THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY'S: The origin of the striptease

The soon to be director of THE EXORCIST needed a hit to stay in the game. Norman ALL IN THE FAMILY Lear had an idea. A film on burlesque becoming striptease!

Art by Frank Frazetta

William Friedkin was in trouble and he knew it. He had directed the Sonny and Cher film GOOD TIMES and it was a bomb in every sense of the word. Norman Lear had the rights to the book THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY’S and had signed Friedkin to direct the film before GOOD TIMES was released. The two would never make anything like Minsky again in their careers.

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From Wikipedia:

Tony Curtis was cast as Raymond Paine in June 1967, but dropped out a month later because of creative differences. Alan Alda, whose father, Robert Alda, had been in burlesque, was cast as Paine, but was unable to leave his role on Broadway in The Apple Tree. Jason Robards took over the Paine role about a month before filming began. (Raymond Paine was the name of a real straight man who was in the show that night. He was killed in a hit-and-run accident in 1934.) Elliott Gould, who was then married to Barbra Streisand, was signed in August 1967 and made his film debut as Billy Minsky.

Mickey Rooney was said to be considered for the Chick Williams role, but Joel Grey, then on Broadway in Cabaret, was initially cast. Grey had to drop out, however, because the film had no firm end date and Grey was committed to starting rehearsals for George M!, a musical about George M. Cohan, in mid-December. British comedian Norman Wisdom, who had recently been nominated for a Tony Award for his acclaimed performance in the James Van Heusen-Sammy Cahn musical comedy Walking Happy, was cast. Wisdom had made a series of low-budget star-vehicle comedies for the Rank Organisation. Never highly regarded by critics, Wisdom's films had enjoyed good box-office returns in his native country. The Night They Raided Minsky's was his first American film, and he received good notice. A contributor to Variety wrote: "So easily does Wisdom dominate his many scenes, other cast members suffer by comparison", and Time compared him to Buster Keaton. Here’s the trailer:

The songs were written by the Broadway team of composer Charles Strouse and lyricist Lee Adams, who had won a Tony Award for the musical Bye Bye Birdie in 1961, and went on to win Tonys for Applause (1970) and Annie (1977, with lyricist Martin Charnin). Strouse also wrote the theme song "Those Were The Days" for Lear's sitcom All in the Family.

Britt Ekland is the star of the film and her sex appeal is magnetic. I think she is just as good in THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY’S as her work in GET CARTER and THE WICKER MAN. The film is lewd, at times crude but also a lot of fun and entertaining. Is it true the striptease started at Minsky with an Amish woman? No. Charmion was captured stripping on a trapeze (!) by Edison in 1910:

But that doesn’t change the charm of this 1960’s one of a kind musical.

Watch THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY'S here

Here are some real photos from Minsky’s:

The real Minsky. He was the working class live show while Ziegfield’s Follies were for the wealthier audiences. Both however pushed the law by showing more and more nudity. NYC would ban the word “burlesque” to shut both down.

There were several Minsky’s, including at the Dunes Hotel in Vegas. This photo is the original in NYC.

The dressing room.

Watch THE NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY'S here

Behind the paywall: Conversation with Flo: 1930's NY Minsky's Burlesque

99 Year old (when this was filmed) Flo Woolston speaks about working as a chorus line dancer/ showgirl for Minsky's Burlesque in New York in the 1930's until Mayor LaGuardia shut down burlesque houses in 1939. She speaks about working with Robert Alda (father of *Mash actor Alan Alda). She knew Alda as a little boy. She also speaks about her friendship with Liberace before he was famous in NY