Queen for an Evening

Recently my wife, Laura, and I were sitting at home watching episodes of Fashion Stars on our new flat-screen television. The premise of Fashion Stars is that up-and-coming designers compete to sell their new designs to the buyers from three large clothing retailers, Macy’s, Saks 5th Avenue and L’Express.

One of the designers presented a lovely dress with curving broad vertical black and white bands. “I used to wear a dress like that to visit the Queen Mary,” I exclaimed, “It was one of my favorites.” Then I added mischievously, “the boys liked it too.”

My wife shot a look back at me suggesting I probably shouldn’t go there and commented, “I bet you still have that dress in your storage locker.”

“I probably do but it would be a little tight on me now.”

Changing the subject Laura asked, “Speaking of the Queen Mary how is that series of articles coming along?” Laura is my best critic and proof reader. We have been together for over ten years. My days with her started about the time my days at the Queen Mary were finished. Now that I think of it if the Queen Mary had still been open there is a good chance I would not have been around town to meet her. It’s funny how things work out.

It is also funny that I was able to tell her all about my social life at the Queen Mary and my one-night-stands and that did not end our relationship. ‘It’s all gone in to make you what you are today –- the person I love,’ she had said. How profound is that!

“What are you working on now?” Laura asked as our attention seemed to be drifting away from the television.

“I’m trying to write about the crossdressing customers at the Queen but I’m having trouble. I only really knew half the person, the girl who came to the club, the weekend Wonder Woman. I never got to know the Monday to Friday guys in drab.”

“You have the un-flipped flapjack,” she suggested.

“More like the frying egg that hasn’t been turned,” I joked, “I knew them sunny-side-up.”

“Well there’s your theme,” said Laura, “if I guess correctly you knew these girls when they were at their sunniest and happiest. Write about that.”

That got me thinking about the many ladies I met during my some fifteen years of dropping in at the Queen Mary. As the program had gone to another lengthy commercial I told Laura, “The back bar was like the Cheers of the t-girl world. John, Jim and later Lori represented the Sam, Diane and Woody of Cheers. John and Jim admittedly were a bit gruff but Lori definitely greeted everybody and made each guest feel welcome. Over the years there were a few Cliff’s. Michelle who I did know worked for a railroad, comes to mind. With her pot belly over a miniskirt, she thought she knew it all. There were also lots of Norm’s –- the person who is known and liked by everybody. Janine was my favorite Norm. She was retired, lived in a trailer, spending her winters in the Los Angeles area and summers on the road. Janine always had a quirky adventure to tell. One time she told me about her visit to her lesbian daughter and partner in Palm Springs and the three girls had gone out on the town. Well, what gets told at the Queen stays . . .

“A Fraser and Lilith? OMG; I hope I wasn’t the Fraser! I did try hard to fit in. I was a bit of an egg-head but no, I didn’t have the regular status needed to gain a character role at the bar. My infrequent but regular visits allowed me to be an observer to the overall scene and to get to know many of the regulars when they were at their happiest. However, I’m pretty confident that nobody out in L.A. is sitting around reminiscing and saying, “that Linda: now that was a character.”

Linda leaving Q.M. for the last time.

The Queen Mary phase of my life started in the late 1980s went through the ‘90s and ended the weekend following the closure of the club in 2003. I made a point of dropping by with my date of that last evening to have my photo taken at the closed back door. To my surprise some of the show girls were there cleaning out their belongings and probably commiserating among themselves. I made a point of thanking them for the many years of entertainment and pleasure they had given everyone. They were not in a mood to be gracious with their thanks but that’s okay.

“So, speaking of the women of the Queen Mary, Butch Ellis and the showgirls were on a pedestal way above the rest of us. I never really got to know any of them but two really stand out in my memory – Butch him(her)self who for more than a quarter century was the MC and mastermind behind the shows. It was so much fun to watch the way that Butch could warm up a crowd and good-naturedly pick on members of the audience that needed a little needling. The other was Maximillia who played a wide variety of roles but was at her best when using her own voice, or voices, in a number. She could effectively sing in both masculine and feminine pitches. It drove the audiences wild!

