Post by Tanith Messenger on Jun 1, 2009 13:51:37 GMT
Legendary British drag act Danny La Rue has died at the age of 81.
The cabaret entertainer spent more than half a century on stage and was most famous for his impersonations of maidens of the stature of Marlene Dietrich, Margaret Thatcher and Zsa Zsa Gabor. His spokesperson said that La Rue died peacefully in his sleep, after suffering from cancer, at his home in Kent.
Born Daniel Patrick Carroll in Ireland in 1927, Danny La Rue first donned wig and eyelashes during a navy concert party in Singapore at the end of the second world war. La Rue got his stage name in the early days but disliked being called a drag artist, preferring the title "comic in a frock". As La Rue's stage act grew even bigger, he opened his own nightclub in Hanover Square in 1964.
The venture was a huge success, attracting more than 13,000 members and shooting La Rue to fame. Judy Garland, Warren Beatty, Shirley Bassey, Noël Coward, Zsa Zsa Gabor and Elizabeth Taylor were all patrons.
He began to appear in pantomime in the 1960s and made theatrical history by becoming the first man to play a female role in a major musical when he took on the part of Dolly in Hello Dolly!
La Rue went on to appear in dozens of TV shows, including The Good Old Days, Tonight With Danny La Rue and the Royal Variety Performance.
La Rue was appointed an OBE in 2002, and performed more than 30 times at Buckingham Palace. He was the first female impersonator to appear at the Royal Variety Performance for the Queen.
Noël Coward once described La Rue as "the most professional, most witty and most utterly charming man in the business", while Bob Hope described him as "the most glamorous woman in the world".
The Guardian
His website www.dannylarue.com
