History Watch - Burlesque Bust

 Burlesque Bust

In the 1930’s San Rafael had a lot of fun events that took place in town, especially in the summertime. The City held its annual Festival Days, which consisted of many events over a period of several days and then a large parade down Fourth Street.  Speaking of parades, the Fourth of July parade was also a big hit, which had been going on since the 1880’s.  Then there were the traveling shows that crisscrossed the country, stopping in small towns to perform for the local crowds and make a little money. The circus and carnivals were always a good bet for families to put on their summer schedule of activities.

In the summer of 1938, many of the above events were taking place and all was well, until the Chicago Exposition came to town. They presented a unique show called the French Burlesque of the Hilderbrand. After running for a few days in the downtown area, San Rafael Police Chief Sabin Kane was contacted by the PTA, Chamber of Commerce and the Catholic Ladies Aid Society, complaining that the show was too risqué for San Rafael and they wanted Chief Kane to do something about the scantily clad women who were performing.

Being an elected Police Chief, Kane decided to act immediately, as he did not want to lose any future votes from the public. The next night, which was a Saturday night, Kane put together a team of eight San Rafael Officers who dressed in plain clothes who were to attend the show.  Also assigned to assist the team was Probation Officer Edmund T. Blum. 

Before entering the building, there was talk among the officers about how much of the show they would need to watch to support any charges.  After a brief discussion, all agreed that in the interest of putting together a good case and gathering the “necessary evidence” they would have to watch the entire performance.

And so our team of eight officers and one probation officer purchased tickets to the show and they went inside and took in the entire performance, which consisted of women who looked like they were of the type who could not keep an address.

As the show ended, the officers contacted the performers, arresting six of them on lewd conduct charges.  Taken into custody was show manager Leona Barie, a so-called hula expert and her husband Charlie Barie. Also arrested were Mrs. Billie Ritchey, 26 a dancer, John Ellsworth  Hipey, 27, known as the “Terrible Turk,” Marion Lester Ritchey, a prop man and Willie Hustred, 29, a trapeze artist who was taking tickets in the absence of the regular door tender.

As the suspects were being rounded up in the performance hall, there was a question that came up among the officers, and that question was if they should demand their money back for the purchase of the tickets.  After a discussion, that course of action did not seem to be a very good idea, especially since they watched the whole show.

The suspects were held overnight, and they appeared the next day before Judge J. B. Lovell in San Rafael Police Court. After listening to the testimony of several of the officers, Judge Lovell fined the defendants $25 each after they all pleaded guilty. Lovell also sentenced them to three days in county jail but suspended the sentence if the troupe agreed to leave town immediately, which they did.  San Rafael then returned to having a quieter summer with some good clean fun.

Led by Chief Kane, members of the San Rafael Police Force who participated in the raid were Max Brice, Thomas Cheetham, Paul Norbe, Louis Dallara, William Miller, R.H. McMullin and Officer McGinnis.

Attached are two photos. The first photo shows some of the “lovely ladies” who performed with the troupe and the second photo shows San Rafael Officers Miller (uniform) and McGinnis sharing a light moment at the police station after enduring a rough night keeping the citizens of San Rafael safe.

Copyright 2022 by Harry Barbier