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David de Alba is one of the last survivors of the golden era of female impersonation. Unlike most female impersonators, Mr. de Alba uses his own femme voice on stage. He is known for his outstanding live impersonations of Judy Garland at the world famous Finocchio Club and on countless TV appearances. He is also a celebrity Interviewer and recording artist.
David de Alba, the Cuban Legend who performed at the world famous Finocchio Club in the 1970s and ’80s brought his show to the Winchester Theatre at the Dondero Cultural Centre in Las Vegas on April 1, 2023. The show was called, If I Can Turn Back Time. David did several musical numbers with anecdotes and stories from his childhood through to the present day. Here are the musical highlights from the show. The full show will premier here on his YouTube channel later this year.
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Paul Lavern Cummings, a contemporary female impersonation performer of David de Alba’s, passed away in Las Vegas, Nevada last week as the result of an auto accident. He was born on August 17, 1927. David de Alba wrote the following tribute before Paul/Lavern passed away and Paul/Lavern picked the photos we present above. For more […]
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Aleshia Bravard, a trans woman who got her start in show business working as a female impersonator before having GRS in 1962 passed away on July 1 of this year. After her surgery she returned to her home state of Tennessee and got a degree in the arts from Middle Tennessee State. She then worked as a theater professor and eventually returned to California to pursue and acting career with appearances on numerous shows from The Red Skelton Show to The Partridge Family, Night Gallery and many more. In 2001 she wrote her autobiography and did a sequel in 2010. Before she passed away our own David de Alba did an in-depth interview with her. We present it here with David’s permission.
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David de Alba, the Cuban Legend, is not only a female impersonator par excellance but also has conducted many interview with other performers who practice the art of impersonation and female illusion. Today David has allowed us to reprint an interview with Criselda Crescini, a performer from the Philippines who now lives and works in Germany. Ms. Cresini is a star of the European drag world. David has a show coming up in Las Vega on April 24. We include details of that appearance at the end of the Cresini interview.
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The Cuban Legend, David de Alba, made his name in the female impersonation world when he performed at the legendary San Francisco nightclub Finocchio’s. David is the last of the Finocchio’s stars to still be performing. Last month he did a show in Las Vegas, where he resides, and there was a video camera recording […]
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In May of 2000 David de Alba went to see Steven Wayne in the La Cage Revue in Las Vegas and was mesmerized by his perfectionism performing as Cher and Celine Dion. David was also impressed with Wayne’s appearance, from the styling of the wigs he wore to his make-up, and of course his costuming. That’s why David conducted this interview that he has kindly allowed us to re-publish today on TGF.
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David de Alba graciously allows us to re-publish his celebrity interviews. In October of 2000 David conducted the following interview with Carmen. Carmen became gravely ill early in 2003 and passed away on in March of 2003 at the early age of 52. David’s interview ensures that the name of this talented performer will live on.
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David de Alba graciously allows us to re-publish his celebrity interviews. Today we bring you his interview with Joan Rivers favorite Joan Rivers impersonator, Gary Dee. The interview was conducted in the early 2000s while Gary Dee was living and performing in Aruba. Imagine we are transported to the beautiful Island of Aruba in the […]
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David de Alba interviewed The Lady Chablis after her appearance in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. With David’s kind permission we share that interview here on TGForum. When I saw the movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, I didn’t know what to expect, although I was told that it […]
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David de Alba graciously allows us to republish his interviews with entertainers that he features on his website. This interview with Stephanie Williams a well known entertainer who worked all across the country and spent a number of years producing shows in New Orlean was conducted in 2000. Ms. Williams is now living full time as a woman and living in Las Vegas.
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David de Alba has done many interviews with female impersonators and other celebrities. He has kindly given consent to reproduce his interviews on TGF. Today we bring you his interview with Brian Keith. (Not the actor in The Parent Trap.) Brian Keith was the last emcee of the show at Finocchio’s famous impersonation club in San Francisco. We also have a video of Keith filling in for Frank Marino in the Divas Las Vegas show.
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Legendary female impersonator David de Alba has done interviews with many of the stars of female impersonation. He has kindly consented to allow TGForum to publish some of his interviews. Today we feature de Alba’s interview with another legendary impersonator of days gone by, Laurie Knight. If you like to hear about what it was like in the “good old days” Laurie Knight has a wealth of stories to share. There was the time Knight worked in Bugsy Siegel’s place, and stories from Finocchio’s in San Francisco. Enjoy!
