Zorita (entertainer)

Zorita (born Kathryn Boyd, 30 August 1915 – 12 November 2001) was an American burlesque dancer. She was best known for a twenty minute dance which she performed with two boa constrictors called 'Elmer and 'Oscar'.

Early life

She was born Kathryn Boyd in Youngstown, Ohio in 1915 and was adopted by a strict Methodist couple. Her body developed quickly, and by the age of 15 she began working as a stripper at stag parties and nudist colony events at the San Diego World's Fair. After being discovered through a beauty pageant, she began working as a burlesque artist in 1935.

Career

She became well-known for her unique and controversial numbers, such as the 'Half and Half'. She dressed one half of her body as a groom and the other as a bride, and, keeping one side to the audience, began to undress each other, leading to the 'wedding night romp'. In another, an unseen 'spider' removed her clothes whilst she danced in front of a rhinestone-covered spiderweb. However, her most iconic acts involved boa constrictors - an example of one was called 'The Consummation of the Wedding of the Snake'', where she stripped whilst holding an 8-foot boa constrictor.

In 1941, Zorita was arrested by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for her use of snakes in the act^[1] - she was also known to walk her snakes on leads in public.^[2] She was released on a $1,500 bail, but after her last New York performance all of her snakes were confiscated.

She retired from stripping in 1954 and ran several burlesque clubs in New York and Miami before retiring completely in 1974 to breed Persian cats.

Personal life

Little is known about Zorita's sexuality; it has been claimed that she was either a lesbian or bisexual, though there are no sources to prove this. It was also claimed that she was married to three different men during her lifetime and had a daughter named Tawny.

She died on the 12th November 2001, aged 86.

References