Margaret Hart Ferraro (September 28, 1913 – January 30, 2000), better known as Margie Hart, was a

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

stripteaser, in American

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

theatre.

Biography

Hart was born Margaret Bridget Bryan on September 28, 1913, in Edgerton, Missouri, one of eight children. She left home aged 16, then studied "exotic dancing" once she was of age in St. Louis. She married John Ferraro, the

Los Angeles City Council The Los Angeles City Council is the Legislature, lawmaking body for the Government of Los Angeles, city government of Los Angeles, California, the second largest city in the United States. It has 15 members who each represent the 15 city council ...

president, in 1982. Hart suffered an aneurysm and a stroke not long after their marriage. In the 1990s her health declined quickly until she died at 86 years old in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

on January 30, 2000.

Trial for indecency

Hart was one of three

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

dancers who performed at Minsky's Burlesque in April 1935, who were arrested for giving an indecent performance. Hart, 21, who resided at the Hotel Forrest in

Manhattan, New York Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, was taken into custody along with Toots Brawner, 22, of the Dixie Hotel, and Gladys McCormick, 24, of 229 West 49th Street. The three pleaded not guilty and were each held in $500 bail. Jack Keller, 22, of Thayer Street, and Edward Goodman, 27, of 209 West

42nd Street (Manhattan) 42nd Street is a major crosstown street in the New York City borough of Manhattan, spanning the entire breadth of Midtown Manhattan, from Turtle Bay at the East River, to Hell's Kitchen at the Hudson River on the West Side. The street h ...

were arrested along with the dancers. Keller, a stage manager, was charged with permitting an indecent performance. Goodman was assistant manager of the Republic Theatre. The men were held in $500 bail pending a hearing on April 16, 1935. Hart, Brawner, McCormick, and three other chorus girls were arraigned in West Side Court but were freed by Magistrate Guy Van Amringe, who presided in Commercial Frauds Court, on May 7, 1935. Keller was detained in bail fixed at $500, as was Goodman, pending a trial date. Along with them, Van Amringe ordered detained Edward Rowland, assistant manager of the Gaiety Theatre, 1539

Broadway (Manhattan) Broadway () is a street and major thoroughfare in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The street runs from Battery Place at Bowling Green (New York City), Bowling Green in the south of Manhattan for through the Boroughs of New York ...

.''Burlesque Girls Freed'', New York Times, May 8, 1935, pg. 22.

Burlesque banished

Hart's arrest coincided with a 1935 citizen's groups campaign in New York City, calling for action against burlesque. Paul Moss, license commissioner, hoped to revoke Minsky's license. He was unsuccessful when the

New York State Court of Appeals The New York Court of Appeals is the highest court in the Unified Court System of the State of New York. It consists of seven judges: the chief judge and six associate judges, who are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the state senate t ...

ruled he needed a conviction to revoke the club's license. Finally, in April 1937, one of Minsky's dancers was observed performing without a G-string. Moss then acted to shut down Minsky's and its rivals. Following several appeals the Minskys and their burlesque competitors were allowed to reopen, but only if they did not allow strippers to perform. The businesses went along with this, hoping that burlesque might return following the November 1937 election. However, reformist mayor

Fiorello LaGuardia Fiorello Henry La Guardia (born Fiorello Raffaele Enrico La Guardia; December 11, 1882September 20, 1947) was an American attorney and politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives and served as the 99th mayor of New Y ...

, was returned to office, and the Minskys and their rivals were closed again. In 1942 Isidore Herk and the

Shubert brothers The Shubert family was responsible for the establishment of Broadway theaters in New York City's Theater District, as the hub of the theatre industry in the United States. Through the Shubert Organization, founded by brothers Lee, Sam, and Jac ...

co-produced a Broadway show called ''Wine, Women and Song'', starring Jimmy Savo and Margie Hart. The show was advertised as a combination of vaudeville, burlesque and Broadway revue, and ran for seven weeks. The revue included striptease, which shocked some of the audiences. ''Wine, Women and Song'' was closed by court order in December 1942.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferraro, Margaret Hart 1913 births 2000 deaths Hart, Margie Hart, Margie Hart, Margie Hart, Margie 20th-century American dancers 20th-century American women