You would expect fireworks from someone named Tempest Storm, and that’s what she gave.
She was more than just a burlesque dancer; she had bright red hair, a lot of confidence, and a career that lasted for eight decades. People talked about her for a long time.
But there was a woman under all the jewels and glitz who became the Queen of Burlesque after overcoming a lot of challenges in the segregated South.
From Annie to Storm
Tempest Storm ruled the stage for over 60 years. Her rise to the top was amazing, starting with a life that was everything from glamorous.
Annie Blanche Banks was born on February 29, 1928, in Eastman, Georgia. She was raised in a little community that cultivated crops.
She grew up in a poor and cruel environment, and by the time she was 14, she had run away from home to get away from it all. She got a job as a waitress in Columbus, Georgia, and then she married a U.S. Marine to get away from her parents for good. But the marriage didn’t last long; it ended after just 24 hours. A year later, when she was 15, she married a local shoe salesman whose sister worked with her at a hosiery mill.
Tempest Storm went to a reception at the Savoy Hotel in London on December 27, 1960. For a season, she will appear at the Raymond Revuebar.
In a 1968 interview with Roger Ebert, Storm remarked of his second marriage, “I just left one day.” I still really wanted to go to Hollywood.
She moved to Los Angeles when she was in her late teens. A casting agent offered the moniker Tempest Storm, which changed her life.
“I asked her if she had any ideas.” “How about Tempest Storm?” she said. I asked her if she had any further thoughts. “How about Sunny Day?” she said. “Well, I guess it could be Tempest Storm,” I said.
That name change changed her life and made her famous. A customer who observed Ms. Storm working as a cocktail waitress asked her to do a striptease because he thought she was so cute.
“What is that?” I asked. In a 2013 interview with The Quad-City Times, Ms. Storm talked about it. “I didn’t know because I was from a small town.” He said it was just dancing, but you take off your clothes. I said, “No, not me.” “My mother would kick me out.”
A star is born.
People soon fell in love with Storm when she first appeared in a burlesque show in the late 1940s. Her routines weren’t cheap strip displays; they were well-planned performances with a lot of sparkle and flare. She teased with style, not simply shock, in dresses encrusted with rhinestones.
“I was more respectable then,” she stated in a 1973 interview.
“You had to wear a net bra and panties with jewels on them. You weren’t allowed to wear a G-string.
People reported that Tempest was making $100,000 a year by the middle of the 1950s. That’s more than $950,000 currently. People say that Lloyd’s of London insured her breasts for $1 million since they were so well-known. The headlines had a lot of fun with her, labeling her “Tempest in a D-Cup” and “The Girl Who Goes 3-D Two Better.”
She worked with notable people like Blaze Starr and Lili St. Cyr and participated in burlesque movies with Bettie Page, such Teaserama (1955) and Buxom Beautease (1956). These movies, which were very different for their time, combined comedy, sex, and censorship.
They rushed her like a herd of cows.
Tempest Storm was more than just a singer. She was a trailblazer who pushed the boundaries of what women could say on stage. Her red hair and natural curves were what made her stand out.
She said no to plastic surgery, though, because she thought her natural beauty was enough. A number of her acquaintances did get plastic surgery. She didn’t smoke and stayed away from anything stronger than orange juice or 7-Up.
At home, she would have crunchy granola for breakfast. In the afternoons, she would receive massages, go to the sauna, and rest in the whirlpool.
How famous was she? When she went to the University of Colorado in 1955, it was a really intriguing time. A group of 1,500 students almost created a riot, and they left behind damage
“They must have been locked up for months without women,” Storm said. “They rushed me like a herd of cattle.”
People of different races getting married
Storm’s life outside of acting was just as exciting as her performances.
She had relationships with Elvis Presley, Mickey Rooney, and gangster Mickey Cohen. But the real news was when she married jazz icon Herb Jeffries in 1959. He was the first Black cowboy that could sing in Hollywood.
The couple had a daughter named Patricia Ann Jeffries.
The New York Times claims that her marriage to Jeffries “broke midcentury racial taboos, costing her work.” In a lot of the U.S., it was still against the law for people of different races to be married. People lost interest in Storm all of a sudden.
The media wasn’t as interested, and she was almost ignored. There were fewer photographers and reporters that came to her village to chronicle her story.
Storm and Jeffries were “closer than ever” after the divorce, even if the marriage didn’t last. Storm never backed down from a battle.
Still shining in her 80s
As they get older, most stars get less bright. But Tempest Storm did not.
She kept performing until she was in her 60s, and her last performance was in her 80s. Even in her latter years, she remarked that being in the spotlight made her feel the most alive.
In 1999, Storm returned to the O’Farrell Theatre in San Francisco to honor the club’s 30th anniversary. Mayor Willie Brown declared “Tempest Storm Day” in her honor. She maintained showing up at the yearly Burlesque Hall of Fame Pageant events at least until 2010.
Documentaries like Tempest Storm (2016) also told her story and paid tribute to her lasting legacy.
A legacy that will last
In the later years of her life, Tempest Storm lived in Las Vegas, Nevada.
She passed away in 2021 at the age of 93, leaving behind more than just memories of her stunning outfits and performances.
She started a revolution in culture.
She proved that being sensuous doesn’t go away as you get older. Long before the phrase “feminist empowerment” became widespread, she fought against prejudices about women and beauty. She also helped modern burlesque stars like Dita Von Teese become who they are today.
Tempest Storm lived up to her name. You couldn’t stop her. You couldn’t get her out of your mind. She had a strong presence.
