Candy Barr
A Texas burlesque star whose life of notoriety and resilience became a complex footnote in America's sexual evolution.
1935–2005 (age 70)·American stripper, burlesque dancer·Birthday: July 6·The Silent Generation
Biography
Born Juanita Dale Slusher in a small Texas town, the woman who became Candy Barr escaped a difficult childhood to find fame in Dallas's underworld of nightclubs. As a teenage dancer, she cultivated a sophisticated, cowgirl-inspired persona that made her one of the most famous strippers in the country during the 1950s. Her life was a series of tabloid headlines: a brief marriage to a gangster, a highly publicized obscenity trial for a privately filmed erotic movie, and a prison sentence. After her release, she attempted comebacks but ultimately retreated from public life. Barr's story is more than mere scandal; it reflects the harsh contradictions of an era that consumed sexual spectacle while punishing the women who provided it.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Candy was born in 1935, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Candy Was Born
The biggest hits of 1935
#1 Movie
Mutiny on the Bounty
Best Picture
Mutiny on the Bounty
Candy's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1935Born
Social Security Act signed into law
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,450President: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Cheek to Cheek" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: Mutiny on the Bounty
1940Started school
The Blitz: Germany bombs London
Gas: $0.18/galHome: $2,938Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I'll Never Smile Again" — Tommy DorseyBest Picture: Rebecca
1948Became a teenager
Israel declares independence; Berlin Blockade begins
Gas: $0.26/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Twelfth Street Rag" — Pee Wee HuntBest Picture: Hamlet
1951Could drive
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1953Could vote
DNA structure discovered by Watson and Crick
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $8,750Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Song from Moulin Rouge" — Percy FaithBest Picture: From Here to Eternity
1956Turned 21
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1965Turned 30
US sends combat troops to Vietnam
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $13,600Min wage: $1.25/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" — The Rolling StonesBest Picture: The Sound of Music
1975Turned 40
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1985Turned 50
Live Aid concerts raise money for Ethiopian famine
Gas: $1.12/galHome: $62,900Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Careless Whisper" — Wham!Best Picture: Out of Africa
1995Turned 60
Oklahoma City bombing; Windows 95 released
Gas: $1.15/galHome: $96,500Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Gangsta's Paradise" — CoolioBest Picture: Braveheart
2005Turned 70
Hurricane Katrina devastates New Orleans; YouTube launches
Gas: $2.30/galHome: $167,500Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"We Belong Together" — Mariah CareyBest Picture: Crash
Key Achievements
- Became one of the highest-paid burlesque performers in the United States during the peak of her career in the 1950s.
- Her 1951 film 'Smart Alec' was central to a landmark obscenity case in Texas.
- Published an autobiography, 'A Gentle Mind... Confused', in 2006, detailing her life experiences.
- Her persona and legal battles made her a symbolic figure in debates about censorship and sexual expression.
Did You Know?
She was a skilled poet and writer, publishing her work in later life.
She dated and was briefly married to mobster Mickey Cohen.
She served a three-year prison sentence at the Goree Unit in Texas for marijuana possession.
After retiring from dancing, she trained and bred Arabian horses on her ranch.
“I was a dancer, not a criminal, but the law saw only the stage.”
