Thursday, January 14, 2016

THE TALENTS OF JIM BAILEY

Female impersonator Jim Bailey’s onstage portrayals of famous entertainers were so uncanny — not just their voices but also the mannerisms, costumes and hairdos — that sometimes people thought they were seeing the actual women. There was once one couple in Las Vegas, seeing Mr. Bailey in his signature role as Judy Garland, took it a step further. The audience was from a plumber’s convention, wrote Bruce Vilanch in a 1997 article for the Advocate magazine. One plumber turned to his wife and said, "I thought she was dead." ‘She is,’ the wife replied, "This is the daughter."
 
Mr. Bailey, 77, last year when he passed away  on May 30 at a hospital in Los Angeles. The cause was a heart attack brought on by pneumonia.  He had been a Las Vegas staple and appeared on numerous television shows beginning in the 1970s, including “The Ed Sullivan Show” (as Garland, singing “The Man That Got Away”), “The Carol Burnett Show” (as Barbra Strei­sand, singing a duet with Burnett), “Here’s Lucy” (as Phyllis Diller), and (numerous times) “The Tonight Show. He did live, full-length concerts as his characters at major venues such as Carnegie Hall, the London Palladium and the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, where he appeared in 1972 as Garland and Streisand. I can't get enough of this guys talented acts!



14 comments:

  1. hello darling, thank you for the wonderful comments on my blog. Sorry for the extended delay in responding. Hope you're having a great New Year. I'm loving the Drag Queens... aren't they like exotic birds of paradise with their wonderful plumage? Fanny xxx

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    1. Greeting Fanny! I have been saving drag related items just for this month! Glad your enjoying them.

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  2. I was lucky enough to see this Master of Impersonation several times in Las Vegas early on in his career, once in mid-career as Barbra, and once in Los Angeles as Judy. Incredible talent. Definitely one of the greats in the genre, and sad that he's left us.

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  3. I remember him well on all the variety shows; spot on with each roll. RIP, jim.

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  4. No body but, No body does Diller like Bailey !!!! Amazing

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  5. This man is beyond brilliant! How could that not be the real Phyllis Diller! All his impressions were very spot on... Incredible!

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  6. The daughter? Thank you for the morning laughter as I get up off the floor.

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  7. Excellent, one of the most brilliant take offs of someone ive EVER seen

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  8. Jim Bailey....what a talent. This is the best Phylis Diller and Judy Garland ever. His range is phenominal. Absolute quality. Saw him do Barbra and it was sensational. Bravo!!!

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  9. YEP...One of his best!

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  10. The first time I saw him do Judy Garland was on the Merv Griffin Show. It was so accurate it was shocking. It was almost like Judy had risen from the dead. I've never been more knocked out by any performance.

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  11. Good lord is hr amazing!!!!!!

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  12. I was always amazed by Jim Bailey. Such a fabulous performer ... his Judy was the best!

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  13. I could really get behind watching his videos all day. He was that good.

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Go ahead darling, tell me something fabulous!