The management of Stormy's Casino Royale, burlesque central in New Orleans in the 1940s, was a wisecracking bunch. The witty advice on how to live on $15 a week probably says a lot about the character of the clientele. The booze list was short and sweet. The Tassell Cocktail contained Hadacol, a famously alcoholic vitamin tonic that turned out to be a hoax and we think this was another "in" joke.

Evangeline the Oyster Girl, whose real name was Kitty West, was one of the burlesque performers. She dyed her hair seaweed green, rose out of a giant oyster shell and performed exotic dances to live music. Born to a share-cropping family in Mississippi, Kitty had a tempestuous nature and featured in a LIFE magazine article after getting into a cat-fight with another stripper.