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| Nancy Sellers and Norman Flinkman naked at city hall 1974 |
Sellers, who performed under the name Nancy Novak and was also called Nancy Radke, decided to head down to city hall with her boyfriend and co-star Baltimore's Norman R. Flinkman, to talk to the mayor on January 3, 1974.
She sported only a fur coat and boots. Flnkman, 32, who stood 5'8" and weighed 160 lbs, was clad in silver shoes, a raincoat and sunglasses.
Both made an impression on Notre Dame Street, turning many-a-head as they approached city hall with their nudity evident for all to see.
La Presse had a reporter and photographer on site. The reporter noted that the security guard had no objections to their strolling around city hall nude. They were not arrested or reprimanded in any way for showing their epidermis.
La Presse published an image of the naked visit in its news section the next day.
Sellers had come to tell Drapeau that there was no need to ban their show in St. Leonard, as nobody objected to earlier performances in Ottawa, Quebec City and Halifax.
The duo were arrested at 9 pm on Tuesday 8 January 1974 during their show.*
They pleaded not guilty the next day.** "
Flinkman passionately defended the show in court, as reported once again by La Presse.
They told us that Mayor Drapeau is a big defender of culture. When we think that the chief of police in Quebec City said our show is lively, decent and highly artistic' and that the mayor of Halifax and his wife called it a 'particularly refreshing.' So we are surprised by the willing blindness of the Montreal mayor and his police force. But the public made us forget the mayor. Montrealers are the most spontaneous, progressive, intelligent and generous people that we have seen. They understood us right away. The show we give isn't pornographic, it's just beautiful. Our nudity is beautiful and uplifting both for us and our fans. Why is the mayor so scared of bodies?On the next day, 11 January, about 100 people watched a 35-minute video of the event in court on a 12 inch TV.
Sellers was seen dancing around. At the end of the show Buddy Evil, as Flinkman called himself, came on stage without pants to thank her.
Judge Raphael Beaudette said that he would wait until Feb. 7 to render a judgement. He ordered them to do no more nude shows. Novak said they'd finish their week of shows wearing a little bit of cloth covering their private parts.***
Prosecutor Patrick Long asked the judge to fine both $500 for what he called a vulgar show. The penal code allowed for six months in prison for such a crime. ****
Their lawyer Jacques Roland noted that the show was held in a cabaret where everybody who paid $2 to get in knew what to expect. "This is not at Place des Arts," he noted.
The two were find $200 each for appearing naked on Jan 5, 1974 at the Casino Royal of Motel Diplomate.
Flinkman and Novak left town and never returned.
They married in 1976 and owned Fancy Nancy's and My Club in Dothan, Ala., together until they divorced in 1979.
Flinkman was born in Baltimore and spoke Yiddish as his first language. He wrote a minor pop music hit in 1958 hit at the age of 17 called "I've Got the Feeling," He served in the army and later managed strip clubs. He died in 2015 in Florida.
It's not known what became of Sellers, aka Novak, aka Radke. She would be about 65 now.
As for Drapeau, his campaign against nudity was doomed, as courts repeatedly ruled against such bans.
*La Presse 9 January 1974 La Presse 10 January 1974 ***La Presse 12 Jan 1974 **** La Presse 8 Feb. 1974