On a fateful San Francisco night in the early '60s, Condor nightclub performer Carol Doda was lowered to the stage on a floating piano, topless. Word spread quickly, setting off a wave of controversy and delight, with raids soon to follow. There was even a trial for the new celebrity. Doda's dry wit and charisma made her an instant sensation of the night club scene: an empowered woman in full control. Or so it seemed.
Carol Ann Doda 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. In 1964, Doda made international news, first by dancing topless at the city's Condor Club, then by enlarging her breasts from size 34 to 44 through silicone injections. A year later, she was arrested along with the owners of the Condor Club, but all three of them were cleared of charges. Her breasts became known as Doda's "twin 44s" and "the new Twin Peaks of San Francisco".