CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Blaze Starr, the burlesque star and stripper whose affair with Louisiana governor Earl Long in the 1950s gained notoriety for both, died Monday at age 83.
Starr's nephew, Earsten Spauldingk, told the Associated Press she died Monday at her Wilsondale, West Virginia, home. He said she had experienced heart issues the past few years.
Born Fannie Belle Fleming, Starr long performed at the Two O'Clock Club in Baltimore, where she began her nightclub career. With striking red hair, stage antics and her voluptuous figure, her nickname was "The Hottest Blaze in Burlesque."
While performing in New Orleans, she famously had an affair with Louisiana Gov. Earl Long, who served in the 1940s and 1950s. Long first began dating Starr (while both were married to other spouses) after seeing her perform at the Sho-Bar on Bourbon Street.
Their relationship was cited as one reason for Long's involuntary commitment to a mental hospital. Long died in 1960.
She later moved to Baltimore, bought a nightclub called the Two O'Clock Club and migrated toward comedy acts.
Starr co-authored her autobiography in 1974. The book was adapted 15 years later into the movie "Blaze," starring Paul Newman as Earl Long and Lolita Davidovich as Starr.
