Tits And GTFO

Famous Sister relays the following info:

The topless revue "Les Folies Bergere" has hung up its feathers after 49 years at the Tropicana hotel.

Many performers who had taken part in the show's 29,000 runs since Christmas of 1959 crowded the set after its final curtain on Saturday. The closing leaves Bally's "Jubilee!" as the last full-scale showgirl revue left on the Las Vegas Strip.

Jerry Jackson, the show's choreographer and director since 1975, thanked "the thousands of performers who have entertained millions of people" in remarks to the audience before the show. "As Tonto said to the Lone Ranger...Giddy up cowboy, it's time to get out of Dodge."

The performance and reunion for those who have performed in the show included dancers and specialists who graced the stage throughout the show's run. It was "like a big family," said Daniel Celario, a comedian who performed in the show with his brother on and off from 1986 to 2000. "It was like going to work at the office with a lot of people you like." Celario married a dancer who is now the entertainment director for the casino. "There's something about this show," Celario said. "It's the feeling we got backstage, the vibe and adrenalin with all the dancers."

Showgirl productions have fallen out of favor with Cirque du Soleil dominating entertainment on the Strip in recent years. "Folies" came from Paris in 1959 and opened under then-Tropicana entertainment director Lou Walters, the father of newswoman Barbara Walters.

Quoth she, "I'm sure Tropicana's topless revue was starting to sag a little after 49 years, but still. Vegas wouldn't be Vegas without showgirls. It's the end of an era, I tell ya."