. “Do you screw on the first date?” she said of watching her dance students’ entrance walks. “Honey, you’re giving it away too fast!”
Joan started in burlesque at 21, as a chorus girl at McVan’s Night Club in Buffalo, New York, entering into burlesque proper on the suggestion of her first husband, musician Don Roth. “We didn’t know the word burlesque,” she told me. “And if we did, we didn’t admit to it…My father said I went into show business so I could bleach my hair and not have people talk about me.”
Soon Joan became a headlining star; trading up from her $75 a week/3 shows per night/7 nights a week gig as a chorus girl to a lucrative $150 for the weekend as “the exotic dancer”, as she referred to herself. “You didn’t have to be Einstein to figure out what I was going to stay with,” she explained. Joan told me her biggest fear at that time wasn’t the dance- she had formal dance training all her life- but that she might be so consumed with her steps that she’d forget to take her clothes off. Don Roth wrote a special ripple into her songs as a cue for that purpose. She traveled the burlesque circuit from 1953-1958, taking time out to have children and then getting back into the business again 35 years later when she auditioned for a “55 or better show”- “I was a hell of a lot better!” she laughed. “Better and better.”
We talked briefly but with no regrets about her four marriages- “It’s like a dance step, you keep practicing until you get it right”, her famous pair of trained Russian wolfhounds, her floor work (done on a pink fur-covered chaise and not the floor, she clarified), and about aging- “You’re just a baby. I’ve got shoes older than you.” Joan spoke fondly of her co-stars and the producer for that night’s show, The Swedish Housewife, who she had known for many years. “Paula calls my act the Seven Approaches TO a Man,” she said. “But it’s really the Seven Approaches OF a Man…trust me, that’s a whole different thing!”
Joan Arline was one of the brightest, most resilient showgirls burlesque and strip have ever known. She was loved and admired by many, and will be missed. Her brassy spirit and passionate love for being on stage will never be forgotten.
Flattery will get you everywhere: Joan's autograph to me last January at our interview.
A recent head shot of Joan.
Burlesque Seattle Press 
wow a fabulous article for my dear late friend, well done thank you so much Tiffany Carter
A truly radiant star right up until the very last shimmering moment. A wonderful teacher and mentor as well… thank you for this interview.
Beautiful article. We miss her so much. Thank you for capturing her energy and spirit in this piece.
On behalf of family and friends of Joan Arline, she will be sadly missed. I am posting this on behalf of her son, Daryl J. Roth.
“I want you all to know that the outpouring of love and sentiment for my mom are absolutely overwhelming. I don’t have to tell anyone who has ever lost a loved one how confusing, sad and daunting it can be, but I just want you all to know that your love and thoughts are heard and appreciated. As soon as I can ‘come up for air’, I plan on sending a very large thank you to all my mom’s friends and fans…. you were EVERYTHING to her. She loved you all greatly and her time on ‘the circuit’ was a gift she cherished . Her battle was nothing short of miraculous until the very end. As a matter of fact, one of the most “Joan” things that she said was, and I quote:
” I don’t care about chemo, radiation or morphine, but when I can’t where my heels anymore, then I’ll be pissed!” . I would ask, “Wow, mom, you look great today. Why are you so dressed up?” Joan: “I have a transfusion today Daryl “, as if to say, duh! So, the point here is this: as soon as I can, I will be posting my thank you’s to all those who have shown my mother so much love and devotion. And one more thing I’d like to say at this point…my mom and I talked at length about this idea we had and it’s this: I have acquired the trademark to my mom’s essence, “The Sexquire Girl” and I plan on keeping her legacy and teachings alive and well. She had SO much to tell and to teach her fans and her students of burlesque. So look for more info in the coming months but know that in the meantime, it means the world to us that you are here. Thank you.
Sincerely,
Daryl J. Roth, “The Sexquire Guy”
Daryl, I am so saddened by the loss of your Mom, she was one great lady who always looked like a million $. Your posting to friends & family was beautiful.
My prayers are with you and your family. Love, Blanche
My year in the “Fabulous Palm Springs Follies” was more enjoyable because of Joan’s presence. She was a total ‘pro’ and a joy both in the dressing room and on stage. Joan was a generous spirit…who plowed through some tough times with nary a complaint. A gem of a Lady! ….not to mention those gorgeous lags!!!!! I will always keep fond memories of her always.
‘Keep struttin’ girl”
Thank you all for your kind wonderful words of love for my mother!. She always loved to perform!
One thing I would like to correct in the article is that my mother did not stop to have babies and then go right back into burlesque. She stopped to have babies and bring us up!.. My mother retired from burlesque when she got pregnant. . Being a mother was very important to my mother. Years later she got back into the world of dance and burlesque! My mother was a dance teacher for many years when my sister and I were growing and with teaching dance influenced many young people!.
Thank you all again,
Daryl J. Roth … aka, Miss Airlines son. 🙂