Rusty Warren Explained

Rusty Warren
Birth Name:Ilene Goldman
Birth Date:March 20, 1930[1] [2]
Birth Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Death Place:Laguna Hills, California, U.S.
Occupation:Comedian, singer

Rusty Warren (born Ilene Goldman; March 20, 1930[1] – May 25, 2021) was an American comedian[3] [4] [5] and singer, specializing in sex-related themes and such songs as "Bounce Your Boobies" and "Knockers Up!".[6]

Early life

Warren was born in New York City in 1930 and adopted six months later by Helen and Herbert Goldman, a couple from Milton, Massachusetts, who named her Ilene Goldman. She graduated from Milton High School around 1948, studied piano at the New England Conservatory of Music, graduating around 1954, and later taught there briefly after obtaining her degree. She spent her first free summer entertaining in small lounges. Her musical mentor at the time was Arthur Fiedler, the conductor of the Boston Pops.

"Late at night, there’d be nobody in these places (cocktail lounges in the Boston area), to cut the boredom, I got some repartee going with the regulars."

Career

In 1955, Warren began at The Pomp Room, at 16th Street and Camelback Road, Phoenix, AZ. Songs for Sinners was recorded there, for Jubilee Records, and released in November 1958. Knockers Up! was recorded at The Golden Falcon, Pompano Beach, Florida,[7] and released in November 1960.

GNP Crescendo Records reissued some of her Jubilee albums. Known as the "Knockers Up Gal", she has been called the "mother of the sexual revolution".[8] Her career began in the early 1950s in Phoenix, Arizona. Later she moved her act to Las Vegas, Nevada.[3] Her comedy routines exposed the subject of sex from a female perspective. Her most famous contribution to the sexual revolution was the song "Knockers Up" from the 1960 album of the same name.[9]

SCTV comedian Catherine O'Hara performed a character called Dusty Towne who was based on Warren.

Elizabeth Rizzo self-published Rusty Warren - The Knockers Up Gal, containing excerpts from news articles and magazine articles in chronological order.

In 2014, some of Rusty Warren's music (Knockers Up) was provided to YouTube by The Orchard Enterprises and could be subscribed at the Rusty Warren - Topic[10] channel; it is now set to private. In 2023, some of Rusty Warren's music was provided to YouTube by CDBaby[11] and Symphonic Distribution[12] and can be subscribed at the @rustywarrenknockersupgal[13] channel.

Personal life

Her life partner was Elizabeth Rizzo from 1984 to 2019 and they resided in Hawaii after moving from Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Rusty Warren died in her sleep on May 25, 2021, at the age of 91.[14] [15] [16] [17] [18]

Legacy

The Rusty Warren collection,[19] with news articles, photographs, slides, video footage from her Las Vegas shows, magazines, promotional materials, letters, performance contracts, handwritten notes, pertaining to her career as a comedian, spanning from 1955 through the late 1980s, is in the archives of the Library of Congress and on display at the National Comedy Museum.

Discography

Albums

Reissued albums

Singles

DVD

Label GNP Crescendo produced a DVD that chronicles her life in show business. The DVD, Rusty Warren: Knockers Up! The Lady Behind the Laughs, was released by GNP Crescendo in 2008.

Further reading

External links

Gift of Rusty Warren's sister, Elizabeth Rizzo, April 2018.

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Metadata

Notes and References

  1. Some sources have incorrectly cited March 17, 1930 or March 17, 1931 as Warren's date of birth
  2. https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K4NC-GXM "Ilene F Goldman in household of Herbert Goldman, "United States Census, 1940", giving age as 10 in 1940 census
  3. Web site: Las Vegas Review-Journal. November 15, 2009. Life of the Party.
  4. Web site: The Los Angeles Times. 'PRETTY RELATABLE STUFF': Carol Leifer Tells Jokes She Hopes People Can Identify With. July 16, 1992. Dennis. McLellan.
  5. Web site: April 4, 2014. Bette Midler on Soph, Janis Joplin, and Her Early Years in New York City. Jennifer. Vineyard.
  6. Web site: The Los Angeles Times. Dr. Demento to Make San Diego House Call. March 1, 1988. Thomas. K. Arnold.
  7. Web site: The Golden Falcon Hotel - View of the Pool and Ocean . CardCow.com . 24 October 2023 . en.
  8. Book: Mock, Roberta . 2007 . Jewish Women on Stage, Film and Television . New York . Palgrave Macmillan . 90 . 978-1-349-73850-2.
  9. http://classicshowbiz.blogspot.com/2010/07/interview-with-rusty-warren-52410.html New interview with Rusty Warren
  10. Web site: Rusty Warren - Topic - YouTube . https://web.archive.org/web/20170917214916/https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUilNFxtoBvLPWyvfEmnCCQ . 2017-09-17 . .
  11. Web site: Life is Just a Bowl of Cherries . .
  12. Web site: In Orbit (Part 2) . .
  13. Web site: Rusty Warren - YouTube . .
  14. Web site: Rusty Warren, an often overlooked comedy trailblazer, dead at 91.
  15. News: Ruelas . Richard . Rusty Warren, pioneering and bawdy comic who made her name in Phoenix, dead at 91 . 24 October 2023 . . May 27, 2021.
  16. News: Rusty Warren obituary . 24 October 2023 . thetimes.co.uk . 24 October 2023 . en.
  17. News: Schudel . Matt . Rusty Warren, whose racy jokes about sex made her a '60s comedy star, dies at 91 . 24 October 2023 . Washington Post . 28 May 2021.
  18. News: Genzlinger . Neil . Rusty Warren, Brash Comic in a Strait-Laced Time, Dies at 91 . 24 October 2023 . . May 28, 2021.
  19. https://www2.archivists.org/sites/all/files/Performance_WinterSpring_2022_FinalDraft_0.pdf

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