Blaze Starr (born Fannie Belle Fleming in January 1, 1932), is an American former stripper and burlesque star. Her vivacious presence and inventive use of stage props earned her the nickname “The Hottest Blaze in Burlesque”. She was also notorious for her affair with Louisiana governor Earl Long. Starr was born in rural Wilsondale, West Virginia, to Lora Evans and Goodlow Mullins (later changed to “Fleming”). Fleming left home and moved to Washington D.C. when she was sixteen, where Red Snyder discovered her either working in a doughnut shop (according to her autobiography) or as a hat check girl (according to other sources). Snyder became Fleming’s first manager, encouraged her to start stripping, and gave her the stage name Blaze Starr. After he attempted to rape her, however, Starr left Snyder.
