6 minute read
INSIDE VOICES-Robert Gwaltney and Jeffrey Dale Lofton interview Leslie Zemeckis, best-selling author
INSIDE VOICES Robert Gwaltney and Jeffrey Dale Lofton interview Leslie Zemeckis, best-selling author, actress, and an award-winning documentarian
Leslie Zemeckis is a best-selling author, actress, and an award-winning documentarian of Behind the Burly Q, which ran on Showtime, Bound by Flesh, debuted No. 5 on Netflix and the multi-award-winning Mabel, Mabel, Tiger Trainer. Next up is her award-winning documentary Grandes Horizontales, about courtesans in Napoleon’s Second Empire.
She is the author of three best-sellers: Behind the Burly Q, the definitive oral history of burlesque, and an Amazon top 100 pick, Goddess of Love Incarnate; the Life of Stripteuse Lili St. Cyr, and Feuding Fan Dancers, about Sally Rand, Faith Bacon and the golden age of the showgirl (a SCIBA finalist for biography). She has acted alongside Tom Hanks, Steve Carell, Jim Carrey, Mickey Rourke and Richard Lawson. Zemeckis is the founder of “Stories Matter,” female storytellers mentoring future female storytellers in conjunction with SBIFF and ENTITY Magazine.
Honored for her work inspiring women, Zemeckis was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2023 in part for “sharing and preserving stories of women who were once marginalized and stigmatized . . .” The Medal is officially recognized by both Houses of Congress and is one of our nation’s most prestigious awards.
Jeffrey: Leslie, you are an actress, documentarian, and author---an impressive range by anybody’s reckoning. Is there one of these that you hold dearest? Or do you love all your children equally.
Leslie: I love them all for different reasons. Burly Q, because it was my first and taught me I know how to tell a story. But each story, whether book or film has made me grow as an artist and made me fall deeper in love with—mostly—unknown women that were once so prominent in our culture.
Robert: As Jeffrey shared earlier, you are the author of three books: Behind the Bury Q, Goddess of Love, and Feuding Fan Dancers. All of these books center on the world of burlesque. What draws you to this world?
Leslie: I wasn’t drawn to that world, per se. I was doing a one-woman show, and I wanted to know what burlesque really was as I was basing my character on Gypsy Rose Lee. I could find nearly no information on the women of burlesque. Books would state their name and their act, but that was it. I wanted to know who they were, how they get into burlesque, what their families thought, what happened to them after burlesque? I met so many wonderful performers, and they opened their hearts to me, and I have gathered many interesting stories that, along with other stories—I don’t just live in the world of burlesque—I will continue to bring to light.
Robert: Discuss your approach to research when preparing to write the three works on burlesque. Did you have any preconceived notions on the topic that were altered at the completion of your work?
Leslie: I try not to. I want to discover whatever the story will be, good or bad. We are all people and have many sides to us. I do deep-deep research. 99% myself.
Jeffrey: Burlesque is an art form that is very much of its time. Is there something about the decades of the 1920s, ‘30s and ‘40s that draws you in? Speaks to your aesthetic perhaps?
Leslie: Well the glamour and fashion of course!
Jeffrey: Leslie, this question is for your documentarian-self: You spent countless hours interviewing people in some way connected to burlesque. What did they reveal about this subculture that you knew straightaway had to make it into your films?
Leslie: They were – in general – very much artists. They were doing something with their lives. They used burlesque as a means to support families, see the world, become “stars” and to belong. There was—still is—a perception of the “other.” It was them against society.
Robert: Have you made any lasting friendships with any of the people in front of the camera you met during the making of any of your documentaries?
Leslie: Many. I find it hard to have people open up and then walk away forever. I’ve stayed friends with many. Most of my burlesque folks have since died, but they could always call me and did. I have bought many of their collections when they needed money. I’ve driven some to doctors appointments, sat on their death beds, been to memorials.
Robert: Congratulations on being awarded the 2023 Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Tell us about this award and what it means to you.
Leslie: That maybe what I am doing, and the subjects I write about are worthy. I know they are—I’ve always known that. I just want people to see my work, learn about extraordinary women, usually stigmatized and marginalized, be it “freaks” or circus performers or courtesans.
Jeffrey: As a fellow author, I admire and very much appreciate the work you do supporting other authors. Talk about your role as a book influence and how it began.
Leslie: I generally love books and authors. I love talking process. My mentoring group I started, professional female authors mentoring the next generation is so rewarding as I’ve had so many best-selling authors talk to the group about process, and revealing it is different for everyone. There is no one way. Also, I find authors to be the most supportive group of artists, so any light I can shine on a new book I am so happy to do it. You will always find me with a book. Stories Matter, which is also the name of my free mentoring program.
Robert: What can we be on the lookout from you next?
Leslie: My current award winning film Grandes Horizontales will be streaming soon. Hopefully, by Sept. And I’m working on a couple of books: one fiction, and one non-fiction.
