Bacon's career in burlesque began in the 1920s in Paris. In a 1930 interview, Bacon stated she decided to become a dancer when she visited Paris despite never having had any training. While in Paris, she met
Maurice Chevalier and later premiered in his revue. During her career, she used
bubbles, flowers and
fans in her nude dance routines. After returning to the United States, Bacon appeared on
Broadway in ''
Earl Carroll's Vanities from August 1928 to February 1929. The program listed her performance as "Fan Dance - Heart of the Daisies." She went on to dance in Fioretta
and Earl Carroll's Sketch Book, in 1929 and 1930, respectively. In July 1930, she appeared as a "principal nude" in another production of Earl Carroll's Vanities''. On July 9, 1930, police raided the
New Amsterdam Theatre and arrested Bacon, Earl Carroll and other cast members for "giving an indecent performance". She was appearing in a scene entitled "A Window at Merls". Although the show underwent some changes after the raid, Bacon continued to perform the fan dance. However, Earl Carroll stated that Bacon wore a "chiffon arrangement" during the performance and was not fully nude. In August 1930, a grand jury decided against indicting Bacon, Carroll and her fellow cast members. Following her performance in ''Earl Carroll's Vanities
, Bacon appeared in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1931'' from July to November 1931. In 1933, she went to Chicago to perform at the 1933
World's Fair after learning that rival dancer
Sally Rand was performing a fan dance. Bacon, who maintained she originated the dance for Earl Carroll in 1930, billed herself as "The Original Fan Dancer". At the
1939 World's Fair in New York, she had an official position as fan dancer.
Decline After appearing at the World's Fair in 1933, Bacon's career began to decline. Over the years, she had gained a reputation of being difficult. While working in the show
Temptations in the winter of 1936 at the
Lake Theater in Chicago, Bacon cut her thighs when she fell through a glass drum on which she was posing nude. The cuts left her thighs scarred and she sued the Lake Theater Corporation for $100,000 in damages. She later settled for $5,000 which she spent on a ten carat diamond. In October 1938, Bacon sued dancer Sally Rand for $375,000 in damages and sought an injunction barring her from performing the fan dance which Bacon still maintained that she originated. Rand denied Bacon's accusations, claiming jealousy. Rand stated, "The fan idea is as old as Cleopatra. [...] She can't sue me for that." In 1938, Bacon made her only acting film appearance in
Prison Train, directed by
Gordon Wiles, in which she played the role of 'Maxine'. She did appear on film in 1942 in two short recordings: "Lady with the Fans" and "Dance of Shame". On April 23, 1939, she was arrested for a second time for disorderly conduct after staging a publicity stunt on Park Avenue in New York City. Bacon, who was scheduled to do a "Fawn Dance" at the
1939 New York World's Fair the following week, dressed in "wisps of chiffon" and maple leaves while walking a fawn on a leash. She was released on $500 bond. A review of her dance at the time stated "Faith Bacon parades through a moth-eaten fan dance that has lost its punch long ago." Throughout the 1940s, Bacon continued to perform her act at clubs and venues throughout the United States. In 1948, she was hired to headline a girl review, however on the last day of the performance she claimed she was owed $5,044 in back salary. She claimed the owner tried to terrorize her and sued the carnival promoter for $55,444, accusing him of putting tacks on the stage on which she was dancing barefoot. Bacon lost the case. ==Death==