Alain Bernardin
Entrepreneur. He will be remembered as the owner of the Crazy Horse Saloon, a famous risque cabaret in Paris, France.
Opening first in 1951 off the Champs Elysee, it went defunct twice in the early years but has continuously been opened since 1953. The cabaret was named for a Native American chief. The Crazy Horse presents two 90-minute nightly show featuring elaborately choreographed dances using imaginative lighting effects with dancers wearing costumes with glitter and feathers . A shopkeeper's son, he was a former painter and considered striptease as a form of art, which he directed calling it “Art of the Nu”. He offered benefits that most employees in the world of burlesque could not find elsewhere in this era. Each of his 25 dancers received a salary of just under $4,000 monthly and 25% was automatically put into a saving account that could not be tapped until the employee resigned. He also closely monitored the dancers' weight, no tattoos and there was a strict rule of no contact with the clients. The clients were Hollywood stars, European Nobility or tourists wanting to see the sights of Paris. The feminist movement protested this treatment of women, yet for many of his dancers, this opportunity was a stepping stone to a college education or a better life. He held many odd jobs from junk to upholsterer, decorator, to the seller of fire extinguishers before finding a career in "tease". With a October 1977 release, he directed the film “Crazy Horse de Paris”, which told the story of the famous cabaret. He also appeared in a couple other movies and television shows playing himself inside the cabaret. On the day he died, he was found shot to death in the head with a gun beside his hand. Although there was no signs of depression or a note left, this was ruled suicide. Beside his three children, he left a wife. Other Crazy Horse cabarets have opened around the world with the first being Singapore in 2006 followed by one in Las Vegas, Nevada. The cabaret was managed by his three children until 2007, but is still opened under new management
