Mae West: Drag Queen's Missus

MAE WEST's former fan club president, female impersonator Craig Russell was married for eight years to Lori [1982-1990], a warm-hearted brunette.
• • Canadian blogger Nancy Paiva writes that Lori's first love was Craig Russell — — and a fabulously juicy memoir is in the works.
• • According to Nancy Paiva: Though he never made a secret of his homosexuality, they were married in 1982. Craig was a female impersonator during the 1970s and 1980s, and Lori was his biggest fan. Craig became famous after his starring role in the Canadian feature film Outrageous! (1977). He portrayed a gay hairdresser who wanted to be drag queen — — and it was one of the first North American films with a gay theme to receive widespread distribution.
• • According to Nancy Paiva: His impersonations included Mae West, Carol Channing, Bette Davis, Barbra Streisand, Tallulah Bankhead, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Midler, Anita Bryant, Peggy Lee, and Judy Garland. Unlike most drag queens today, he spoke and sang with his own voice and was able to sing abroad range of octaves. As a teenager, Russell became president of MaeWest's fan club, and briefly worked and lived in Los Angeles as West'ssecretary. He eventually returned to Toronto and worked as ahairdresser while pursuing his career as a stage performer. By 1971, he was a regular performer in Toronto gay clubs and had a widespread international following.
• • According to Nancy Paiva: Lori shared Craig's life for eight years — — as his wife. She also shared his battle with AIDS. Craig died of an AIDS-related stoke on October 30, 1990. She kept diaries of their time together and has started writing a book.
• • Lori, 49, has her own battle to overcome. ...
— — excerpt — —
• • Source: Faces of Toronto: Lori — — http://blogto.com/
• • Byline: Nancy Paiva
• • Posted: 1 September 2007
• • Come up and see Mae every day online: http://MaeWest.blogspot.com/
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Mae West
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Mae West.