Topless entertainment was introduced to the city of San Francisco more than 50 years ago, and it was the legendary stripper Carol Doda, whose splashy act paved the way for it.
Ron Minolla, a friend of Doda disclosed on Wednesday that she died on Monday, at the age of 78 in the city, from complications of kidney failure.
In 1964, Doda first went topless at the Condor Club — a move that changed every nightspot on busy Broadway in San Francisco.
In the early 1970s, during its heyday, the street in North Beach buzzed with more than two dozen clubs where carnival-like barkers beckoned passers-by to watch bare-breasted dancers. This era lasted for some 20 years.
She was profiled in Tom Wolfe's book "The Pump House Gang" and later landed an acting role in "Head," a 1968 film featuring the Monkees.
Debuting the same day as President Lyndon B, Doda rode onto stage atop a piano on an elevator platform, with her bare augmented bust.
It wasn't long before the big news in town was "The Girl on the Piano" and she drew half a million people in a visit to San Francisco.
The Condor Club had an illuminated sign carrying her likeness, a testimony to her being a legend.
In 1985, she left the club and later had a lingerie store. She also performed in a rock band, did modeling and comedy, and sang and danced at another club.
In 1964, she made international news, for the reason that she was the first to dance topless at the city's Condor Club and because she enhanced her bust from size 34 to 44 through silicone injections.
Doda's "twin 44s" and "the new Twin Peaks of San Francisco", was how people referred to her breasts.
Although she was never married, she was very young when she gave birth to two children with whom she had little contact: daughter Donna Smith Terzian, who passed away long before her, and son Tom Smith.
Friends are planning a private memorial in the next few weeks, to be held somewhere in Tupelo in North Beach, where she used to sing.
