| Rita
was born and raised in Brooklyn and came to burlesque quite by accident.
Originally trained in ballet and tap she was working as a straight dancer
in a Baltimore night club when the club closed down and she was forced
to find work. Her success in burlesque was almost immediate, the "Girl
in the Black Silk Stockings" knew how to work her sweet sexy innocence
and how to appeal to a man's more adventurous instincts.
Rita, who had always had a driving passion to put on the greasepaint for
some serious acting, had some small parts in theatrical productions, and
some bit parts in movies. Her most notable role being the Jayne Mansfield
role in the road show of "Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter" which earned
her a Hollywood screen test. |
