Alex Carson
The adult industry is a mystery to us all and perhaps for many of us, a guilty pleasure. America is also a land of opportunity for many immigrants. So, what happens when an immigrant gets involved in the seedy world of adult entertainment?
Enter Chesty Morgan. She was famous for her record-breaking bust but the full story behind her life, career, and marriages are what’s really interesting. Now in her eighties, she’s withdrawn from the public eye but we can’t forget about the life she’s lived.
FactsVerse is glad to bring you the captivating story of how a Polish orphan went onto becoming one of the biggest stars in the American adult industry. Trouble followed her wherever she went.
Chesty Morgan’s Record-Breaking Bust Doesn’t Tell Her Full Story. Join FactsVerse to learn more about her incredible life, career, and the darkness behind the glamour…
CHESTY MORGAN’S EARLY LIFE AND CAREER
The girl who would grow up to be known as Chesty Morgan was born as Sarah Wajc and later became Ilana Wajc. She was born near Warsaw, Poland on October 15, 1937. Her Jewish parents were killed when the Nazis had invaded Poland and young Ilana grew up in an orphanage. Owing to her Jewish heritage, she was sent to live in Israel following the end of the Second World War and she lived in several orphanages, before eventually settling in a kibbutz in the country.
She, naturally, doesn’t remember much of her childhood or of her parents.
She does remember flashes, however. She remembered that her parents would try to evade the Nazis and that the family lived on scraps of bread each day. She remembers when her mother was captured by the Nazis and later learned that she was killed. She remembers how her father kept hiding until he too was captured.
Fast-forward to when Ilana lived on a kibbutz in Israel. She was older now and she had to work hard in order to earn money and continue living on the kibbutz. She began learning independence and how to fend for herself.
Eventually, she met an American man also of Polish origin named Joseph Wilczkowski. They moved to New York and it was in America where she’d spend the remainder of her life and where she still lives today. But America wasn’t just the place where she’d live as Joseph’s wife. It would also be the place where she’d become a big star. America is often seen as a land of opportunity and especially for immigrants. Ilana Wajc has such a story.
It was in America, where Ilana Wajc became Chesty Morgan…
But, while this career began in the 1970s, it was in the 1960s that Ilana experienced a traumatic event. Her husband Joe was murdered in 1966. There had been a robbery in Brooklyn and Joe was murdered by the thieves. He was also a Polish refugee like Ilana and his difficult life ended in tragedy.
Ilana, now known as Lilian, was traumatized and even contemplated suicide. America had become a place of bliss for her – but it had now become hell just like her previous life.
But she was encouraged to find a way to support herself and take her mind off Joe’s murder. It was then, when Lilian decided to pursue a career of her own…
She was a beautiful woman and the 60s had made way for a more liberal America – one where beautiful women could capitalize on their beauty – and especially their bodies. This opened the door for Lilian to become Chesty Morgan.
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THE LIFE AND TIMES OF CHESTY MORGAN
In the 1970s, Lillian became a stripper and her success was instant. She became especially known for her large breasts and the fact that she didn’t strip below the waist. This earned her the nickname “Chesty Morgan” and she’s been known by this name ever since.
But many people knew about Chesty Morgan’s true identity. You see, her husband Joe’s murder wasn’t just an ordinary murder that got lost somewhere in the many pages of a local newspaper. On the front page of almost every newspaper in town, we learned of The Icebox Murders.
Joe and his business partners were murdered in their butcher shop and money was stolen from the register. Joe’s photograph was plastered over the newspapers as was a grieving Lilian. Here was this woman who was born into tragic circumstances and was now facing more tragic circumstances once again after moving to America.
But as Chesty Morgan, life was becoming better for Lilian. She was now becoming part of the high society and the money she made was great. She also occasionally got in trouble with the law as she allowed men to touch her breasts, which wasn’t allowed and certainly wasn’t the norm for the time.
She was now featured in the newspapers – not as Joe’s grieving widow but as one of the hottest strippers in town. Photographs of her large and bare breasts became a favorite of newspaper publishing companies. Upon reflection, she states that she was glad to have entered this line of work as it made her lots of money.
Sometimes, the newspapers would critique her and state that she was overrated or that she couldn’t dance well. But she didn’t care. She got customers to come to the clubs and they paid good money to see her. She’d regularly make at least 3 grand per week and her only real complaint was the occasional back pain she felt.
She was now a celebrity. Here was a girl who was orphaned as her parents had been murdered by Nazis. She later became a widow when her husband, himself a refugee, was murdered in cold blood. And now, her large breasts were making her a fortune and bringing her fame. She was the embodiment of the great and sometimes absurd American Dream.
While the 1970s had no shortage of beautiful women we can remember – Chesty Morgan stood out, in more ways than one.
She was almost a throwback from the pinup girls of previous decades and she was different from the Playboy Playmates that American men had become accustomed to. And though she wasn’t a professional actress, she certainly caught the eye of a few filmmakers. One wonders how she would have been received if she appeared in many more films.
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CHESTY MORGAN’S RECORD-BREAKING BUST DOESN’T TELL HER FULL STORY
Chesty Morgan caught the attention of filmmaker Doris Wishman – known for her nudist exploitation films.
She cast Chesty Morgan in her film Deadly Weapons and Double Agent 73. She starred in both films and her breasts were used as weapons to fight off the bad guys in both films. It sounds absurd but these exploitation films were all the rage in the 1970s and Chesty Morgan couldn’t have entered the industry at a better time.
But it wasn’t just B-grade filmmakers who found her endearing. Federico Fellini filmed her in his film Casanova – though her scenes were eventually removed from the final film. Filmmaker John Waters was fascinated by her and used some clips from her work with Doris Wishman in his film Serial Mom. He was also planning to cast her in a film called Flamingoes Forever – though the film was never made.
Around this time, Chesty Morgan married Dick Stello – the famous Major League Baseball umpire. They were married for 5 years until their divorce – though they remained close friends. Sadly, Chesty Morgan’s daughter Eva died in a car crash in 1984 – once again bringing tragedy to her life.
She was still performing as a stripper at the time and continued her career throughout the 80s. Her final act as a stripper was in 1991 when she entertained American troops during the Persian Gulf War.
She continued to have success and also got into trouble with the law – occasionally having to be taken to court because of exposing her body and allowing men to touch her. During one incident in the 1980s, two undercover cops touched her breasts and this caused the theater to lose its license. She was taken to court and won sympathy as well as lots of publicity, but lost the case. Her finances took a hit during this time but she managed to recover. She stated that it was her right to expose her breasts and allow others to touch them.
In 1987, Dick Stello died in an accident and this tragedy traumatized Chesty Morgan once again. She hadn’t just lost her ex-husband but also one of her best friends. After her retirement in 1991, she settled in Florida.
She’s mostly been out of the spotlight since then though she gave an extensive interview to The Rialto Report in 2022. Despite the challenges and traumatic events she’s had in her life, she’s grateful. She enjoys time in Florida with her friends and is involved in real estate – often receiving praise from her tenants.
She’s truly grateful to America and the opportunities and freedoms the country has given her. For her, “America is the best country in the world.”
Without a doubt, the story of Chesty Morgan is an American story unlike any other.
So, now let’s hear from you:
Are you a fan of Chesty Morgan? Did you know these interesting facts about her life and career?
Her life has had its ups and downs and it was high time we told her full story.
And now, here’s what we want to know:
Do you think that any woman that enters the adult industry is bound to go on a downward spiral?
Or is it possible to eventually peacefully retire and not suffer from the industry?
