MS FRANCIS

I have always been one of those queens who, when in their youth, was always more comfortable, and enjoyed time with people older than myself. Even in my 20,s up to the present time, I have many friends razz me for talking to older people and men, within the gay community, but only in jesting. But it used to piss me off when I would overhear younger queens making fun of the older queens who would still go out, or they would always say something along the lines of Why would anyone want to talk to them? Which is why I feel the new generation of LGBT do not know their history, miss out, and a step further, know just the basics. It always blew my mind why any young queen wouldn't want to talk with the elders of our community, to gain knowledge and hear first-hand stories from these folks that you won't get from books or a website. I've had many older friends over the years, or older men I'd talk to in bars, or resorts, that told me some pretty mind-blowing stories. One friend I used to visit in the Village even lived for a brief time over Quetin Crisp. Of course, at the time, he no idea who it was, till I visited once and told him who it was. This all reminded me the other day of a guy named Wesley I met years ago, before ever moving to Bucks County in 2000. I was walking after dinner in Harrisburg the other night, and passed his old house and it reminded me of Wesley. Actually, his name was Benedict Wesley Trautwein.

I recall walking one time and passing by and saying hi. He paused and asked excuse me, and I explained that I had just said hi to him. He looked puzzled and said that no one talked to him let alone give him the time of day. By this time, Wesley was already well into his late 80's, was, huh, extremely colorful and eccentrically dressed, and not "kept up" with hygiene. If you didn't know he lived on the corner, I'm sure people must have thought he was homeless. He could always be seen walking his cocker spaniel, who could also barley walk and when they crossed a street, it was like watching Delilah Stag from Jam and Jerusalem walking. After some walks over time, I got to know Wesley and was several times invited in his house. I was careful as at times, it was like Hoarders. I learned over time he was born in Waldwick NJ. Graduated from the former Harrisburg Catholic High School with honors and was a retired clerk for the PA State Department of Revenue. But what caught this young queen's attention was when he told me of his time as a very accomplished female impersonator in nights clubs all over the country, but ended up mostly in clubs from New Orleans up to Baltimore, before finally becoming a member of the legendary and infamous Jewel Box Revue from 1932 to 1975 and went by the name Ms. Francis Parker. He would regale stories about him and the other "girls", like Laverne Cummings, Lynne Carter, Gita Gilmore, Ms. Titanic, Guilda, and the legendary Storme De Laviere. How could anyone not want to get firsthand accounts of all this? Not to mention the handsome and stunning Ricki Raymonde, who was famous at the time for his opera soprano voice. Sounds like the two hit it off quite well if you know what I'm saying. After a long career with the revue, he moved back to Harrisburg in 77, where he continued to perform and be a regular, at local bars and clubs, ones I have only ever heard of, and were gone before my time, like Johnny Kobler's, The Clock Bar, La Rose Rouge, La Cage, Pegasus and the only one I was familiar with, The Neptune Lounge. Francis I was told was often seen dressed in high glamour, and over the top ensembles for shows, to which the town had never seen. I always found him and his past fascinating because when I befriended him, he was but a former shell of himself and nearly wiped out financially, and often had home health coming in to tend to him and do housekeeping. And girl...... she had some series memorabilia up in his house let me tell you. He was as fascinated by me as I was him. He was tickled that this twink talking to him was also into drag and would be up and coming.  On what would be one of the last visits we had, he bequeathed a pair of his earrings to go with a brown evening gown I had made for an upcoming club party. I was touched beyond belief, and I still have the earrings to this day and will not part with them.

After about 5 of our visits, I stopped going for a while, because upon leaving one night, one of Francis's neighbors, a guy name Joel had grabbed me and dragged me into an alley and started accosting me. When I finally gave in and agreed to go to his house, I booked and made tracks back to my apartment...and never did my after dark visits to Francis's house again for a few weeks. She later on our next visit told me,that Joel had issues, was badly molested as a child and was now doing the same and was even apparently on probation and in therapy for it. Time passed, and I never did see Francis again, as his health went further downhill, and he got even more reclusive than before, and would only be seen walking his dog and that was it. Wouldn't let anyone in his house. It wasn't till I moved away that word got to me that Francis passed at almost 90 in October of 2003.

