Poodle’s Patio opened at 640 Bourbon Street in 1957. Said to have a fully pink interior, it is now known more for musicians who played there, such as Mac Rebennack—before he went by Dr. John—and John Leon Gross (a.k.a. Archibald), than for its burlesque performers.  

One dancer who left a mark was Suzanne Robbins. A high school dropout from North Carolina, Robbins arrived in New Orleans in 1954 and started performing shortly after, first as Wild Cat Frenchie, “The Sadie Thompson of New Orleans,” and then as Jezebel, “The Artist with a Thousand Movements.” Considered one of the classiest acts on Bourbon Street, Robbins was featured in national magazines and in the 1963 B movie Wild Is My Love. 

The Poodle’s Patio pamphlet features Robbins as Jezebel; Galatea, “The Statue That Comes to Life,” singer Helen June; emcee Scotty McNeil; and three other exotic dancers—June Powell, Gail Lee, and Pat Patterson. There are also photographs of Jezebel and Galatea.  

The pamphlet is undated, but it must have been printed before April 1964, when the club, along with neighbor Madame Francine’s, switched its entertainment from strippers to a band and dancing. The venues had been targets of District Attorney Jim Garrison’s raids that began in early August 1962, less than three months after Garrison took his oath of office. These raids were often dramatic: the first resulted in the arrest of Blaze Starr from El Morocco for “over-exposure” during her act, and Robbins was arrested onstage during her performance at Poodle’s in January 1963. 

Robbins retired from burlesque shortly thereafter. In a 2003 interview, she referred to Garrison as “that snake in the grass,” stating that she left the scene because “I didn’t want to risk any trouble.” After a stint in California, she returned to New Orleans and served as manager of the Dauphine Orleans Hotel before marrying a man from Washington state and moving to Tacoma.