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Fanne Foxe

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Fanne Foxe
(aka Fanny Fox)
(aka Fannie Fox)
Born
Annabelle Battistella

(1936-02-14)February 14, 1936
Nueve de Julio, Argentina
DiedFebruary 10, 2021(2021-02-10) (aged 84)
Clearwater, Florida
Other namesThe Argentine Firecracker
The Tidal Basin Bombshell

Fanne Foxe (born Annabelle Edith Villagra; February 14, 1936 — February 10, 2021) was a former stripper, best known for being involved in a 1974 sex scandal surrounding Arkansas Congressman Wilbur Mills,[1] in what is reputed to be one of the most reported political sex scandals of the 1970s.[2] She is on the Time list of Top 10 Mistresses,[3] and on the Bloomberg list of Top 10 U.S. sex scandals.[4]

Early life

Annabel Edith Villagra was born on February 14, 1936, in Nueve de Julio, a village southwest of Buenos Aires, Argentina, to two nurses. She was a pre-medical student at the University of Buenos Aires before leaving at age 20 after marrying Eduardo Battistella, a pianist who played in clubs. She then began dancing to accompany his piano playing act. By the early 1960s, their act took them to Miami, where she began stripping as well, and Baltimore. At this time, she began using the stage name Fanne Foxe at the behest of her agent.[5]

Foxe immigrated to the United States in 1965.[6] By the late 1960s, she was working in Washington, D.C. and lived in the Crystal Towers complex in Arlington County, Virginia with her husband, although their marriage had collapsed.[5]

Mills scandal

In summer 1973, Foxe was introduced to Wilbur Mills at the Silver Slipper club through a mutual friend and fellow performer.[5] Until the incident with Foxe, Mills as Chairmen of the House Ways and Means Committee, was considered one of the most powerful members of the United States House of Representatives, and had been a minor contender for the Democratic nomination for president in 1972.[6] By July 1973, Foxe and Mills were regular companions at the Silver Slipper. At the time, Foxe was the featured performer and was billed as the "Argentine Firecracker". Shortly after growing close to Mills, she stopped performing at the Silver Slipper. In August, Mills moved with his wife into the Crystal Towers complex, where they frequently played contract bridge with the Batisellas.[5][6]

On October 7, 1974, the two of them had been drinking and were driving near the waterfront in Washington, D.C. at around 2:00 a.m. The park police pulled the vehicle over, and Foxe attempted to flee the scene by jumping into the Tidal Basin.[6] The incident attracted much publicity, and eventually led to Mills' resignation two months later as Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. He was re-elected to his congressional seat in 1974, but he did not run for re-election in 1976.[7][8]

Post-scandal

After the Mills incidents, Foxe continued working as a stripper, changing her stage title from "The Argentine Firecracker" to "The Tidal Basin Bombshell".[3] Capitalizing on her notoriety, she was able to increase her appearance fees for subsequent performances at clubs. When hired by Michael Pinter Jr. for a December '74 show at Club Juana in Orlando, Florida she upped her fee for a two-week stint from $3,500 to $15,000 a week.[9] On December 12, 1974, during the first week of her engagement, she was arrested for indecent exposure, allegedly after going completely nude during her act.[10] Club owner Pinter was arrested for letting it happen.[11] When arraigned on December 21, both Foxe and Pinter entered innocent pleas to the charges.[12] The charges against both were dismissed on January 28, 1975, when the judge ruled that prosecutors failed to prove their case.[13] After the Florida incident, Foxe announced her retirement from the stage.[13] However, in 1976 she performed, but not as a stripper, at The Riverboat at the Empire State Building.[14][15]

Foxe died on February 10, 2021 in Clearwater, Florida. She was 84.[16]

Recognition

Fanne Foxe is third on Time's list of Top 10 Mistresses,[3] and the scandal is listed as number 3 in the Top 10 U.S. sex scandals by Bloomberg in 2009.[4]

As an exotic dancer she was well received long before the Mills incident. A month after the October 1974 scandal, Bill O'Reilly interviewed her. He recounts that she told him of an interest to attend medical school after two more years of dancing. In summarizing her appearance at the Pilgrim Theater in Boston, he wrote that the crowd loved her performance.[17] In September 1976, she was featured in Playboy,[18] and again in February 1977.[19] In April 1977 she was interviewed in depth by Cheri.[20]

Filmography

References

  1. ^ Garment, Suzanne (1992). Scandal: The Culture of Mistrust in American Politics. Anchor Books. ISBN 9780385425117. Fanne Foxe.
  2. ^ Gregory, Leland (2009). Stupid American History: Tales of Stupidity, Strangeness, and Mythconceptions. Andrews McMeel. pp. 213. ISBN 9780740779916. Fanne Foxe.
  3. ^ a b c "Top 10 Mistresses: Fanne Foxe". Time Magazine. July 1, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  4. ^ a b Hunt, Albert R. (July 7, 2009). "Top 10 U.S. sex scandals more than match UK". etaiwannews.com. Bloomberg. p. 6. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  5. ^ a b c d Bernstein, Adam (February 24, 2021). "Fanne Foxe, 'Argentine Firecracker' at center of D.C. sex scandal, dies at 84". Washington Post. Retrieved February 24, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  6. ^ a b c d Green, Stephen; Hornblower, Margot (October 11, 1974). "Mills Admits Being Present During Tidal Basin Scuffle". Washington Post. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  7. ^ "The Fall of Chairman Wilbur Mills". Time Magazine. December 16, 1974. Retrieved 2009-09-12.
  8. ^ Farquhar, Michael (2003). A Treasury of Great American Scandals (illustrated ed.). Penguin Group. pp. 149–150. ISBN 9780142001929.
  9. ^ "Fanne Foxe Booked". The Evening Independent. December 7, 1974. Retrieved 2015-02-21.
  10. ^ Stolzenbach, Issac (July 13, 2006). "Requiem for a Strip Club". Orlando Weekly. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  11. ^ "Fanne Foxe is arrested in Florida". Free Lance-Star. December 12, 1974. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  12. ^ "Strippe Fanne pleads innocent". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 21, 1974. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  13. ^ a b "Fan Foxe's Charges were Dismissed By Judge". Ocala Star-Banner. January 28, 1975. Retrieved 2009-09-13.
  14. ^ "Best Bets". New York Magazine. 9 (5). New York Media, LLC: 19, t52. February 2, 1976. ISSN 0028-7369.
  15. ^ New York Media, LLC (2 February 1976). "New York Magazine". Newyorkmetro.com. New York Media, LLC: 52. ISSN 0028-7369. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  16. ^ Bernstein, Adam (February 24, 2021). "Fanne Foxe, 'Argentine Firecracker' at center of D.C. sex scandal, dies at 84". Washington Post.
  17. ^ O'Reilly, Bill (2008). A Bold Fresh Piece of Humanity (illustrated ed.). Full Exposure: Random House. pp. 112–115. ISBN 9780767928823.
  18. ^ "And Now... DC's Dynamic Duo". Playboy. 23 (9). Playboy: 132. September 1976.
  19. ^ "The Year in Sex". Playboy Magazine. 24 (2). Playboy: 137. February 1977.
  20. ^ Wolff, Peter (April 1977). "Fanne Foxe Finally Tells All! Meet the newest member of the 'Cheri' family!". Cheri Magazine. 1 (9). Cheri: 14–15, 91, 96–98.

Further reading

  • Annabel Battistella with Yvonne Dunleavy, Fanne Foxe. New York: Pinnacle Books, 1975. ISBN 0523007523

External links

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