My point of this post is to not limit yourself to only talk to the in crowd or the pretty boys, the fishy queens... and don't box yourself in, and not talk to someone just because they are old and past their prime.  Here was a very interesting person with some wonderful stories from a legendary piece of the LGBT ...The Jewel Box Revue, at a time when being seen outside of the revue in drag was a huge no no, not to mention knew many of the Stonewall girls and Storme. I will always treasure those few get togethers we had and every time I wore, or get out those earrings, Ms. Francis Parker will be remembered.

Happy Pride.

TRAILBLAZERS

 

The LGBTQ community is one of strength, resilience and beauty. As we celebrate Pride this month and always in June it's important to remember those of the Stonewall Uprising among many others who were brave enough to be outspoken, and brave enough to live their lives and not be hushed. Today, as we celebrate Pride, we know that recognizing a community so beautiful, diverse, and resilient isn't just reserved for one month of the year, because a community isn't reserved for a moment in time because creating an inclusive and equitable society is not reserved for a moment in time. It's an ongoing fight for a world where all people-are valued and treated with respect. In celebration of the month, here is some of my list of trailblazers we should know, who came before us, and helped pave the way for getting us today a better life, acceptance, and civil rights in some form or other, and refused to run and hide. You can also check out this month's In Three Words too.

Marsha P Johnson

Miss Marsha was right on the frontline of the Stonewall Uprising and was one of the most vocal that night when the raid took place. She took no shit. Though she was practically one step from a street person, she was always very vocal and involved in civil rights and formed the Gay Liberation Front. Marsha was extremely frustrated with the absence of the trans community's rights in the conversation. Her and good friend Slyvia Rivera were both the founders of the Street Transvestite Activists Revolutionaries, a safe place and home for young trans who lived on the street.

Slyvia Rivera

I'm amazed at how many don't know who she is. She has a unique place in LGBT history as not only a trans woman but also a Latina who helped lead the charge on the night of the Stonewall riots in NYC. While Rivera had a very turbulent life, she always led charges, protests, would never back down and was quoted as saying "I'm not missing a moment of this-it's the revolution!" Yet she remains little known even in our community, and at one point was even whitewashed out of a recent movie about Stonewall in favor of a fictional white character. Mind you she was only 19 when she and Marsha founded the STAR home.

Bayard Rustin

Bayard was an openly gay Black man, and first worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr in the civils rights movement before turning his attention to LGBT rights. In fact, he was a key player in organizing the March on Washington. As with most societal issues, he brought to light the intersectionality of economic equality within the civil rights movement and the need for social rights for the LGBT.

Harvey Milk

Harvey Milk finally proved a gay man could get elected...and made history when he became one of the first openly gay officials in the US in 1977 when he was elected to San Francisco's Board of Supervisors...and went to do a lot of good things for the community till his assassination.

Barbara Gittings

Hailed as being one of the longest-serving and the most fearless activists in the lesbian community, Gittings founded the New York chapter of The Daughters of Bilitis, picketed the White House in the 60's numerous times, and set up and helped counsel gay people who were discriminated by the government.

Jewel Box Revue

WAY before Drag Race there was the spectacular Jewel Box Revue. In 1939, during a time when gay people were viewed as abhorrent subversive and a threat to society, two gay lovers, Danny Brown and Doc Benner created and produced America's first racially and in your face inclusive traveling revue of all female impersonators and drag queens. Surprisingly it was a hit, and tickets were often hard to get and sold out. Many famous people were often seen in its audiences. The revue launched and made nationally famous the careers of Laverne Cummings, Lynne Carter, Mr. Titanic, Jan Britton, and the fabulous Guilda, who later took Paris by storm. Not to mention Storme De Laviere, the only female who was a drag king with the revue. I've done to many posts to mention about the Jewel Box.

Larry Kramer

Larry Kramer was a high-profile, high-volume, one-man crusade against the AIDS disease and a titan of activism and protest. Kramer was known as the founder of Act-Up, whose collective organizing pushed for more AIDS drugs research and an end to discrimination against the gay community. When he founded the organization in 1987, the AIDS epidemic was devasting the gay community.

