David de Alba is preparing to take the stage this coming June for a show at The Onyx Theatre in Las Vegas. David sent us this assessment of his female impersonation and vocal skills that was written by his friend, former concert pianist and FI historian Linda La Blanche. David invites all readers of TGForum to […]
The Texas ‘T’ Party was a huge, really huge gathering of the transgender community held for a number of years in the early 1990s in San Antonio. The chief organizers were Linda and Cynthia Phillips. One was transgender the other was her wife. Linda Jensen recalls the Texas “T” Party and tells about the effect it had on her life.
Virginia Prince was one of the first pioneers of the modern era of crossdressing. She was not afraid to go on television shows in the ’60s to discuss the concept of men wearing women’s clothing. She published the first crossdressing magazine, Transvestia, and she founded Tri-Ess. She also was homophobic, denied transsexuals entry to Tri-Ess and was an opinionated old curmudgeon. Dallas Denny shares some of her interactions with the woman she both admired and despised.
2014 was on balance a very good year for transgender people in America. As a trans activist there was much to celebrate for our movement and even the most negative happenings had a silver lining and gave hope for future progress. In Part 1 of this year end summary I reviewed the many positive things that occurred on a national level, mostly thanks to actions by the Obama Administration with input from our trans activists and policy people.
David de Alba has spoken with many stars of the female impersonation world and his interviews with them help us to learn what it was like in the golden age of female impersonation. Today we turn things around and present an interview conducted by Linda La Blanche with David de Alba. Ms. La Blanche is a […]
Return with us now as we cruise through 2014 and present the year in TWIT. Stories of importance from every month of the waning year are included. From January through December and from RuPaul winning the best reality show host to the Barney’s TG ad campaign, and Jeffry Tambor in “Transparent.” We’ve got it all in this year end TWIT.
By Kristina Mayhem Over one hundred people gathered for a special presentation called Leading Inclusion: Gender in Engineering on November 18th 2014 in Chesebrough Auditorium on the beautiful University of Michigan North Campus. It was sponsored by Own It, a UofM organization of student engineers. Own It wants more inclusiveness in engineering and cited statistics […]
Nicole Maines has won a $75,000 settlement with her former school. A US Dept. of Education memo protects trans students from the kind of thing Maines was subjected to. Drag stars are doing holiday shows in NYC all month long. Minnesota TG student athletes can pick their teams. Another photographer document Cuban TGs. India’s first trans newsreader advocates for change. Miami-Dade has extended protections to TGs. Panti Bliss gets her just reward from Stephen Fry. All that and a lot more is waiting for you in TWIT!
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.
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.
We offer a profile of Rachel Crandall, a trans woman who turned away from thought of suicide when she had hit rock bottom, and went on to start the transgender support group Transgender Michigan. The article was written by sometime contributor Kristina Mayhem and talks about Crandall’s life before and after she started Transgender Michigan.
The stars of female impersonation in the 1940s, ’50s and ’60s were all about glamor and beauty. Only an act devoted to comedy would over-do things and exaggerate feminine characteristics in search of a laugh from the audience. The exotic and beautiful female impersonators worked to be indistinguishable from the actresses and singers they portrayed. Thanks […]
Last month we brought you Part 1 of Kristina Mayhem’s research article on Christine Jorgensen. Today we bring you Part 2 of this look into the life of a woman who is arguably the world’s most famous transsexual. Kristina picks up Jorgensen’s story on the day in 1953 when she stepped off the plane at New York’s airport. As a bonus we also have video of Jorgensen’s appearance on a local TV show in the early ’80s.
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.
It’s July already and that means that the longest running, longest duration transgender event is rapidly approaching. It’s Fantasia Fair on Cape Cod and while it doesn’t happen till mid October you know you have to plan ahead, picking out every outfit for each day’s many activities. And then you’ll need to buy more suitcases. Read a review of last year’s event and think ahead to October on Cape Cod.
How were you formed? Whatever you had to endure as a transgendered child it made you what you are today. Do you hide in the closet still? Are you out and proud? Your childhood experience influenced who you became. Today The Artist D talks about her childhood and how, after a long time, she can accept her history while now making adult choices.
If you’ve done any research into transgender history you know that there were other people who changed their gender prior to the sensation caused when Christine Jorgensen did it in 1952. Today we present part one of a two part article on Christine Jorgensen’s impact on the world written by Kristina Mayhem. Ms. Mayhem feels that Jorgensen was the most important TG ever. Give her article a read and see if you agree.
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. […]
The new play by Harvey Fierstein, “Casa Valentina,” as most everyone knows, is based on the real Casa Susanna. In the 1960s Virginia Prince attended a weekend gathering there to promote her idea for the Society for the Second Self. The play is a fascinating look into the transgender experience of the early ’60s and it is based on a book of photographs taken at Casa Susanna. In this article Dallas Denny reveals who took most of those photographs and how they ended up inspiring Harvey Fierstein to write “Casa Valentina.”
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 […]
Gypsy has been performing since 1950. At 82 you think he’d retire, take of those pumps and relax. But that’s not the plan. We met with Gypsy and his manager last week in Los Angeles and they told us about their plan to build an exciting new venue for female impersonation where Gypsy will be the host and M.C. And they’d like your help to get it started. Read all about it in our interview with a super performer — Gypsy.
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.
David de Alba, the last of the entertainers from the golden years of the San Francisco impersonator club Finocchio’s to still be performing, has always been aware that unless it is preserved the story of the club and the performers of that era will fade away. In order to keep that time and those people […]
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.
A college student enrolls in a history course at his local community college. Little does he know that in a short time he will move in with his professor, discover that she is a transsexual, learn of her fascinating history and pass it on to the world in a book about her. Gina Vizavi reviews Babette, The Many Lives, Two Deaths and Double Kidnapping of Dr. Ellsworth.
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 […]
