- Born
- Died
- Birth nameCarol Ann Doda
- Lovely, busty, and curvaceous blonde bombshell Carol Ann Doda grew up in San Francisco. Her parents divorced when she was only three years old. Doda dropped out of school and got a job as a cocktail waitress at age fourteen. She attended the San Francisco Art Institute and worked as a waitress and lounge entertainer at the Condor Club in the North Beach section of San Francisco.
On June 19, 1964 the nineteen-year-old Carol performed her first topless show at the Condor Club. The act was an instant success, and Doda immediately became a major American cultural sex icon of the 1960s: Many of the delegates for the 1964 Republican National Convention went to see Carol's show, noted writer Tom Wolfe profiled her in his 1968 book "The Pump House Gang," and she appeared as Sally Silicone in the delightfully outrageous psychedelic cult favorite Head (1968) with The Monkees. Moreover, Doda enhanced her breasts with silicone injections, thus becoming one of the first strippers to have her breasts surgically enlarged for her career. At the peak of her 1960s popularity Carol performed twelve shows a night at the Condor Club. On September 3, 1969, Doda began performing completely nude and continued to do so until a law was passed in 1972 forbidding total nude dancing in public places that served liquor. From the late 1960s through the late 1970s, Carol was the spokesperson for the San Jose, California TV station KICU-TV Channel 36. She was still dancing three times a night at the Condor Club in 1982.
Doda had acting roles in the 1980s adult features Honky Tonk Nights (1978), Trashi (1981), The Seven Seductions (1982), and Never So Deep (1981). Carol eventually retired from stripping in the 1980s and started her own rock band called the Lucky Stiffs. She opened her own lingerie shop called Carol Doda's Champagne & Lace Lingerie Boutique in San Francisco. Doda still continued to perform fully clothed at several clubs in the North Beach area of San Francisco, which includes Amante's and Enrico's Supper Club. Carol died of kidney failure at age 78 in a hospital in San Francisco on November 9, 2015.- IMDb mini biography by: woodyanders
- When she worked at the Condor Club in San Francisco, she wore Rudi Gernreich's topless bathing suit onstage. So the word on the street was to visit Carol Doda at the "topless" club and that is how the expression and the trend began. She eventually owned her own club and she was billed as the "world famous" Carol Doda.
- Ran the lingerie shop Carol Doda's Champagne and Lace Lingerie Boutique in San Francisco, California and performed fully clothed at nightclubs in the North Beach area of San Francisco.
- Carol Doda had two children with whom she had little contact. Her daughter predeceased her. She is survived by her son.
- It was never just about being topless anyway. I always just wanted to give people a good time, have fun. Nothing really dirty - just fun.
- Underneath this blond hair, I do think logically. I know how to survive.
- The minute I knew I existed in life was the night I started the Condor thing. The only thing that mattered to me was entertaining people. That always drove me.
- The only way I'll stop performing is when I can't walk anymore, honey.
- I feel like I'm part of San Francisco, and San Francisco's part of me.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content