Partner Stacy “Stormy” Lawrence, Alice Lee Brady
Queer Places:
1028 Jackson Avenue
New Orleans,
Orleans, Louisiana
417 Thirba St, Metairie, LA 70003
Greenwood Cemetery
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, USA
Dorothea Vernon "Torchy" Wilde (March 22, 1924 - August 4, 1997) worked as a bartender and burlesque dancer.
Dorothea Vernon "Torchy" Wilde was the stepdaughter of Clarence Frank Wilde (1884–1955), who operated a storefront display of mummified animals at 1028 Jackson Avenue. Clarence was frequently in conflict with New Orleans law enforcement, with offenses that included operating a photography studio on the Canal Street neutral ground, involvement in various fights and shootings, and plotting—with his son and a car full of dynamite—to firebomb the homes of film projectionists who were on strike. Clarence’s uncle was Jack Vernon Owen (1877–1953), a blackface comedian and musician who performed throughout the Southeast and Midwest. Torchy Wilde attended Rabouin High School.
Alice Lee Brady arrived in New Orleans from her childhood home, Alexandria, LA, by bus in 1946 carrying a single suitcase. She was befriended by Torchy Wilde who saw Alice getting off the bus. Trochy told Alice that she should get back on the bus and go back where she came from; she was much too young to take on the city, but take on the city was just what she did.
Brady sold her third bar, Brady's, in the late 1970's and retired to Metairie with Torchy.
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