BurlyCon 2026 Honors Tami Roche as Legend of Honor
A Legendary Life of Survival, Reinvention, and Burlesque History
In 2026, BurlyCon proudly welcomes Tami Roche as our Legend of Honor, recognizing a life shaped by survival, artistry, reinvention, and an undeniable impact on burlesque.
From Miss Burlesque to Burlesque Icon
Tami’s career accelerated in 1966 when she earned the title Miss Burlesque. From there, she performed across the country and on Broadway, establishing herself as a compelling force in American burlesque.
By the late twentieth century, burlesque had already transformed dramatically from its golden-age heyday. Yet performers like Tami Roche kept its traditions, glamour, theatricality, and ingenuity alive through live performance.
She built a career that took her across the country, including onto Broadway, with Ann Corio’s “This Was Burlesque” which was also recorded for broadcast on HBO in 1979.
Then, in 1969, what was meant to be a short engagement in Atlanta changed everything. Tami arrived to headline at the Body Shoppe for a few weeks. A few weeks became years and Atlanta became home.
At the Domino Lounge, she developed her iconic champagne glass bath act — a kind of spectacle that embodies burlesque’s blend of precision, fantasy, humor, and seduction.
Her presence helped shape Atlanta nightlife during a time when the industry looked very different, and when survival often required extraordinary resilience.
Artistry as Agency
This year’s BurlyCon guiding idea, Artistry as Agency, asks us to think about creative expression as power.
Tami built a life through performance. She claimed space in rooms that did not readily make room for her. She kept creating through hardship, uncertainty, and change. Her story reminds us that artistry is about persistence, survival, and transformation.
Tami Roche did more than perform. She transformed spaces that were not built for her. And she kept showing up. That kind of artistry reveals agency.
Even legendary filmmaker Russ Meyer, known for his influential sexploitation films, developed a film script specifically for her.
Honoring Legends is about more than recognition.
Legends carry the lived history of burlesque in ways no archive can fully preserve. They offer perspective, context, and stories that remind us of where this art came from and what it took (and takes) to keep it alive. Their experiences reveal the resilience, reinvention, and artistry that shaped the stages we stand on today.
By learning from them, we do more than honor history, we help carry it forward.
Join Us in Celebrating Tami Roche
Tami Roche spent her life showing up for her art, for survival, and for the stages that welcomed her. Now, we invite you to show up for her.
Please join us in celebrating Tami Roche, BurlyCon 2026 Legend of Honor.
- Can’t make it to convention this year? You can learn more support Tami through her fundraiser website.
- Listen to the Archive Atlanta podcast with Tami
- Read more about Tami at BurlyCon Director Emeritus, Jo Weldon’s New York School of Burlesque Blog
