Take A Bite Of This Candy Barr!
Obvious I know, but what a fascinating story!
An Exotic Dancer has a run-in with the law, is involved with Lee Harvey Oswald killer Jack Ruby AND Mobster Mickey Cohen, and taught Joan Collins how to strip as well!
What a life!
Here’s a look at the wild life of Candy Barr!
As you could have guessed without being told, “Candy Barr” was only her stage name.
“Candy” was born Juanita Dale Slusher in Texas in 1935.
She became an “exotic dancer” in Dallas strip clubs, where she became good friends with Jack Ruby – who went on to shoot John F. Kennedy Assassin Lee Harvey Oswald!
As this magazine article shows, she “shocked the 50’s” and so much more!
Her exotic act caught everyone’s attention…and she was uninhibited in every aspect of her life!
These photos were “underground” modeling at its most provocative for the time. As she became more well known, Candy attracted the attention of the police as much as she did the press…
In October of 1957 she was arrested by Dallas police for possessing nearly an ounce of marijuana.
As IMDB.com writes in her bio:
“Convicted of drug possession, she was sentenced under the Lone Star State’s draconian drug laws to 15 years in the hoosegow. She always claimed she was merely holding the weed for someone else who set her up with the cops.”
She served three years of that time then was released. Of course, the tabloids of that era loved to cover her every move.
There are some photos online that purport to be “stag” films that she appeared in, hardcore footage of her with a man in a seedy hotel room:
Online bios suggest she was in this “home video” genre for a while – again, and era when selling this material could land you in jail!
She also appeared in various “nudie cuties” like this one:
She moved to Los Angeles and got involved with Mobster Mickey Cohen! She later was a witness in Cohen’s 1961 tax evasion trial – but her best credit was still to come…
She Taught Joan Collins How To Strip!
That’s right: in 1959 she was hired by 20th Century-Fox to tutor star Joan Collins in the fine art of the strip-tease! Collins wrote in her autobiography that Barr was “a down-to-earth girl with an incredibly gorgeous body and an angelic face.”
Here’s the wildest part: In 1970 she legally changed her name to Candy Barr. Two years later she published a book of poems she had composed while in prison years earlier, called “A Gentle Mind . . . Confused”.
In 1976, at the age of 41, she appeared nude in “Oui” Magazine.
Her fascinating life story has been told in books and magazines…
What a life!
Sadly, Candy died at the age of 70 in 2005.
Candy’s story seems perfect for a bio film. She’s not the only sex kitten who had trouble with the law:
Victoria Vetri had a great cult film career but her life took a sad turn…see the story here:
Many of the great “nudie cutie” Actresses never went on to mainstream success:
Pamela Green, however, was in one of the most controversial films of the early 60’s – see that story here:
Here’s another early trailblazer of “nudie cutie” fame:
See all of Shawn’s biggest hits by clicking here:
And Dawn Knudsen may not be as well known, but she also was a “big busted” success:
She was huge in the world of men’s magazines – click here to see more:
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Categories: Artsploitation, Books / Media, Camp Cult Classics, Exploitation Films, Extreme Cinema, Grindhouse, JRsploitation, Nudity, sex kittens, Sexploitation Films, Talent / Celebrites
JR-Sploitation! 
I have to wonder how many men of the period said publicly that they carried a torch for socially acceptable heartthrobs like Sophia Loren was really the likes of Candy Barr. (If anyone reading this was actually around at the time, and set me if I’m utterly wrong, please do.
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Great point…
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I had never heard of her, but she as hot stuff! Those ‘nipple-covers’ on dancers and in magazines of the time always seemed so ridiculous to me.
Best wishes, Pete.
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Pete, a great point however as they were the difference between performing legally or going to jail!
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*was* hot stuff. Typo.
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Thanks for bringing her to my attention, John. She was just a name to me before, but now would like to find out much more about her. She certainly lived!
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What a life, right? Thanks for the comment!
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Jack Ruby must have had great taste in ladies to feature in his joint. Candy seemed to have a special way in wiggling her hips as taught to Joan Collins for a movie role. Candy’s legendary status will never leave her!
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