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As March comes to a close, continue celebrating Women’s History Month by learning about someone who helped shape the sexual revolution of the 1960s: Carol Doda.

A new documentary about her life, Carol Doda Topless at the Condor, is playing in theaters now. Directors Jonathan Parker and Marlo McKenzie spoke to ABC Audio about Doda’s impact.

In 1964, Doda became the first dancer in the nation to perform topless. She wore fashion designer Rudi Gernreich‘s monokini swimsuit and danced on top of a white baby grand piano that descended from the ceiling of the Condor Club in San Fransisco’s North Beach.

Her act launched a heated debate around what constituted indecent exposure in a public setting. The ensuing arrests and trials paved the way for a sexual revolution.

“A lot of discussions can be started with her story,” Parker said. “I always just zero in on this moment in the movie where she’s asked if she thought of herself as a feminist pioneer. And she said, ‘No, I don’t think of myself as a feminist pioneer, but I was the first bra burner.’ … Right there you have this weird, ironic coming together of an action that can mean multiple things to different people.”

McKenzie agreed, saying she was drawn to telling the story of a woman in charge of her career when many were not afforded that opportunity.

“It was a time when women were very restricted, and we were just starting to think about what it might mean to be in the world,” McKenzie said. “Carol having this career … where she takes off her top, in that time was a really big deal. And so, I was drawn to her courage where she was totally being her authentic self in a time when that was not really accepted.”

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Apple TV+

The life story of celebrated comedian, actor, author, musician and playwright Steve Martin gets the documentary treatment in the new Apple TV+ doc Steve! (martin): A Documentary in Two Pieces, out Friday, March 29. It’s from Oscar-winning director Morgan Neville, who talked to ABC Audio about why he wanted to profile the living legend.

“He’s somebody who does things that can be really silly and stupid or really smart,” Neville explains. “And I kind of love the fact that he does high culture and low culture and kind of can do it all.”

One thing Neville didn’t ever figure on Martin doing was agreeing to make a documentary about himself, since “Steve had turned down the idea of doing a documentary for years and years and years.”

But, says Neville, “I think maybe because of COVID and maybe because he’s happier now, word got out that he maybe would be willing to talk to a documentary filmmaker. And so I went to his house and we had lunch, and we talked about kids and art and New York and, and at the end of it, he was like, OK.”

Whether you know Martin from his standup or movies like The Jerk or Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Neville believes you’ll find the doc relatable, noting, “I feel like a lot of the film isn’t about the celebrity stuff, it’s just about the human stuff.”

“How to figure out your creative voice and how does it connect with the culture and what you’re trying to do, and how to stick to your guns about your originality. And then the emotional questions of like, you know, does success bring happiness? And how do you actually work through your issues with your parents?” he explains.

Copyright © 2024, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.