Date of Award
2005
Document Type
Thesis: Open Access
Degree Name
MA History
Department
History
Committee Chair
Iris Engstrad, PhD
Committee Co-Chair
Colin Fisher
Abstract
San Diego's Hollywood Theatre, located at 314-316 F Street, was one of the largest ""big time"" burlesque palaces in the nation. Most notably, it was one of the last authentic vestiges for American burlesque entertainment in the twentieth century. The Hollywood was operated independently by charismatic showman Bob Johnston from about 1923 until it closed in 1970. Even though San Diego was still considered a dusty backwater town during most of the Hollywood's run, the theatre was well-known throughout the country for its pretty chorus girls, feature striptease artists, "top bananas" (headlining comics), and spectacular floorshow revues. As Welton Jones, an authority on San Diego cultural life once wrote, the Hollywood stood for the days when "contemplating the female form came complete with glitzy costumes, fancy scenery, determined choreography, a live band, and bawdy comedians doing venerable comedy sketches."
Copyright
Copyright held by the author
Digital USD Citation
Furlonger, Jaye Evangeline, "San Diego Burlesque: Bob Johnston's Famous Hollywood Theatre" (2005). Theses. 73.
https://digital.sandiego.edu/theses/73