Gladys Bentley

Gladys was a wildly popular singer, pianist and entertainer during the Harlem Renaissance and her career skyrocketed at Harry Hansberry's Clam House, a speak easy in the 1920's. But this Blues singers, who often sang her own raunchy lyrics to popular songs, was also black, lesbian, tough, and one of the very first drag kings around, dressing as a man 24/7 and reportedly married her lover publicly in 1931. Enough said.

Barbara Jordan

In 1972, Jordan became the first southern black female, and closeted Lesbian elected to the US House of Representatives. Although she never came out publicly, those she knew and worked , and friends and family, were aware, and she was with her partner Nancy Earl for 20 years. Yet we don't hear of her extraordinary accomplishment.

April Ashley

April Ashley was a pioneering model, socialite and a major key figure in trans history. She is well known for being outed in the press in the early 60's for her divorce case, and her work towards transgender equality when little was even known about it. In the 30's she was among one of the earliest people known to have had sex reassignment surgery. Now that is making new territory not to mention brave.

Allan Horsfall

These days he's often called the grandfather of the gay rights movement, for openly campaigning as a gay man when homosexuality was still extremely illegal. In 1964 he and a group of friends set up the North West Homosexual Law Reform Committee, even giving out his home address as the base for the organization. To be SO open at that time was very brave.

We must always remember them and their work and bravery.

Happy Pride!!!!!

DRAG IS EMERGING

In the book Drag, Baker says cross-dressing remained a pervasive part of theater culture until the late 19th century, when it began to take a new form. Female impersonators developed their own vaudeville acts, wherein they created caricatures of women. Some of the first queen were the likes of Julian Eltinge, Barbette and Marcel Dunchamp, who started their own highly entertaining shows and became popular acts in the numerous vaudeville theatres across America from the turn of the 19th Century until the late 1930s. 

This moment in time birthed such mocking personas as the "wench" and the "primadonna." But in order to find the first iterations of the "drag queen" as we know her today, we have to pinpoint the moment drag culture became inextricably linked with the gay community, which some believe  didn't really happen until the 1930s. Before then, the scientific field of sexology was forming and began to talk about the 'third sex, The third sex was discussed as a feminine man or a masculine woman who desires members of the same sex. By the 1930s this scientific conversation had worked its way into the popular culture and linked drag with homosexuality. This connection marked the switch: drag culture no longer belonged to straight, white men. Can you believe that??? In this moment, we witness the emergence of the first true drag queens. It was then in the mid 30's that different kinds of drag queens occurred at the time. While other female impersonators existed, the drag queens were integral to the new, gay-friendly spaces that began to pop up. Queens like Jackie Jackson, Gilda, April Stevens,  Jose Sarria and the girls of the infamous Jewel Box Revue, were among the first to start all drag revues and shows in little hidden clubs and taking  drag in a new direction. 

The modern iteration of the drag queen developed in these underground clubs over the next handful of decades. Meanwhile, in the public eye, female impersonation was given a comedic edge; cross-dressing was portrayed in film and TV as a punchline, or an object of strangeness. One classic example is Some Like It Hot, which follows a farcical, almost Shakespearean story of two men posing as women. In Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho, Norman Bates is a deranged man who dresses as his mother before killing people. Who could forget the eerie shrieks of the score as the shower curtain pulls back to reveal the poorly styled wig on Norman Bates's head?

Now  venturing into the late 20th century, we can see how drag queens finally began to become a more visible part of arts and culture. Drag was a powerful movement in NYC during the 1980s and 1990s, due in large part to the explosively experimental East Village performance scene, and its products such as the Pyramid Club and the annual Wigstock drag festival. At this point, drag queens were amassing large followings. Some of the first drag icons emerged: Divine was a legend out of Baltimore who frequently worked with director John Waters. 

There was something striking about a 300-pound drag queen who gave no fucks — Divine's incredible presence even served as inspiration for Ursula the Sea Witch in The Little Mermaid. According to the story, none of the character designs for Ursula worked, until an animator named drew a vampy overweight matron who everyone agreed looked a lot like Divine. And speaking of Wigstock, Lady Bunny is the founder and creator of the event.

