Long gone from today's carnivals, The Girlie Show was a section of the sideshow - that cost an additional fee to enter. I encourage everyone to explore the history of Burlesque and The Girlie Show. Below, I've got a link to a great book about it - and a wonderful site (The Velvet Hammer) for an establishment in Los Angeles that keeps The Girlie Show alive!

David White was involved with a performer in the Carnival Girlie Show. That was the gossip around town even before his disappearance. One of the women in the Girlie Show was billed as an "Oddity." Some even suggested she was a female impersonator. No one was sure if David's supposed friend was this performer or not. A few dared think the unthinkable: David was a homosexual and befriended the female impersonator. But no one spoke those thoughts because no one wanted to offend David's mother, Eleanor.

After his disappearance, the Wamego Police -- with help from the Kansas Bureau of Investigation -- tracked the carnival to North Dakota. The woman in question was "Miss Sandra." And indeed, she was the woman billed as "The Oddity." But she was also discovered to be a woman... and married to the carnival's owner. That was the reason the affair with David was kept so secret.

I was unable to locate any of the women who had been in the Girlie Show. From the scarce records, it appears that most, if not all, are dead. However, I did locate Earlene Barnes in Belgrade, Montana. Earlene's mother had been one of the burlesque dancers in the same carnival as Miss Sandra. By far, this was the most uncomfortable of all my interviews.

HEAR MS. BARNES TALK ABOUT THE GIRLIE SHOW