BenDeLaCreme
BenDeLaCreme | |
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![]() BenDeLaCreme performing in 2014 | |
Born | Benjamin Putnam September 24, 1981[1] |
Occupations | |
Musical career | |
Origin | Seattle, Washington, U.S. |
Website | bendelacreme |
BenDeLaCreme is the stage persona of Benjamin Putnam,[2] an American drag queen, burlesque performer, and actor based in Seattle, Washington. She is known for being a contestant on the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race and the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars. She is also known for her solo shows Ready To Be Committed, Terminally Delightful, Inferno A-Go-Go and Cosmos, and as co-creator and host of burlesque revues Freedom Fantasia and Homo for the Holidays.
Early life
Putnam grew up in Connecticut.[3] During his performance on Drag Race, Putnam revealed that he was bullied as a child for being overweight, "weird", and gay. His mother, who had been the positive voice to counteract this, died of cancer when he was 13 years old. Putnam was also open about his struggles with depression, revealing that his "terminally delightful" drag persona helped him overcome this.[4]
Artistry
Putnam's stage name is a play off the French term crème de la crème, which, translated, means "cream of the cream" or "best of the best", as well as a play off of his given first name.[5] He commonly refers to himself as either "Ben" or "DeLa" to distinguish between the private, male persona (Ben) and public, female one (DeLa).[5] He is also sometimes referred to as "Bendela", a take on the name Vendela. In an interview with Artes Magazine, he explained "I consider BenDeLaCreme to be the very best of Ben which is the name of the gentleman that I share a body with. DeLa is how I refer to the lady part of me. If you say Ben you're talking to that guy. If you say DeLa you are talking to me."[4]
Putnam credits his interest in drag and burlesque to seeing Varla Jean Merman's Holiday Ham in Boston in 2001. He was inspired by Merman's theatrical, character-driven approach to drag performance.[3] DeLa considers drag to be "an inherently political act", an opportunity to encourage people to think about complex issues related to gender and sexuality through humor and theatre.[2] Her solo shows combine comedy, song, burlesque, dance, and video clips (often DeLa herself in other roles).[4] DeLa's costume style is reminiscent of iconic 1950s pin-up girls. She cites dancer and actress Ann Miller as an early influence.[6]
Career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f5/BenDeLaCreme_All_Stars_1.jpg/170px-BenDeLaCreme_All_Stars_1.jpg)
Putnam's career began in Chicago in 2002, while he was pursuing a BFA degree at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Although his course of study focused on painting, he found himself more interested in performance art.[7][8]
Her first opportunities to perform came at drag revues at Chicago-area gay bars. Early on, she was exposed to a more explicitly feminist, message-driven side of drag culture by the Chicago Kings, a drag king troupe with which she frequently performed as the token "queen".[7] At the same time, DeLa made a conscious decision to present a more positive, cheerful persona during her shows, even when addressing serious subject matter such as prejudice, death, and depression.[4]
Since the mid-2000s, she has been based in Seattle, Washington. She is the hostess for The Atomic Bombshells burlesque troupe and teaches at Seattle's Academy of Burlesque.[9] DeLa has collaborated with many members of the Seattle burlesque community, including Drag Race Season 5 winner Jinkx Monsoon.[10] She runs the theatrical production company DeLouRue Presents, creating and performing in popular holiday revue shows Freedom Fantasia and Homo for the Holidays, with burlesque duo Kitten La Rue and Lou Henry Hoover, her friends and frequent collaborators.[6]
BenDeLaCreme's touring solo shows include Terminally Delightful, Cosmos, and Inferno A-Go-Go. She has also appeared in several films by filmmaker Wes Hurley including the documentary Waxie Moon, Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel, and as a narrator of the series Capitol Hill.[11]
At the 2019 MAC Awards, BenDeLaCreme was presented with an award in the category "Major Impersonation/Characterization/Drag Artist" for her show Inferno A-Go-Go.[12]
RuPaul's Drag Race
In 2014, BenDeLaCreme appeared in the sixth season of RuPaul's Drag Race, where she placed fifth and was voted Miss Congeniality by viewers.
In 2018, she appeared in the third season of RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars, where, after a record-breaking fifth challenge win in episode 6, she chose to eliminate herself, claiming she had already proven herself and that she felt the other remaining contestants wanted the crown more than she did. Many fans were shocked at this decision, as her track record heavily favored her to win the entire competition. DeLa is the only Drag Race contestant so far to win five challenges in a single season, win four episodes consecutively and to win the "Snatch Game" challenge on more than one season, and currently still has the best statistics of any queen to have ever competed in Drag Race.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role |
---|---|---|
2014 | Drag Becomes Her | Herself |
2015 | Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel | Herself |
2019 | Trixie Mattel: Moving Parts | Herself |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | RuPaul's Drag Race (season 6) | Herself | Contestant (5th place) |
2014 | RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked | Herself | |
2018 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars (season 3) | Herself | Contestant (6th place) - Self-Eliminated |
Web series
Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
2014 | Capitol Hill | Herself | Presenter | [13] |
2014 | Transformations | Herself | Guest | [14] |
2014 | Ring My Bell | Herself | Guest | [15] |
2018 | Whatcha Packin | Herself | Guest | [16] |
2018 | How To Makeup | Herself | Episode: "Unclockable Hairline | [17] |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award Giving Body | Category | Work | Results | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | The Queerties | Drag Royalty | Herself | Nominated | [18] |
References
- ^ @bendelacreme (15 March 2014). "haha! It's sept 24th!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ a b "RuPaul tour serves up enter-taint-ment - The Gateway". The Gateway. The Gateway: The Official Student Newspaper of the University of Alberta. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ a b "End Stage Happiness: BenDeLaCreme Makes Solo Provincetown Debut - Provincetown Magazine". Provincetown Magazine. Archived from the original on 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ a b c d "The Newly Crowned Miss Congeniality BenDeLaCreme Takes Over NYC with 'Terminally Delightful' New Show". Drag Official. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ a b "BenDeLaCreme: Going Solo in 'Terminally Delightful' - ARTES MAGAZINE". ARTES MAGAZINE. Archived from the original on 2015-11-17. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ a b "Q&A with Ben Delacreme from RuPaul's Drag Race". Sacramento Press. Archived from the original on 2015-10-18. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ a b "Homo for the Holidays: An Interview With Ben DeLaCreme". The Stranger. Archived from the original on 2015-11-23. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ Staff, Stranger. "The Lineup". The Stranger. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ "BenDeLaCreme Adds Performances to TERMINALLY DELIGHTFUL, 5/23-25". BroadwayWorld.com. Wisdom Digital Media. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ "Last Words With RuPaul's Drag Race's BenDeLaCreme | Advocate.com". www.advocate.com. 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
- ^ https://huffingtonpost.com/wes-hurley/jinkx-monsoon-colby-kelle_b_7930328.html
- ^ https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Anita-Gillette-BenDeLaCreme-and-Morre-Win-Big-at-MAC-Awards-20190327
- ^ BenDeLaCreme presents "Capitol Hill" Episode 1. YouTube. March 3, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- ^ James St. James and BenDeLaCreme: Transformations. YouTube. August 5, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- ^ BenDeLaCreme on Ring My Bell. YouTube. August 17, 2014. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- ^ Whatcha Packin: BenDeLaCreme | Season 3 Episode 6 | RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars. YouTube. March 5, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- ^ Ben De La Creme's Unclockable Hairline: HOW TO MAKEUP. YouTube. October 26, 2018. Retrieved October 27, 2019.
- ^ "'The 2020 Queerties". Cheat Sheet. February 28, 2020.