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David de Alba kindly allows us to share some of his vast collection of interviews and tributes to the stars of female impersonation. Today we bring you his pictorial tribute to the late, great Craig Russell. Recently we featured a link to an article about Russell in our TWIT column and David let us know about the feature he had compiled.
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David de Alba is not only the Cuban Legend of female impersonation but is also a documenter of the other practitioners of the female impersonation art. He has done scads of interviews with those who trod the stage in gowns and high heels. He has published his FI celebrity interviews on his website but has given TGF permission to bring you select interviews. Today we present David’s 2001 interview with Wynnie La Freak, a British performer who is still going strong in 2014.
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Our celebrity female impersonator expert, the one and only David de Alba, has kindly granted us permission to run his interview with former Jewel Box Revue star Robbie Ross. Robbie was on the scene in the 1950s and ’60s. While on tour with The Jewel Box Revue he fell in love with Hollywood, decided to stop touring a settled down to work as a wig and hair stylist. Learn all about his drag career and his work with the stars in David’s interview . And there’s a bonus photo gallery with more rare photos of Robbie.
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David de Alba not only impersonates Judy Garland (as he will be doing on June 22 at The Oynx Theatre in Las Vegas), he collects her, too. David’s Judy Garland collection is extensive and shows his devotion to Miss Garland. He has memorabilia from all portions of Garland’s career, including a pair of her pumps. […]
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The Cuban Legend, David de Alba (who has a show coming up at The Onyx Theatre in Las Vegas next month) has series of Celebrity Interviews on his website and he graciously allows TGF to run the best of them every month. The interviews were all done in the early 2000s. This interview is with the […]
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David de Alba has done a large number of interviews with female impersonators from the golden years of impersonation. He has graciously allowed TGF to re-publish his interviews and today we bring you another of his encounters with an accomplished entertainer named Libby Reynolds. Glimpse the world of female impersonation in the ’50s and ’60s and read about Miss Reynold’s encounter with Perry Mason.
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In 2001 David de Alba reconnected with former Finocchio’s star impersonator Holly White. After leaving that premier San Francisco nightclub Holly had gender reassignment surgery, continued to perform in venues in Europe and the USA and has settled down in her hometown state, Hawaii. David talks to her about her history from Finocchio’s to now.
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When I see the name René de Carlo I immediately think “International Dancing Star.” I visualize beautiful costumes and many lovely wigs that I had the pleasure of styling for him during my run at Finocchio’s in San Francisco. I remember the great transformation that took place in his dressing room. I also recall with […]
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To interview the legendary female impressionist Ricky Renée for me is one of the highlights in my Celebrity Interview Series. A wonderful emcee and friend of mine, Carroll Wallace who I worked with for years at the world famous Finocchio Club of San Francisco, would mention Ricky’s name fondly, along with Danny La Rue’s in […]
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Of all the interviews I have done, this is the most difficult for me since I have known Robin Price for so many years. When I purchased my first home in the early ’70s in San Francisco, he lived across the street. We became friends quickly and though he had retired from Showbiz I learned […]
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In 2001 legendary female impersonator and celebrity interviewer David de Alba sat down with impersonator Jimmy James for a “David de Alba On…” interview. Since that time James has moved beyond female impersonation with costume, hair and makeup to work on a music career that utilizes his vocal impersonation skills. He has released several albums since 2001 and has had a hit single with “Fashionista.” Read what he had to say to David de Alba in 2001.
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Friend of TGForum, David de Alba, has an extensive and comprehensive collection of interviews he has conducted with famous stars of female impersonation. From time to time with Mr. De Alba’s kind permission we bring you one of his interviews. Today we bring you his late 2000 interview with British impersonation royalty Danny La Rue. Mr. La Rue was a star of all media from the 1960’s through the 2000s. He passed away in 2009. Enjoy a trip back in time to the glamor and beauty of Danny La Rue, courtesy of David de Alba.
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Female impersonation legend David de Alba is not only a wonderful performer. His status in the world of female impersonation has given him access to all of the FI greats. David features many of those interviews on his own website and has kindly consented to let TGForum share selected interviews with the readers of TGForum. Today we bring you a David de Alba interview with another legend, Jim Bailey.
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Many thanks to David de Alba for sharing this interview he did with noted female impersonator Gypsy, a.k.a. James Haake. Haake was an actor and female illusionist who appeared in several films in and out of drag, starred in La Cage, and was one of the main attractions of The Carnival Cabaret in Lake Tahoe. How did a boy from Montclair, New Jersey make it to Hollywood and some of the most prestigious drag venues? The answers are in the David de Alba interview with Gyspsy.
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