This is a great audio to listen to (read by the author) and the book has fascinating photos to see, both editions, available at libraries.
In 2019 a blogger, Brandon Stanton with a following of millions who read his series, Humans of New York, was walking along the streets of Chelsea in New York City when he happened upon an unusually dressed woman in fancy gear.
Mr. Stanton stopped for a chat which led to a friendship which led to a column in his series, which led to the book Tanqueray, the expose of Stephanie Johnson’s life and one of her last chapters before a stroke felled her last October at age 81.
Her obituary led me to the audio and book.
Ms. Johnson was a famous burlesque dancer in the Big Apple in the 1960s and 70s, and she lays it all out straight, everything, rather like a rip-roaring escapade of edgy New York life, kinda gangster style, a strip club and more (a life most of us only hear or read about and maybe, wish we’d experienced a trifle of it?).
She was a self-made woman whose mother threw her out when Ms. Johnson was 17 and pregnant. On her own, she made her way from Albany, N.Y. to New York where she built her reputation.
Her name “Tanqueray” came from a bottle of gin sitting near a conversation.
Mr. Stanton helped her write her bio in which she speaks in highly entertaining fashion (of which she was an excellent seamstress, attending classes at the Fashion Institute of Technology, making sparkly costumes for herself and many others).
She had lots of boyfriends, was married twice and prided herself on not sleeping around or drinking. She had two sons and gave up her daughter for adoption. The book Mr. Stanton wrote of their many conversations drew millions of readers and helped restore her relationship with an estranged son.
She was lonely, very, very lonely.
When serious illness struck, Mr. Stanton spearheaded a GoFundMe campaign for Ms. Johnson which brought in about $2.6 million for her medical needs and solved her money worries. Leftover money went to the Association to Benefit Children.
Ms. Johnson and Mr. Stanton speak in the postscript, not to miss!
It’s a short 192 pages, hard to put down; a (very) fast read and wow! What a movie to be made!
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