Burlesque icon Dixie Evans lends name to event

Burlesque icon Dixie Evans has agreed to lend her name and talents to an upcoming production at the Plaza.

The performance will be the first in a decade for the 84-year-old once billed as “The Marilyn Monroe of Burlesque.”

The announcement was made after competing burlesque shows settled a federal lawsuit Wednesday over the “Sassy Lassy” name.

In the lawsuit, the Burlesque Hall of Fame accused Frederic Apcar Productions and its owner of trademark infringement.

Attorney Laraine Burrell said the hall of fame, a nonprofit corporation, had used the name for more than 40 years. She accused the defendants of confusing the public by scheduling their Sassy Lassy Burlesque Show for June 3 and 4 at the Plaza, where the hall of fame held its annual weekend in June 2010.

This year, the Burlesque Hall of Fame scheduled its annual weekend for June 2-5 at The Orleans.

After a hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Judge Philip Pro’s courtroom, the defendants agreed to change the name of their event to Dixie Evans Burlesque.

The defendants also agreed to transfer their “Sassy Lassy” Internet domain names to the hall of fame, which agreed to reimburse the defendants for their costs in procuring the domain names.

Evans previously supplied the defendants with an affidavit in which she described herself as the sole creator and owner of the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend.

According to the lawsuit, the defendants “persuaded well-known burlesque performers and legends, including Dixie Evans and Tempest Storm, who in previous years performed at the BHOF events, to participate in their event in 2011 and not in the BHOF event.”

Attorney Puoy Premsrirut, who represents the defendants, said Evans will perform at the upcoming show that now bears her name.

Storm, 83, said she has contracted to perform at the Plaza show. The red-haired dancer will be returning to the same stage where she fell and broke her hip during introductions at last year’s Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend.

Contact reporter Carri Geer Thevenot at cgeer@reviewjournal.com or 702-384-8710.