Joan Arline, a renowned burlesque dancer and stripper, was born on December 11, 1932, in New Britain, Connecticut, to Doris and James Connery, as their only child.
From a tender age of three, Arline began taking Russian ballet dance lessons, which soon expanded to include jazz, tap, ballroom, and theater lessons.
As a child prodigy, she performed in numerous recitals, dances, shows, and reviews, and was one of the youngest dancers to perform in repertory theater in Connecticut.
Arline's thespian talents were showcased in her high school senior class production of "Mother Was a Freshman," where she played the mother.
She resided in New Britain until the age of twenty, when she auditioned and was accepted as a Rockette in New York City.
However, Arline decided to move to Buffalo, New York, due to a waiting period with the Rockettes.
She began her show business career as a chorus girl at McVan's nightclub, where she met band leader and future first husband Don Roth.
Roth encouraged Arline to perform in burlesque and even wrote a little "ripple" in the music Arline danced to as a cue for when she should start removing her clothes in her routine.
Known as the Sexquire Girl, Joan was a headliner on the burlesque circuit from 1953 to 1958, captivating audiences with her performances on stage with two trained Russian wolfhounds and a pink-furred chaise lounge.
After retiring from burlesque to raise a family, Arline moved to Detroit, Michigan, and opened a dance studio in the basement of her home.
She later transitioned to a successful career as a precious metals commodities broker in the Detroit area.
In 1994, Arline successfully auditioned for the Palm Springs Follies and subsequently moved to Palm Springs, California.
She went on to join the Branson Follies in Branson, Missouri, in 2006, and returned to burlesque around this time.
Arline was elected into the Burlesque Hall of Fame and performed as a living legend at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Reunion in June 2011, marking her last official public performance.
Tragically, Joan Arline passed away at the age of 78 on October 16, 2011, due to leukemia.
