Satan's Angel: Queen Of The Fire Tassels

By: Amos Lassen

I must admit that when I received the screener of "Satan's Angel" from Breaking Glass Pictures, I thought to myself that I really am not interested in seeing a documentary about a 65 plus stripper who sets her breasts (well tassels on her breasts) on fire. They changed immediately when I sat down to watch this film that mesmerized me. This is a totally fascinating and wonderfully made documentary and it will steal your heart as it did mine.

Satan's Angel (that's her name) is legendary in the world of burlesque and not just as a stripper but as a woman who, as a lesbian, refused to stay in the closet. She has been an exotic dancer for over forty years and during that time she has had fantastic experiences that she now shares with us. What we really see here is a woman who loves what she does and has continued with it even though her age sets her apart from so many others.

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This is quite an intimate look at Angel who is regarded as a gay icon and we learn all about her, her family and her then partner, Vic, and we also learn a great deal about burlesque.

I once had a friend in New Orleans, "Tammy WhyNot" who was a stripper and could twirl the tassels on her breasts after she set them on fire. Little did I know that it was Angel who started this and taught others how to do it.

The film has been acclaimed at the festivals where it has screened and this is probably due to Angel's warm persona and fascinating stories. She has performed with the Rat Pack, she has tripped with Doors and she has gone on USO tours with the late Bob Hope. She loves what she does so much that he came out of retirement and is in her late 60's and still performing for audiences who still love her. She is, to me at least, what we call in Yiddish a "mensch" even though this is a masculine term referring to someone who is a true gentleman. I think it is the interaction of bawdiness and sincerity that makes Angel such a person and now we all get to enjoy her.