O'Neill, working under her given name, Elaine Nolan, served on the board of the Hempstead Chamber of Commerce and was the president of the Country Club Estates Civic Association. She also was a member of the Nassau County Historical Society, Hofstra University Club, and Hempstead Historical Society. She was an avid supporter of many animal, environmental, and veteran's organizations.
[1965] I was to do a sequence at a nudist camp and so was asked by the director to make a tour of inspection of several in order to find a suitable locale with a swimming pool the right size for my nude veil dance. I didn't know anything about nudist camps or where they were situated so I telephoned a friend in Miami and told him of my predicament. ... Shyly at first, but later with real enthusiasm, I discovered after I had played a few games [of volleyball] that this was wholesome fun and really a healthy, zestful way to relax. I was also awakened to a new sense of values. These people [at the nudist camp] really have something, for when speaking to a stranger in the altogether your eyes never leave his face and you are much more able to relate."
ट्रेडमार्क
She would bestow garters to select audience members who attended her burlesque shows.
