Legend: Val Valentine

Val Valentine: Featured Legend of Red Hots Burlesque

Happy Monday. Let’s celebrate it the best way we know how, with Red Hots Burlesque’s legend of the week…

VAL VALENTINE

Billed as “Cupid’s Cutie,” burlesque legend Val Valentine grew up in dance. While growing up in Toledo, her mother expected her to go to summer camp, Val Valentine wanted nothing more than to join her mother’s best friend and burlesque star Mitzi on her chorus line. As Val Valentine has said before, “I skipped school but never ballet class.” In 1955 Val Valentine dropped out of school and quickly rose from her chorus line dreams to featured performer. Val Valentine spent her summers performing at state fairs from Texas to Canada, and headlining burlesque theaters across the nation during the winters. She caught the eye of legendary designer and drag queen Tony Midnite, who designed a number of her glitter girl costumes. Despite having many admirers and stage door Johnnies, Val was in burlesque for performing, not the men, though she did marry three times. After a career spanning decades into the decline of burlesque in the ’70s, Val retired from the stage in 1986, but passed on her love of sequins to her granddaughter who would wear her costumes to Halloween parties. She performed at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in 2012, showcasing her classic wink and a smile style.