You say “Buffalo” and I say “Millard Fillmore! Cookie Gilchrist! Goo Goo Dolls!” But recently I learned of another reason to shout: Gene LaVerne. A professional dancer, he turned to photography when a back injury took him off the stage.

Gene LaVerne with Jean Harlow

Gene LaVerne became the nation’s preeminent photographer of exotic dancers, based at his Studio of the Stars at 641 Main Street, across from the Shea’s Buffalo theater, and just a few blocks up from the Palace Burlesk.

Buffalo was one of 40 cities on the burlesque circuit and LaVerne was the photographer-of-choice for dancers who wanted publicity photos. It was said that the only other photographer in the country who could rival him was New York City’s Anthony Bruno a.k.a. Bruno of Hollywood. But as LaVerne once noted, “I’ve had girls tell me, ‘You did more with us in 45 minutes than Bruno of Hollywood did in an entire day.’”

“We build up a relationship. Somehow a friendship starts during the sitting. They come in here not knowing what to expect. They come in here cold, frozen in front of the camera. I have to loosen them up. I start them with the gowns. By the time they get down to their bra, they’re working like crazy.”

Among the hundreds of clients at the Studio of the Stars were Hope Diamond, Marsha Mello, Ann Howe, Tinker Bell, Faye Mignon (The Flaming Tigress), Cherry Sundae (The Delicious Treat), Miss Dairy Queen, Busty Russell, Virginia “Ding Dong” Bell, Texas Jezebel, and two from the Nether Regions: Patti Raven (Satan’s Favorite Playmate), and Satan’s Angel (The Devil’s Own Mistress).

For some, exotic dancing was a springboard. Tura Satana landed the role of Varla in Russ Meyer’s Faster Pussycat! Kill Kill! – one of the 1960s most cherished cult films. Hope Diamond, under her real name of Leona Beldini, served as deputy mayor of Jersey City. Perhaps best known was the dancer who played the Palace Burlesk as “The Argentine Firecracker.” In 1974, she gained national fame as Fanne Foxe, leaping, at 2 a.m., from a pulled-over auto and plunging into Washington D.C.’s Tidal Basin, leaving behind a less nimble, intoxicated and bleeding Rep. Wilbur Mills, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee.

Rowan & Martin fared better, perhaps best of the entertainers photographed by LaVerne. Also worthy of mention is Bernie Brandall, a female impersonator magician, and, most famously, Ersel Hickey. LaVerne’s 1958 photo of Hickey became one of the most iconic images of rock ’n’ roll and was used, uncredited, as the opening page photo of Rolling Stone magazine’s 1976 Illustrated History of Rock & Roll.

In 1962, a fire destroyed LaVerne’s studio. A rumor spread that he was out of business, so he sent out 300 Christmas cards to his old clients. After the fire, he operated from a studio above The Stage Door on Pearl Street, until shortly before his death in 1978.

But enough prose. Here’s a sample of Gene’s work:

He was a man at the top of his game. You say “Buffalo,” and I say, “Gene LaVerne!”