Carol Doda

Carol Ann Doda (August 29, 1937 – November 9, 2015) was an American topless dancer based in San Francisco, California, who was active from the 1960s through the 1980s. She was the first public topless dancer in the United States. Her breasts became known as Doda's "twin 44s" and "the new Twin Peaks of San Francisco".

Early life

Carol Ann Doda was born August 29, 1937, in Vallejo, California, and grew up in San Francisco. Her mother's maiden name was Hoss. when she was four, and Doda dropped out of school and became a cocktail waitress at age 14.

Topless entertainer

Doda attended the San Francisco Art Institute and worked as a waitress and lounge entertainer at the Condor Club, located at the corner of Broadway and Columbus in the North Beach section of San Francisco. The act began with a grand piano lowered by hydraulics through an opening in the ceiling, with Doda dancing on top of the piano. She go-go danced "The Swim" to a rock-and-roll combo headed by Bobby Freeman as her piano settled onto the stage. From the waist up, Doda imitated aquatic movements such as the front crawl. She also performed the Twist, The Frug, and the Watusi.

On June 19, 1964, gave Doda a monokini topless swimsuit designed by Rudi Gernreich. and appeared that same year as Sally Silicone in Head, the 1968 film created by Jack Nicholson and Bob Rafelson, and featuring The Monkees. In the movie, produced by Columbia Pictures, she appears in a Golden Boy parody segment with Annette Funicello, Sonny Liston, and Davy Jones.

Encouraged by her success, Doda underwent silicone injections to enlarge her breasts.

For the topless and waterless Swim, Doda wore the bottom half of a black bikini and a net top which ended where a bathing suit generally began.

In 1969, Doda performed with The Tac Squad, a bottomless all-girl band, at Carol Doda's at 430 Broadway in San Francisco.

Court appearances

On April 22, 1965, Doda was arrested along with Pete Mattioli and Gino del Prete, owners of the Condor Club. They were cleared when two judges instructed not-guilty verdicts. Judge Friedman's memorandum to opposing attorneys reads, "Whether acts ... are lewd and dissolute depends not on any individual's interpretation or personal opinion, but on the consensus of the entire community ..." Doda and del Prete were arrested during police raids to stop bare-bosom shows in North Beach. Peter Mattioli owned the Condor Club by 1967 and Doda still appeared in shows there.

In 1969, Doda was a witness during the trial of two all-nude dancers who were arrested for "indecent exposure and lewd and dissolute conduct". The defendants were dancers at the Pink Pussy Kat in Orangevale, California. Presiding Municipal Court Judge Earl Warren Jr. moved the trial, temporarily, from the courtroom to Chuck Landis Largo club. There, Doda performed to live song and dance numbers, along with a movie titled Guru You. She was cross-examined by a deputy district attorney about what she hoped to convey to audiences in her act. Doda was dressed in a red miniskirt with dark blue piping and beige boots. She responded that the movie represents "a satire of pornography ... it's to show people the humorous side of sex". Several members of the 10-man, 2-woman jury kept their smiles in check as Doda explained the 17-minute movie. The deputy district attorney opposed asking her to perform, considering it irrelevant to the case. He was overruled by Warren.

Later career From the late-1960s through the late-1970s, Doda was the spokesmodel for KGSC-TV, later San Jose, California television station KICU-TV Channel 36. Filmed from the waist up and wearing clothes which amplified her prominent physical attributes, she became known for saying "You're watching the Perfect 36 in San Jose." She would also occasionally appear on-air to do a double entendre laced editorial commentary on the issues of the day.

Doda appeared as Sadie Thompson in "Rain", at the Encore Theater SF, beginning January 1968.

In 1982 Doda was again dancing at the Condor three times a night. She was 45 years old, yet performed to rock 'n' roll, blues, and ragtime. Each act was the same, with Doda appearing in a gold gown, elbow-length gloves, and a diaphanous wraparound. Her clothing was removed one piece at a time until she wore only a g-string and the diaphanous wraparound. In the final portion she was attired in only the wraparound. Her small body looked slimmer without clothes, a perception which was emphasized by the dwarfing effect of her breasts. At the time she was taking dance and voice lessons, but had no definite plans for her future.

Throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, Doda performed fully clothed at several San Francisco North Beach bars and clubs, including Gino & Carlo, Amante's, and Enrico's Supper Club. Doda said that she never married, but California newspapers recounted two early marriages. On July 17, 1954, at 16, she married Tommy Gene Smith of Vallejo. She gave birth to two children with Smith and had little contact with them: a daughter, Donna Smith Terzian, who predeceased her, and a son, Tom Smith. The article reporting their marriage said that the couple lived and worked at the time in Vallejo, California. It also said she had graduated from Vallejo High School.

Recognition In Yosemite National Park, Doda Dome was named after her.

Carol Doda Topless at the Condor is a documentary about the birth of topless dancing in San Francisco in 1964.

The history and impact of the Condor Club, including Doda's role in it, was described in the 2018 book Three Nights at the Condor, written by Benita Mattioli, wife of Condor owner, Peter Mattioli.

Filmography Head (1968) Machine Gun McCain (1969) Honky Tonk Nights (1978)