 Lady Bunny once told the story of her first performance in NYC, which speaks to a drag queen's complete willingness to make a fool of herself. A drag queen challenges you to laugh with her, and laugh at her. That's what makes queens so alluring and captivating.  Lady Bunny and Wigstock were what got me inspired into drag... as they captured the fierce, unyielding spirit of someone who is so sure of who they are and what they're doing that nothing can drag them down. RuPaul, who also came from Atlanta with Lady Bunny, both swung open the doors of drag in New York in a big way.

 There are many more historic queens: Australia's Dame Edna, Pepper LaBeija ,often referred to as the Queen of Harlem Drag Balls), and Flawless Sabrina. And of course, I'd be remiss if I didn't also say that Pepper La Beija and the ball culture didn't also bring about some new style of queens and performance style.

 Paris Is Burning, chronicled the aforementioned Harlem drag balls, where Pepper LeBeija reigned supreme. As we descend into this unfamiliar world, we witnessed the true artistry of a drag ball, which was like a sporting event for the LGBTQ+ community. It is also where the term reading, shade, and spilling the t came from. These balls marked a safe space for individuals to express themselves and find escape, I also firmly believe indirectly it also helped slur the "club kid" where the like of the legendary Leigh Bowery, Richie Rich and Amanda Lepore were bore.

JEWEL BOX OF GLAMOUR

It wouldn't be a Drag History Month without thinking about the great divas and the touring troupe, The Jewel Box Revue. The Jewel Box Revue was a famous drag/female impersonator touring company that began in 1939 and ran well into the late 1960s. Sort of a all drag Lawrence Welk if you will. Danny Brown and Doc Benner were lovers and longtime producers of the revue, and were said to be pretty tough customers who never backed down from a fight and were known to run a very tight ship. They were hard on their employees but could be brutal to anyone who messed with “their girls.”

Creating America’s first gay community was not what Danny and Doc initially had in mind when they created the revue. They felt that Vaudeville had sidelined female impersonation acts into little more than burlesque shows, and both were passionate about reviving drag as an art form. Danny and Doc also intentionally catered the show to a heterosexual audience and tried their best to be viewed as legitimate entertainment by locals and authorities, to stay clear of any legal charges of sexual deviance. But behind the protective spin of publicity, it cannot be denied that the revue fostered one of the first gay-positive communities in America, if not the first. It was a place where “gayness” was accepted before the concept of gay-identity had even been fully conceived. Many of the performers viewed Danny and Doc not only as his bosses but as no-nonsense parental figures. Danny and Doc took great efforts to protect their girls and the other members of the revue from the often brutal homophobic realities of life in the pre-Stonewall era.

The show became incredibly popular throughout the United States. Stars of the revue such as Mr. Lynne Carter, whose talent and skill as a dancer was legendary, became quite famous and included the Rat Packer and toe-tapper Sammy Davis Jr. as a fan. The drag revue was most often comprised of “25 Men & One Girl.” The one girl was none other than Miss Storme DeLaviere who served as the sole male impersonator for the revue. Storme would garner iconic status within the LGBT community year later in 1969 for being one of the first people to fight back against police officers during the raid on the Stonewall Inn. Despite government crackdowns against gay performers and female impersonators, the revue successfully toured America and Canada anyway, for nearly 30 years. At the height of its popularity the revue headlined at the famed Apollo Theater in Harlem to rave reviews.

I think it's interesting though that some of the drag queens back in the day used male names instead of the campy names we now have today. It had something to do with letting the audience know they were in fact men. Some of the notable divas performing there.

LaVern Cummings was a long-time performer in the traveling troupe of The Jewel Box. Cumming's career seems to have spanned the post-war period into the sixties if you judge by her clothing and hair.

Gita Gilmore was one of the original members of the revue and often impersonated Mae West. Miss West even invited Gita to a show once and was asked backstage to meet the bombshell herself.

Ricky Renee went on to become one of the most well known Jewel Box dancers and can still be seen performing in Europe where she now resides.

Ricki Raymonde had a most amazing operatic voice and could sing a high C, then immediately drop to a deep baritone which would gasp audiences.

