Suzy King
| Georgina Pires Sampaio | |
|---|---|
| Born |
August 28, 1917 Brazil |
| Died |
August , 1985 United States |
| Occupation | Dancer, singer, actress and fakir |
Suzy King (born Georgina Pires Sampaio, August 28, 1917 – August, 1985) was a Brazilian dancer, singer, actress and fakir.[1]
Georgina Pires Sampaio started her very public life in 1939, in São Paulo, Brazil, as Diva Rios, singing sambas and marches. Later on, following the trail opened by shock-star Luz del Fuego (Fire’s Light) she changed her name to Suzy King and started her peculiar act of singing-and-dancing while holding big pythons around herself. Georgina had her peak during the 1950s when public fakirism was a craze in the country. She was a multi-media star of sorts when such a term did not exist yet, always making sure newspapers would keep abreast of what she was doing. She kept her pythons in her own flat in Copacabana having had the neighbours on edge when a python escaped from its cage falling down to its death on the pavement. It was front page news. Georgina wrote a play that was banned by the authorities. She also tried to emulate Lady Godiva wearing a long blond wig to cover her breasts and riding a horse through the centre of the city. She was almost gang-raped by a mob and was helped by a good soul that passed by. Georgina left for the USA in the late 1960s, where she changed her name to Yacui Yapura Sampaio Bailey. At the same time she decided to lope 17 years off her official age. Georgina died in 1985, in California.