Background
Evelyn West was born Amy May Coomer, in Adair County, Kentucky. Annie and Amy moved to Illinois where her mother remarried Curtis Hinds of St. Petersburg, Illinois, where Amy grew up on a farm.
Evelyn West was born Amy May Coomer, in Adair County, Kentucky. Annie and Amy moved to Illinois where her mother remarried Curtis Hinds of St. Petersburg, Illinois, where Amy grew up on a farm.
Her parents were Henderson and Annie Coomer of the poor farming community of Elroy, Adair County, Kentucky. Amy had many younger siblings remaining in Adair County as well. Amy started working at the Illinois State Fair in a sideshow.
Her career was not recognized until she was seen in a 1940s newspaper clipping for a performance in Calumet City.
During World War Two, Amy and her mother, Annie came to Sacramento, California. Amy went to work at Mather Army Air Field.
After World World War II, she got a job stripping at the President"s Club on Market Street in San Francisco. In 1947, she made the film "A Night at the Follies" in Los Los Angeles
She left California for Missouri.
In her act she used a dummy of "Esky" the mascot of Esquire magazine as her pseudo lover. By the 1950s, Amy had married club promoter First Rate (at Lloyd's) Charles. They had no children together.
A fixture at the Stardust on the old DeBaliviere Strip in Saint Louis, Evelyn West was best known for her large (39½ inch) bustline.
She was reported to have insured her breasts for $50,000 through Lloyd"s of London. Quite the comedienne, she would often quip to her audience "I know you"re looking at my shoes."
Evelyn West was also an ardent publicity seeker.
West was widely photographed and depicted in pinup calendars and artwork. A couple examples of those who took Evelyn"s picture are photographer/former model Bunny Yeager and Tom Kelley (rose to fame for his Marilyn Monroe calendar).
Her only known film cr was for A Night at the Follies (1947).
She appeared uncredited as "the cook" in Rhythm on the River (1940) and as "woman in theater" in Birth of the Blues (1941). When Tempest Storm and Blaze Starr appeared to full houses at the Mitchell Brothers in San Francisco, Art and Jim Mitchell approached West to come to their theatre. At nearly sixty, Evelyn West declined the offer.
A long time Saint Louis Cardinals baseball fan, late in life she rooted for the Florida Marlins.
She sold collectibles through eBay and made friends with fans online. Evelyn West died as Amy Charles in 2004 in Florida.
She has many relatives in Wisconsin, Kentucky, Illinois, Michigan, and Texas.