The talented Barry Scott, who often left the audience in gasp with his beauty, coiffures, fashion and singing talents.

Jane Korday was with the Jewel Box longer than any other member and was known as the boy with the million dollar legs and was also the revue's hair dresser. Some of the other notables were Don Marshall who was one of the few black men performing in drag at the time, Mr Titanic who was every one's favorite blond bombshells, and Chunga Ochoa who was the featured dancer and choreographer for the review.

In the end Danny Brown and Doc Benner were successful and saw their dreams of reviving female impersonation as an art form come to fruition. The Jewel Box Revue became very successful and toured throughout the country for over three decades, even headlining at famed venues like the Apollo in New York City. But their contributions resonate far beyond their impacts on the field of female impersonation. In a very real sense Danny and Doc are the true godfathers of the modern gay community. The show was billed as “25 Men and 1 Woman,” but hundreds of gay entertainers and female impersonator would come to work with the revue over the years, and their influence on the burgeoning gay rights movement still resonates to this very day, one particular performer somewhat more so than others. The African-American lesbian drag king Storme Delarvarie was the “1 Woman” of the Jewel Box Revue.

She spent decades living, working and traveling with Danny and Doc’s tough but protective community of touring entertainers. Those experiences and life lessons would prove invaluable in Storme’s later life, and her actions continue to inspire generations of gay people. Storme Delarvarie is credited as being one of the first people to bravely fight back against the police as they raided the Stonewall Inn in New York City on the night of June 27, 1969. Her courage helped to spark a riot that begat the modern gay rights movement. She sadly has since passed back in 2014, as many of the performers have. I do get the feeling though,somewhere out there in the cosmos, Danny Brown and Doc Benner couldn’t be prouder.

DRAG NOSTALGIA II

Picking up where we left off was the beginning of the early 1900's . It was a mainstream lark for a straight man to put on a dress and “play act” as a woman. It was not always associated with "sexual deviancy."

Julian Eltinge was even so popular, and gaining more notice... that he launched his own magazine full of wardrobe and makeup advice for biological women. And his performances were being sold out.

Florin, pictured here, was another well renowned “female impersonator” in Paris, where there was also a flourishing drag scene.

1916: Novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald performed in drag during a college performance of a musical he co-wrote.

1920: Drag becomes more closely aligned with the LGBT community with the advent of “drag balls,” which were enormous LGBT parties where most men dressed in drag.

As the 1920s progressed, the drag balls gained more and more cultural attention, eventually starting a period called the “Pansy Craze.” New York, Berlin, Paris, and London embraced the Pansy Craze and performers like Rae Bourbon (pictured below).

This period lasted from the 1920s through the end of prohibition.

Noted drag queen Harry S. Franklyn was another popular performer during the Pansy Craze of the 1920s.

Vander Clyde, or “Barbette,” was a huge vaudevillian sensation. She traveled around the States and Europe with her infamous aerial act, which featured death-defying trapeze stunts in full drag. At the end of her act she would remove her wig and strike a masculine pose. I have read her story in Barbette...what an entertaining read.

Mainstream society was still enjoying comedic drag queens such as Frances and Lonas though balls were emphasizing more glamour and lifestyle.

 By the time the 1930's hit, Female impersonators, such as Billy Richards, had to keep up their styles and trends as much as any other woman. It could be an expensive career.

Drag's place in society continued to evolve as the '30s turned into the '40s. This infamous photo of a drag queen being arrested shows how the mere act of cross-dressing could still be a punishable offense.

Though the perceived threat of homosexuals was becoming more and more taboo in society, female impersonators still had a place in entertainment.

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During a time when gay people were viewed as abhorrent subversives and a threat to society, two gay lovers, Danny Brown and Doc Benner, created and produced America’s first racially inclusive traveling revue of female impersonators. It was staffed almost entirely by gay men and one gay woman and was known as the fabulous Jewel Box Revue. In many ways it was America’s first gay community.

1940s: Drag balls went further and further underground to avoid police harassment. The days of the “Pansy Craze” were no more. By 1941 however, as long as the cross-dressing was done for the purpose of entertainment, the public could handle men in dresses.