Toni Elling

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Toni Elling (born Rosita Sims; May 13, 1928 – April 2, 2023) was an American burlesque dancer known by the stage name Satin Doll. She was born in Detroit and worked for nine years as a telephone operator at Michigan Bell, but faced limited promotion because she was African American. In 1960, at age 32, she started performing burlesque and continued into the early 1970s. She married but later divorced due to abuse and had no children. Elling chose the name Satin Doll after Duke Ellington, who had written a song called Satin Doll—the tune she used in her act. She was friends with Sammy Davis Jr. and Joe Louis. Elling believed in keeping some clothes on during her performances, saying the goal was to suggest rather than reveal everything. She retired in 1974. In 2014, she was inducted into the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas. Elling died in Detroit on April 2, 2023, at age 94.