The Jewel Box Lounge

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The 3200 block of Troost used to be known as "Mid-America's Greatest Fun-Complex." The clubs included The Yum Yum Room, Cat Balleu and The Jewel Box Lounge. The Jewel Box, known in 1948 as The Jewel Box and in 1950 as McKissick's Jewel Box Lounge, was at located at 3223 Troost. The address after 1964 was 3219 Troost and the owner was John N. Tuccillo.

I suspect that The Yum Yum room and Cat Balleu might have been traditional strip clubs. Not The Jewel Box. It featured female-mimics, female impersonators who sang songs and did comedy routines. Many of them toured, performing at similar clubs across the US. Rae Bourbon may have been the most well-known of the mimics. He had several LPs to his credit, including "A Trick Ain't Always a Treat", which was recorded at the club in the early sixties. Here's a partial list of the talent advertised at the Jewel Box:

Beebe 
Billy Carrol 
Bobbie Benet, Director 
Buddy Chris 
Butch Ellis 
Candy Lee 
Carey Davis 
Criss Noel 
Don Winters 
Eddie Lynn AKA "The French Pussycat" 
Ellen White 
Fred Murio 
Freddie Gibson 
G.G. Allen 
Gary Lynn 
George Cauden AKA "Tommy Temple", Director 
Harvey 
Jamie Eden 
Jamie Greeney 
Joey Block 
Just Tempest 
Mickey Ray
Nikki St. Cyr 
Peggy Clark 
Rae Bourbon/Ray Bourbon 
Roby Landers 
Rosalie Bell 
Salome 
Sammy Tucker 
Sandy Kaye
Scottie Carlyle 
Skip Arnold aka "Mother Goose" 
Terry Kaye 
Terry Lee 
Timmy Saxton AKA "The Body Beautiful" 
Tommy Baker

In the 1970s, the 3223 address was only known as The Yum Yum Lounge. Later, the Jewel Box moved to 3110 Main and the live performances were replaced by pantomimes.

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