“We denizens of the back bar rarely socialized with the show girls. They were the stars that kept the Q.M. happening. We knew to give them their space when they would come to the back area to earn a little extra in tips posing for photos with the customers.

“In our little part of the Queen Mary world we crossdressers acted out our roles with regularity. I could see them week after week, visit after visit. There was one lady who would take the same place at the bar every Friday and Saturday. Woe was it to anyone that was in her place when she arrived and who didn’t immediately make space. There was another, a teacher from Oxnard, I learned, who took up a position at the opposite end of the bar. I liked her because she was very attractive and she tended to wear short leather mini-skirts. We also had a bit in common away from the TG life. She was one of the few I got to know more personally.

“Another favorite of mine was Joanie, much older than most of the girls but still very attractive and still very active. She was well past retirement age but still worked on air conditioner repairs – a skill in demand in summertime Los Angeles and immediately after the Northridge earthquake. When we went to the Queen Mary Joanie and I stayed at the same motel. We had some nice chats away from the club. I was always en femme. Joanie was happy slipping between her two modes.

Linda with makeover artist Jim Bridges

“Some of the girls would regularly start their evening at the Queen with a visit to Jim Bridges boutique and salon where he could make everyone look like a star ready for the runway.

“Of course like at any Los Angeles venue where you might come across movie or television stars it was possible to meet the celebrities of the CD world at the Queen Mary. I came to know Sandy Thomas, the writer and publisher of pulp fiction aimed at our market. Alice Novic was and remains a friend of mine. I even got a mention in her book.”

“I know, you’ve only told me about a thousand times,” Laura shot back. I realized I hadn’t heard from her in a while. Her attention was back on Fashion Stars so the rest of this is for you. She’s heard it all before.

The Queen Mary had its clique. There were groups of girls that loved to dance en femme. They kept the juke box fed and the small dance floor overflowing. The wallflower admirers picked their spot to watch their favorite girl. Another group you could count on to be there were the petite and pretty ladyboys, both the Hispanic and the Asians. They were so pretty that on their arrival at around 11:30 on a Saturday evening you could feel the eyes of the admirers making right turns to the corner where the little girls congregated, giggled and wiggled their asses. One could get banned for life for turning tricks at the Queen Mary but I’m sure these girls were not there for the tourist attraction. They were the tourist attraction.

In the later years after California passed its smoking ban there came to be the smoking group, the girls and admirers who would gather in the small patio created to comply with the ban. Just like at many work places the smoking area became an important meeting or networking spot. I must admit I ‘bummed’ a few cigarettes just to meet someone interesting.

Lorraine and Linda at NBC

Other visitors from out of town formed an important part of my Queen Mary experience. We usually wanted to see more of Los Angeles so we’d often meet up to visit shopping malls, Hollywood, art galleries and other attractions. My favorite was Lorraine from Arizona who showed great determination in getting us in to the front row section of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Finally there were the girls that I seemed to have the closest affinity — the first timers. They were easy to spot. They would hang nervously in a corner or even stay seated for a long time in their cars. I remember one time walking from my parking spot to the Queen. I spotted the shadowy figure of someone sitting in a car that from its position must have arrived a lot earlier. I went over to say hello to the female figure in the car. I thought she might drive away but hesitantly she rolled sown her window. We began a conversation and she started to open up. I talked her in to coming in to the bar with me. I showed her around and she offered to buy me a drink. I introduced her to Lori who told her she liked her outfit and asked what she’d like to drink. That was it. The ice was broken and my new friend felt at home. A short time later I saw the once shy girl being chatted up by a nice looking guy. I’m sure they left together.

Welcome home, I thought. A year or two later I saw my friend again. This time she was not shy at all. She looked radiant. She was more or less the life of the party. She recognized me and came over to say hello. She thanked me for helping her get over her initial fear about coming in to the bar. I was really happy to have helped.

‘Every journey,’ I thought, ‘begins with a single step.’

Tags: crossdressing, featured, History, The Queen Mary

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment, Transgender History