By Celinda Emison / Abilene Reporter-News Staff Writer
January 1, 2006
Candy Barr, who made headlines as a burlesque dancer and for her drug arrests before living quietly near Brownwood, died of pneumonia Friday at a Victoria hospital. She was 70.
Barr was born Juanita Dale Slusher, on July 6, 1935, in Edna.
(Note: Edna is 9 miles from my home town. I remember hearing about "local celebrity" Candy Barr in the 1960s and 1970s.)
She rose to fame in the late 1950s as a burlesque dancer at The Colony Club in Dallas. She also performed Los Angeles and Las Vegas, making her one of the most well-known exotic dancers in the country. At one point, Barr earned $2,000 a week.
Her sister, Kay Slusher Anderson, 77, of Houston, said Barr had been a recluse for the past three years, living in a small house in Morales, 11 miles north of her hometown of Edna.
''I am proud to be her sister,'' she said. ''She deserves the recognition. She was the most famous dancer ever.''
Gloria Carver (formerly Gloria Orr) was Barr's friend for more than 40 years and helped her after she moved to Brownwood.
''There will never be another one,'' she said of her friend. ''She was beautiful.''
Barr was associated with a host of famous characters. Among them was Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, who was found guilty of shooting and killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the man suspected of assassinating President John F. Kennedy. An appeals court overturned Ruby's conviction, but he died before a new trial could begin.
At 16, Barr starred in one of the most famous stag movies, ''Smart Alec,'' made in 1951.
Barr was known for her choreography and even trained actress Joan Collins for the 1960 movie ''Seven Thieves.''
However, her rising career would be interrupted in 1959 when Barr was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Dallas judge for possessing less than an ounce of marijuana. She was paroled after serving three years and four months.
In 1967, Barr moved to Brownwood. In 1970 she was indicted on charges of marijuana possession in Brownwood, but the charges were dismissed.
A book of her poetry titled ''A Gentle Mind Confused,'' was a testament to her belief in God and was published in 1971.
''She felt Jesus was her best friend and saved her from many a terror,'' Carver said.
In 1976 at the age of 42, she was on the cover of Texas Monthly and in 2001 granted the magazine her last known interview.
She eventually fell out of the public eye, and moved from her home at Lake Brownwood to her hometown of Edna in 1992.
Officials at Slavik Funeral Home in Edna confirmed the death, but said there was no funeral service scheduled for Barr. Her body was cremated and a private family service will be held later. The family requests that memorials be made to the Brown County Humane Society.
According to Abilene Reporter-News files, Barr was married four times, and had at least one child, a daughter.
January 1, 2006
Candy Barr, who made headlines as a burlesque dancer and for her drug arrests before living quietly near Brownwood, died of pneumonia Friday at a Victoria hospital. She was 70.
Barr was born Juanita Dale Slusher, on July 6, 1935, in Edna.
(Note: Edna is 9 miles from my home town. I remember hearing about "local celebrity" Candy Barr in the 1960s and 1970s.)
She rose to fame in the late 1950s as a burlesque dancer at The Colony Club in Dallas. She also performed Los Angeles and Las Vegas, making her one of the most well-known exotic dancers in the country. At one point, Barr earned $2,000 a week.
Her sister, Kay Slusher Anderson, 77, of Houston, said Barr had been a recluse for the past three years, living in a small house in Morales, 11 miles north of her hometown of Edna.
''I am proud to be her sister,'' she said. ''She deserves the recognition. She was the most famous dancer ever.''
Gloria Carver (formerly Gloria Orr) was Barr's friend for more than 40 years and helped her after she moved to Brownwood.
''There will never be another one,'' she said of her friend. ''She was beautiful.''
Barr was associated with a host of famous characters. Among them was Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby, who was found guilty of shooting and killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the man suspected of assassinating President John F. Kennedy. An appeals court overturned Ruby's conviction, but he died before a new trial could begin.
At 16, Barr starred in one of the most famous stag movies, ''Smart Alec,'' made in 1951.
Barr was known for her choreography and even trained actress Joan Collins for the 1960 movie ''Seven Thieves.''
However, her rising career would be interrupted in 1959 when Barr was sentenced to 15 years in prison by a Dallas judge for possessing less than an ounce of marijuana. She was paroled after serving three years and four months.
In 1967, Barr moved to Brownwood. In 1970 she was indicted on charges of marijuana possession in Brownwood, but the charges were dismissed.
A book of her poetry titled ''A Gentle Mind Confused,'' was a testament to her belief in God and was published in 1971.
''She felt Jesus was her best friend and saved her from many a terror,'' Carver said.
In 1976 at the age of 42, she was on the cover of Texas Monthly and in 2001 granted the magazine her last known interview.
She eventually fell out of the public eye, and moved from her home at Lake Brownwood to her hometown of Edna in 1992.
Officials at Slavik Funeral Home in Edna confirmed the death, but said there was no funeral service scheduled for Barr. Her body was cremated and a private family service will be held later. The family requests that memorials be made to the Brown County Humane Society.
According to Abilene Reporter-News files, Barr was married four times, and had at least one child, a daughter.
