I saw Butch Ellis at the 82 Club (where this photo was taken) back in the mid-1960s. All the girls at the 82 Club were gorgeous. A few years later when I worked for SDS based in LA I saw Butch many times working at The Queen Mary. Butch had moved more into comedy and was doing Phyllis Diller -- very well, I might add. Butch also did emcee work there, along with another queen whose name has slipped away from me. The Queen Mary drag show was hybrid, with some lip synch and some (less) live performance. Butch, like all of the girls at the 82 Club, did her own voice and that was true for her shows at The Queen Mary. While I don't have a copy of "The Rose", I'm pretty sure Butch was featured in the Drag Queen segment of the film. "Butch" probably used his actual name for the film credits. Maybe someone who has the film can check this out.
I found a really good video highlighting Butch along with other showgirls from The Queen Mary. The Queen who looks like Diana Ross was going to college during the day. After graduating she left the club to take a job in business as her female self. The club never found another "Diana Ross" even half as good.
I love that the most beautiful/convincing of those women in the Femulators picture has the name "Butch"!
ReplyDeleteJoey
joeypress.wordpress.com
I saw Butch Ellis at the 82 Club (where this photo was taken) back in the mid-1960s. All the girls at the 82 Club were gorgeous. A few years later when I worked for SDS based in LA I saw Butch many times working at The Queen Mary. Butch had moved more into comedy and was doing Phyllis Diller -- very well, I might add. Butch also did emcee work there, along with another queen whose name has slipped away from me. The Queen Mary drag show was hybrid, with some lip synch and some (less) live performance. Butch, like all of the girls at the 82 Club, did her own voice and that was true for her shows at The Queen Mary. While I don't have a copy of "The Rose", I'm pretty sure Butch was featured in the Drag Queen segment of the film. "Butch" probably used his actual name for the film credits. Maybe someone who has the film can check this out.
ReplyDeleteI found a really good video highlighting Butch along with other showgirls from The Queen Mary. The Queen who looks like Diana Ross was going to college during the day. After graduating she left the club to take a job in business as her female self. The club never found another "Diana Ross" even half as good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fii-DZ_3QA
Oh man, I didn't know men can be so hot too!
ReplyDelete