Darcelle XV
Darcelle XV | |
|---|---|
 Darcelle at Portland's Keller Fountain Park for the city's 2012 "Pedalpalooza" bike ride | |
| Born | Walter W. Cole November 16, 1930 Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Died | March 23, 2023 (aged 92) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupations |
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| Known for |
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| Notable work | Just Call Me Darcelle |
| Partner | Roxy Neuhardt (1969–2017) |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Spirit of Portland Award |
Darcelle XV (November 16, 1930 – March 23, 2023) was the stage name of Walter W. Cole, an American drag queen, entertainer, and cabaret owner and operator in Portland, Oregon. Guinness World Records had certified him as the oldest drag queen performer in 2016, with a career as an entertainer spanning 57 years at the time of his death.[1]
Biography
Cole was born on November 16, 1930,[2] and raised in the Linnton neighborhood of Portland, Oregon. He was described as a shy, "four-eyed sissy boy".[3] He served in the United States Armed Forces, and was discharged after the Korean War in the late 1950s,[1] after which he lived a "conventional" life in southeast Portland with his wife and two children. He worked at a Fred Meyer store and described himself as having "a crew cut and horn-rimmed glasses".[1] Cole used military funds to help start business ventures.
Cole first purchased a coffeehouse called Caffé Espresso, which later relocated and expanded to include a basement jazz club called Studio A. In 1967, he purchased a tavern in northwest Portland which became Darcelle XV Showplace.
Cole first wore a woman's dress at age 37. By 1969, he had developed the alter ego Darcelle and came out as gay. He left his wife and began a relationship with Roxy Neuhardt who worked alongside Darcelle at the Showplace as a choreographer, show director, performer, bookkeeper, office manager, and payroll accountant. The two remained together until Neuhardt's death in 2017.[4]
Cole died of natural causes at his home in Portland on March 23, 2023, at the age of 92.[5][6]
Darcelle
Cole, who had an interest in acting and had worked at Portland Civic Theater, developed his alter ego Darcelle and came out as gay.[1] The name "Darcelle" honors French actress and singer Denise Darcel.
Darcelle wore false eyelashes, jewelry, and shiny clothing. Cole described Darcelle's persona as "sequins on the eyelids, lots of feathers, big hair, big jewels, and lots of wisecracks".[3] Avoiding an Oregon law that prohibited the use of more than one instrument during performances, entertainers at Darcelle XV Showplace lip-synched. The business was fined after Neuhardt performed a "ballet-like adagio" with another man.[1]
Darcelle attended social functions throughout the city. In 2011, he served as grand marshal of the Portland Rose Festival's Starlight Parade and received the city's Spirit of Portland Award.[3][1] Cole and Sharon Knorr published his memoir, Just Call Me Darcelle, in 2011.[3] The book recalls Cole's life, including his childhood, military service, and being Darcelle.
Reception
Darcelle XV Showplace has hosted the longest-running drag show on the West Coast. In Kelly Clarke's review of Cole's memoir, she described him as "an energetic businessman whose desire for a life less ordinary catapulted him from a job at Fred Meyer to become the proprietor of a counterculture coffee shop, an after-hours jazz club, a rough-'n'-ready 'dyke bar' and, finally, a nationally known drag revue, without ever leaving Portland."[3] Darcelle XV was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world's oldest drag queen in 2016, then aged 85 years and 273 days.[2]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g Brown, Valerie. "Cole, Walter (Darcelle)". The Oregon Encyclopedia. Retrieved July 2, 2013.
- ^ a b "Oldest drag queen". Guinness World Records.
- ^ a b c d e Clarke, Kelly (February 16, 2011). "Walter Cole Just Call Me Darcelle: That's no lady; that's Darcelle". Willamette Week. Portland, Oregon. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
- ^ "Remembering Roxy L. Neuhardt". omegaservices.com. Retrieved 2023-02-12.
- ^ "Darcelle XV, Portland's drag queen superstar, dead at 92". kgw.com. March 23, 2023. Retrieved 2023-03-24.
- ^ "Portland's famous drag queen, Walter Cole, known as Darcelle, dies". KATU. American Broadcasting Network. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
External links
- Darcelle XV at IMDb
- http://www.opb.org/television/programs/oregonexperience/segment/darcelle-xv/ Archived 2017-06-27 at the Wayback Machine
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1930 births
- 2023 deaths
- 20th-century American LGBT people
- 20th-century American male actors
- 21st-century American LGBT people
- 21st-century American male actors
- American drag queens
- American gay actors
- American gay writers
- American LGBT military personnel
- American male stage actors
- American military personnel of the Korean War
- Gay military personnel
- LGBT people from Oregon
- Male actors from Portland, Oregon
- Writers from Portland, Oregon