Lilly Christine ~ The Cat Girl

Lilly Christine was a popular burlesque star and model known as The Cat Girl

She was born Martha Theresa Pompender on December 17, 1923 in Dunkirk, New York. Her father, Thomas Pompender, was born in Italy and her mother, Mary Pompender, was born in Germany. In 1944 she made her film debut in Irish Eyes Are Smiling. Lilly landed minor roles in the films My Wild Irish Rose and Two Guys From Texas. She also worked with Bert Lahr in the Broadway musical Burlesque. During the late 1940s she began dancing in nightclubs. With her long, blonde hair and voluptuous 37-22-35 figure she quickly became one of the country's most popular burlesque stars. Lilly spent a lot of her free time exercising to stay in shape. While headlining at Prima's 500 Club in New Orleans she created a sultry feline inspired dance and earned the nickname "The Cat Girl".

Although she claimed she never drank alcohol she had a drink named after her called "Lilly's Cat-nip". The sexy star posed for countless men's magazines including Modern Man, Tempo, and Gala. Producer Sol Lesser announced that she would star in his film Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle. Unfortunately the movie never got made. In 1950 she appeared in Mike Todd's Peep Show on Broadway. There were rumors she was engaged in 1954 but she never married. By the early 1960s she was having trouble finding work as a dancer. Lilly decided to move in with her parents in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Tragically on January 9, 1965 she died from peritonitis. She was only forty-one years old. Lilly was cremated and her ashes were buried at Fred Hunter's Hollywood Memorial Gardens in Hollywood, Florida.