By Michael Barbieri****Book Review: Frank DeCaro‘s DRAG: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business
Hold onto your wigs, Hunnies, because this book is truly drag-tastic!
In the forward to Frank DeCaro’s DRAG: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business, legendary comic writer and comedian Bruce Villanch describes it as an encyclopedia. And indeed it is! But as informative and comprehensive as the book is, it’s also wonderfully entertaining. Stuffed with history, fabulous photos, interviews with some of drag’s best known queens and tributes to long-gone drag legends, this tome is a must-have for any fan of the art of drag!
DeCaro’s book delves into the long and storied history of cross-dressing. He writes about men playing women in Shakespearean times and the Japanese Kabuki theater art of males playing female roles, known as onnagata. We also read about vaudeville drag performers like Bert Savoy, Arthur Blake and of course, Julian Eltinge, whom many historians credit as being the mother of modern drag.
The chapter “Broads on the Boards” discusses the effect of drag on Broadway and includes actors like Harvey Fierstein in Hairspray and our own Billy Porter as Lola, in Kinky Boots! There’s even a conversation with Robert Morse who played Daphne in Sugar, a musicalized version of the film Some Like It Hot. You’ll also find a chapter on drag in the movies, another cleverly called “TV on TV,” and one dealing with the three famous Charles-es of drag: Charles Pierce, Charles Ludlam and Charles Busch.
Part of what made this book a delight for me, personally, were the profiles of some of drag’s best-known gender illusionists—most of whom I’ve known for decades and have worked with countless times—and the interviews DeCaro conducted with many of them. The list reads like a who’s who of drag artists that started in cabaret and continue to work in the business: Richard Skipper (Carol Channing), Rick Skye (Liza Minnelli), Chuck Sweeney (Peggy Lee), Tommy Femia (Judy Garland), Steven Brinberg (Simply Barbra), Miss Coco Peru, Varla Jean Merman, Flotilla DeBarge, Hedda Lettuce and Sybil Bruncheon, to name a few. It was like a walk down memory lane for me!
In putting this article together, I had the opportunity to speak to Frank DeCaro himself and ask him a few questions about the genesis of this remarkable book.
Frank DeCaro is best known for his long-running stint as the flamboyant movie critic on Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” and for his twelve years as the host of his own daily show on Sirius XM Satellite Radio. He is the author of The Dead Celebrity Cookbook, Christmas in Tinseltown, Unmistakably Mackie and the pioneering queer memoir A Boy Named Phyllis.
Here is my interview with Frank DeCaro:
Michael Barbieri (MB): I want to thank you for taking the time to make this call. This is wonderful!
Frank DeCaro (FD): I’m happy to talk about the book. I’m always flattered when people are interested enough to cover it.
MB: I loved the book, by the way. I mean, I kind of devoured it!
FD: Thank you! Yeah, it was a lot of fun to put together. People are really liking it, which is always a pleasure. You know, you spend so much time “pregnant” and then when you finally have it, it’s like, “Thank God! People think the baby’s cute!”
MB: So let me ask, then, how long was the gestation period, as it were?
FD: Well, I was pregnant for 5 years. I got taken to lunch by an editor at Rizzoli, who said to me, “Someone needs to write a book on drag and I think it should be you.” And at first I wasn’t convinced. But then I started thinking back on how much legendary drag I’d had a front row seat for, and I began to realize I was sort of Drag Hag Number One! I had been front and center for some of the greatest drag talent ever, so it turned out I was exactly the right person to write this!
It’s been fun, and you know, there are people who think that drag began with Season 1 of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and I wanted those people to know that there’s so much more!
MB: I enjoyed the interviews with the many drag queens profiled. Did you do all the interviews yourself?
FD: Yes. I did them via e-mail. I did them in person. I did them over the phone. Courtney Act, the Australian Drag Race contestant, answered all my questions via voice mail! I would get audio messages like “Hi! I’m on a plane. Here are my answers…” Some of the interviews were even from my radio show, when I was on Sirius XM. I mean, the joy of writing the book was getting to shine a spotlight on people whose art isn’t given its due. I think all drag performers have that—even at the very top levels of drag. I don’t think drag performers are taken quite as seriously as if they were a white, straight male, not wearing a dress.
MB: I know it’s not nice to play favorites, but do you have a favorite queen? I seem to recall that you’re quite fond of Dina Martina.
FD: She’s my favorite! Dina’s completely from another planet. And so smart! And the man behind her is absolutely a dear! So yeah, I really like her. But it is hard to pick a favorite because there are so many that I admire.
MB: Are there any queens who’ve really had a big impact on you? Any who’ve really made you say “Wow!”?
FD: A couple of people, really. I’d say that Charles Pierce was certainly someone from whom you could really learn about camp and old Hollywood. And Charles Busch has done the same for me. Also Lady Bunny, with all the stuff she did with Wigstock and laying the groundwork for what we think of as modern drag. I think that had a huge impact on my life. I mean, going to Wigstock kind of gelled my existence in New York City for 25 years; it’s kind of who I was as a younger person. And just the fact that Bunny’s still doing it! I think that’s the biggest lesson here.
MB: Definitely!
FD: I think that’s the amazing thing about these queens—that they do it for the love of the art, not because it’s a cashing in kind of thing.
MB: The last question I have is this: because there’s still so much great drag out there, is there any chance for a DRAG Volume II?
FD: My goal right now is twofold. One is that we’re going out this month to sell the book as a documentary TV series… and I’m hoping to do a podcast based on the book. I’d sit down and interview the queens—the legendary ones. There needs to be an “Inside the Actor’s Studio” kind of serious, yet lighthearted interview show with these people, because they’re talented enough to warrant it! And I mean, they’re taken more seriously now, but really, where are you going to get an hour sitting down with Jackie Beat or Dina Martina or Bianca del Rio, where they’re really being interviewed as artists and supremely talented people, who in some circles, are superstars? And I want to be the person who does that!
MB: Once again, thank you for taking the time to chat with me. This was great!
FD: It was my pleasure. Thank you!
(End of interview)
So… are you a die-hard drag fan or a novice whose interest has been piqued by all the commotion surrounding the art these days? Do you prefer comedy queens, pageant girls or genderfuck drag? Do you go to the clubs to see live drag shows or simply watch the girls on TV? Drag is everywhere today and whatever sort of drag you’re into, you’ll find much to enjoy in Frank DeCaro’s work. So throw on your most glamorous gown, your biggest wig, click those designer heels together three times and snatch a copy of this Drag-tastic book. You’ll be gagged, Hunny!
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