The son of Earl Warren, the legendary California Governor and US Supreme Court Chief Justice, may not have presided over such progressive liberal decisions as Brown v. Board of Education, but Earl Warren Jr., also a judge, did make one serious cultural splash in a case emblematic of changing standards of decency and sexual freedom in the late '60s. The case concerned the Pink Pussy Kat a Go-Go in Orangevale, north of Sacramento, and was over "bottomless stripping." famously, Warren encouraged the strippers to "do the dance" in the court room, and now a documentary that takes its name, Do The Dance, from that command is in the works. Written by journalist and filmmaker Ed Fletcher and directed by DQ Hayes, the effort is supported by the Center for Sacramento History, which provided footage.
Do the Dance Trailer 1 from Ed Fletcher on Vimeo.
Fletcher says he was prompted by the death of Doda, the San Francisco godmother of stripping who was asked to testify in the trial, to jump on the project.
Doda herself was arrested along with Condor Club Gino del Prete in San Francisco in April 1965, leading to a judge's decision that year that topless dancing was A-OK, and opening the doors for strip clubs becoming less of an obscene notion nationwide. She made headlines all over because of the case, leading to the Condor getting into totally nude stripping by 1968, and thus Doda was called to be a witness in the Sacramento case in '69.
Fletcher is seeking donations to complete his documentary on Indiegogo: One dollar bills appreciated, though larger sums are perhaps best to reach the $10,000 goal.
Related: Carol Doda, '60s Stripping Sensation And Cultural Icon, Dead At 78
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