Dixie Evans, a Marilyn Monroe lookalike who co-founded Exotic World (later the Burlesque Hall of Fame) on a former goat farm near Route 66 near Helendale, Calif., died this past weekend, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal and other media outlets on Monday. She was 86.
The newspaper said Evans had been in an assisted-care facility since suffering a stroke.
The Las Vegas Sun summed up her fascinating career nicely:
Known for her spot-on resemblance to, and parody of, Marilyn Monroe, Evans was perhaps the most famous figure in burlesque culture over the past half-century. She founded and operated the Exotic World Burlesque Museum & Striptease Hall of Fame, which sat on an abandoned goat farm in Helendale, Calif., on Route 66 between Barstow and Victorville. The museum was busting with rare burlesque items once owned by such legends as Gypsy Rose Lee, was the stage for annual pageants featuring many of the original stars of burlesque and drew a new order of performers in the sexy-stylish art form.
The museum showed appeal beyond those performers, too: Bono of U2 was among the celebrity visitors. “He almost bought out the entire gift shop,” Evans once recalled. Her sharp sense of humor was intact well into her 80s; two years ago, she commented that she had worked so hard on perfecting her Marilyn Monroe act on a couch with such energy that “I really gave that couch a workout.”
For years, Route 66 travelers treasured Evans for her warmth and hospitality at her museum. Here’s a safe-for-work video from when her museum was situated in the high desert of California:
Alas, Exotic World was moved to Las Vegas in 2006. Sin City obviously served as a more logical locale for a museum devoted to exotic dancers, but Route 66 lost a colorful and endearing character in the process.
(Hat tip to Jeff Meyer; image of Dixie Evans in 2006 by Chris Blakeley, via Flickr)
She was a pistol. Wish I’d had the chance to meet her before Exotic World moved. 🙁
My parents lived in Helendale and one Thanksgiving (after turkey and pie), my Mother insisted that our whole family (about twenty of us) go on surprise excursion. We piled into our cars, trucks and motorcycles and headed off to Exotic World. We were all complaining about being coerced into going but when we pulled up to Dixie Evan’s place, we knew we were in for a treat that we would never forget. Dixie welcomed us like we were ‘family’…and we spent the afternoon there listening to her stories and oogling her pasties. My Mother always had such good, crazy, unique things for us to do.
had been to exotic world.. Dixie was awesome