Toots Deville (February 19, 1950 – August 19, 2004) was known as the wife of musician

Willy Deville Willy DeVille (born William Paul Borsey Jr.; August 25, 1950 – August 6, 2009) was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five-year career, first with his band Mink DeVille (1974–1986) and later on his own, DeVille created song ...

, and for her work as his personal manager and association with the band

Mink DeVille Mink DeVille was a Rock music, rock band founded in 1974, known for its association with early punk rock bands at New York City, New York's CBGB nightclub and for being a showcase for the music of Willy DeVille. The band recorded six albums in th ...

during the 1970s. She was also a model and appeared in rock magazines like

Creem ''Creem'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American rock music magazine and entertainment company, founded in Detroit, whose initial print run lasted from 1969 to 1989. It was first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor ...

. Her outlandish behavior and appearance made her a controversial figure in the music world for most of her life.

Personal life and career

She was adopted and her birth name and family is unknown. She stated her birth family was of Pima descent. Her adoptive parents named her Susan Berle, and they were a wealthy Jewish couple from South Carolina; Harriet (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Harrison 1916-1987) and Maurice Berle (1916-2005). She was an only child and her parents later divorced. Her adoptive father's last name was originally "Berlinsky" which he shortened to "Berle". His father was Philip Berlinsky, an immigrant from Poland that started the Berle Apparel Group, which still operates today. Little is known about where her stage name "Toots" came from. Her family moved to

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, outside of New York City. It is the sixth-most populous city in New England. Stamford is also the largest city in the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut, Weste ...

. She attended Dolan Middle School in Stamford, and ran away from home to New York City, and became addicted to drugs. Her parents sent her to therapy and rehab, and eventually she was sent to boarding school at Windsor Mountain in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. She dropped out of school and became pregnant at age 18 in 1968 by a man named Brian, with whom she had her son Sean. She was also briefly married to a man named Robert Martin during this time. Growing up she was influenced by artists like

Édith Piaf Édith Giovanna Gassion (19 December 1915 – 10 October 1963), known as Édith Piaf (), was a French singer and lyricist best known for performing songs in the cabaret and modern chanson genres. She is widely regarded as France's greatest popu ...

and

The Ronettes The Ronettes were an American girl group from Washington Heights, Manhattan, New York City. The group consisted of the lead singer Veronica Bennett (later known as Ronnie Spector), her older sister Estelle Bennett, and their cousin Nedra Ta ...

. She met musician Willy Deville as a child while living in Stamford in the late 60s. They were separated when she was sent to boarding school, but they reconnected and later married in 1971 in Stamford. Willy's birth name was William Borsey, and he adopted her son and gave him his name, Sean Borsey. The couple then moved to

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 ...

, living in the East Village, where the

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

music scene was in full swing with clubs like the

Fillmore East The Fillmore East was Promoter (entertainment), rock promoter Bill Graham (promoter), Bill Graham's rock venue on Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue near 6th Street (Manhattan), East 6th Street on the Lower East Side section of Manhattan, ...

and

CBGB CBGB was a New York City music club opened in 1973 by Hilly Kristal in the East Village, Manhattan, East Village in Manhattan, New York City. The club was previously a biker bar and before that was a dive bar. The letters ''CBGB'' were for ''Cou ...

. Mink DeVille became the house band for CBGB from 1975 to 1978, where Toots was seen often. The two had matching black panther tattoos on their shoulders. Toots posed for Mink Deville's ''

Le Chat Bleu ''Le Chat Bleu'' is the third album by the rock band Mink DeVille, released in 1980. The album received critical acclaim and elevated lead singer and composer Willy DeVille to star status. The ''Rolling Stone'' critics' poll ranked ''Le Chat Bleu ...

'' album cover in 1980. Some of the band's early songs mention a woman named "Sue" that was inspired by Toots. Toots is credited for managing her husband's early music career and influencing the punk rock era of music. She would go on tour with

in Europe, and is credited with creating their stage costumes. She was known for her outlandish behavior and drug use. She was very protective of her husband and various media reports stated how she would pull out knives on women if they flirted with him. Toots had jet black hair she would keep often in a

beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

hairstyle, and had a nose ring and tattoos, which was still uncommon in the early 1970s. She posed as a model for rock magazines like

. Since her death some have compared her to

Amy Winehouse Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer, songwriter, musician, and businesswoman. With over 30 million records sold worldwide, she was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix ...

Later life and death

She left the rock music scene behind her, divorced from Deville in 1984, and moved to upstate New York, where she stopped using drugs and became a health-care worker until she was diagnosed with cancer. She also re-married to Stephen Martincak, and she was known as Susan Martincak toward the end of her life. She died on August 19, 2004, at the age of 54 from cancer, in Monticello, New York.Susan Berle death record
accessed 4/3/2015

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Deville, Toots 1950 births 2004 deaths American female models American entertainment industry businesspeople People from the East Village, Manhattan 20th-century American women 21st-century American women