Last Madam of Original Inspiration for BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS Dies at 84

Edna Milton Chadwell, the last living madam of the Chicken Ranch brothel that inspired the Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas died on February 25, DailyMail reports. She was in the hospital at the time after a car accident put her there in October. 

According to Chadwell's nephew, she began work at the Ranch in 1952, later became manager, and eventually bought the business, running it until it shut down in 1973. A television report led the Texas governor to order the closing of the brothel. She married and moved to Arizona. Chadwell died at age 84 and is survived by two Brothers and Sisters, DailyMail reports.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas recounts the good times and the demise of the Chicken Ranch, known since the 1850s as one of the better pleasure palaces in all of Texas. Governors, senators, mayors and even victorious college football teams frequent Miss Mona's cozy bordello until that puritan nemesis Watchdog focuses his television cameras and his righteous indignation on the institution.