Death of an icon of the 1960s ... Carol Doda, one of the most famous strippers and the woman at the top of the topless craze, passed away.

I felt that I had to inform my husband right away; it’s that sort of news.

Yes. It was an age of gaudy excess in everything. Even we of the so called counter culture went over the top. And just try to find a motion picture or tv series shot in San Francisco that didn’t feature that huge silhouette of her towering over Broadway with the flashing red nipple. In keeping with the tradition of codgers eveywhere, I can announce that those were the days when the town had character along with the sailors to prove it. The excesses today are about rent and healthcare expenses and North Beach is as monotonous as any other schlocky tourist trap. There’s still good food there, if you know where to look. And Carol Doda remains a legend that will expand down the years as her dimensions did in life.

She said she avoided doing drugs, drinking heavily or prostitution. “Underneath this blonde hair, I do think logically,” she said. “I know how to survive.”

Amazing for a girl that started cocktail waitressing at the age of 14.