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An unlikely tribute to Lolly
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South Africa was shocked at the news that Teazers founder Lolly Jackson had been gunned down. Perhaps the one up side to this is that his death was in no way race related, which is often how crime in South Africa is perceived (and reported by the media). Love him or hate him, but Lolly left his mark. I remember doing stand-up comedy at a Women’s Day breakfast out in the East Rand a few years back. Lolly was there with some male dancers from Teaze-hers, his now defunct brand of strip clubs for women. After my set, he was introduced and every women in the room stared daggers at him. I would have been put off speaking and ran home and hidden under the bed, but not him. His opening line went something like, “I’m Lolly Jackson, and I know that all of you probably hate me because your husbands all spend time in my clubs.” About twenty minutes later he left the stage amidst smiles, laughter and applause. I don’t know how he did it, but he convinced a room full of middle aged married women that Teazers is not such a bad place and that they have no need to worry about their husbands spending time in one of his clubs. Of course, what he was saying was a load of rubbish, yet somehow he got them on his side. You are probably wondering why this story is in my blog and how this relates to the stand-up comedy industry. Perhaps one thing that he had that many comics out there would love to have is unflinching confidence (as well as access to girls who lacked morals and underwear). His belief in himself, his product, his brand and what he did for a living, no matter how poorly perceived by large sections of society, was unwavering. The engaging and confident manner in which he spoke is something that I was envious of, more so than the flashy cars and dodgy blondes (and believe me – I was envious of the cars and girls). Some say good riddance, some say he will become just another crime statistic. Whatever you think of Lolly Jackson, there is no denying that a large reason for his success was his confidence, drive and self-belief. And maybe the fact that his ad campaigns featured scantily clad women. |
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Mauzie Who wrote this blog? It was good. I was a fan of Mr Jackson!
By: Maureen
, On
Saturday, 22 May 2010
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