From the NYT obit:

Sherry Britton, whose hour-glass figure, jet-black hair and rambunctious presence made her one of the queens of the burlesque stage in the 1930s and ’40s, died Tuesday in Manhattan. She was 89 and lived in Manhattan. She died of natural causes, her cousin Melaine Britton said.

Along with Lois de Fee, “Queen of the Glamazons,” Betty Rowland, known as the “Ball of Fire,” and Zorita, known for her sensuous snake dances, Ms. Britton was one of the last stars of a once-thriving sprinkling of theaters in Times Square (and other spots in Manhattan) where ostrich-feathered fans fell away to reveal sequined pasties, G-strings and sometimes more. Sometimes Ms. Britton — at 5 feet 3 inches tall with an 18-inch waist — peeled off chiffon evening gowns to the strains of Tchaikovsky; sometimes she balanced glasses of water on her breasts.

Read the rest here.

Photo from Sherry Britton’s myspace page.

Where’s Spicoli?

An Alabama church group got the shock of their lives when they found marijuana in their pizza. It happened at a youth outing in Florence the day before Thanksgiving, and police still aren’t sure where the pot came from. The pizza came from a Papa John’s restaurant in Florence.

The district office for Papa John’s sent WVVA this press release:

“We have been notified by the Florence police of a possible incident of product tampering with a pizza order on November 21st, where a customer claims to have discovered marijuana on his pizza. We have investigated internally and have no reason to believe that the product tampering occurred at our restaurant or by any of our employees. We take great pride in serving a high-quality product to our customers and in our 12 years of serving the Florence community have never had an incident like this. We are cooperating with the police in their processes to get to the bottom of this claim.”

Authorities did say an off duty Florence Police Officer ordered the pizza.

“I don’t believe at this time they knew it was a police officer who ordered it,” said Sgt. Rolando Bogran, of the Florence Police Department.

According to the FPD, it was not until the pizza was already eaten that someone realized there was something in it.*

Forensic testing has been ordered to get official certified results. “Whatever the outcome of the investigation, it will be bad, we are talking about a local restaurant, it hurts the community, hurts everyone, but most of all some people could have been hurt in the incident,” said Sgt. Brogan. (Sounds like someone’s watched “Reefer Madness” lately.)

Several of the youth who ate the pizza were taken to the hospital to be checked out. None were found to have ill effects of eating the pizza.

*The classic excuse! At least they had their munchies cured ahead of time.

Source

I haven’t checked the restaurant closings list in a while - this one’s thru the end of October and there are some goodies:

BLISS SHOW GIRLS, 13217 E VALLEY BLVD, LA PUENTE

* Date Closed: September 11, 2007
* Date Reopened: September 12, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
No potable water supply or no hot water
(Someone actually went to a strip joint for the buffet?)

BOILING POINT, 2020 S HACIENDA BLVD E, HACIENDA HEIGHTS

* Date Closed: October 17, 2007
* Date Reopened: October 19, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Gross contamination of utensils/equipment
Vermin infestation

CHINESE COMMITTEE ON AGING, 600 N BROADWAY, LOS ANGELES

* Date Closed: September 17, 2007
* Date Reopened: September 27, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Vermin infestation (Aw, that’s just mean! Don’t call old people names.)

CORLEONE PIZZA, 317 S BROADWAY C-1, LOS ANGELES

* Date Closed: September 04, 2007
* Date Reopened: September 06, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Vermin infestation (I thought they killed Fredo?)

GOOD TASTE BAKERY, 8702 WOODLEY AVE, NORTH HILLS

* Date Closed: October 19, 2007
* Date Reopened: October 22, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Vermin infestation

HAPPY PETS, 11600 ALONDRA BLVD. H1-8, NORWALK
Happy PETS? No, no, no!
* Date Closed: August 02, 2007
* Date Reopened: August 03, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
No Public Health Permit

RAINBOW DELI, 1453 W 3RD ST, LOS ANGELES

* Date Closed: October 20, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Imminent health hazard to public health or safety Woah!
Serious/Repeat Violations or Interfering with Inspector

ST. NICOLAS CHURCH, 17037 PLUMMER ST, NORTHRIDGE

* Date Closed: October 17, 2007
* Date Reopened: October 19, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Vermin infestation
(Obviously a Catholic church.)

TODAY’S LIQUOR MART, 8801 S NORWALK BLVD, LOS NIETOS

* Date Closed: October 25, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
No Public Health Permit
Vermin infestation
May we suggest yesterday’s liquor?

Find more of your favorites here.

The LAC Dept of Health Services/Environmental Health’s list of restaurant closings always makes for a fun read. Glad to see that Christ’s Restaurant is off the list and He has risen again to open; La Luz del Dia didn’t fare so well. Sadly, more than a few local eateries just aren’t making the grade. Think of what we are missing at these fine establishments!

HOME DIAPERS, 1522 W 7TH ST, LOS ANGELES

* Date Closed: August 14, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
No Public Health Permit

LIMA EXPRESS TRAVEL AGENCY, 9814 E GARVEY AVE 21, EL MONTE

* Date Closed: August 18, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
No Public Health Permit

and sadly, they didn’t live up to their name, though they did namage to reopen:

NICE TIME DELI, 140 W VALLEY BLVD 209, SAN GABRIEL

* Date Closed: September 20, 2007
* Date Reopened: September 22, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Gross contamination of utensils/equipment
No Public Health Permit
Vermin Harborage
Vermin infestation

THE NILE CHICKEN PYRAMID, 808 1/2 E 7TH ST, LOS ANGELES

* Date Closed: September 20, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Vermin infestation

VALLEY HAND CAR WASH, 9540 E VALLEY BLVD, ROSEMEAD

* Date Closed: August 15, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
No Public Health Permit

And a word of warning: don’t ever, ever, ever eat at a Multiplex. Bring your own.

CHRIST’S RESTAURANT, 4253 E COMPTON BLVD, COMPTON

* Date Closed: June 27, 2007
* Date Reopened: July 17, 2007
* Reason for Closure:
Prevention of entrance and harborage of vermin
Vermin infestation

I know it’s wrong, but I really love to read the LA County Dept of Health’s list of restaurant closings, if only for the names alone.

My friend Elise over at LAist did this listing more justice. Even though I told her she could use my picture with a mouse popping out of my dinner, she took the high road.