Carlotta
Encyclopedia
Carlotta is an Australia
n cabaret performer and television celebrity. She began her career as an original member of the long-running Les Girls
cabaret show, performed entirely by heavily costume
d males, which started in 1963 in the purpose built Les Girls (nightclub) building which stood on a prominent corner in the heart of Sydney's Kings Cross, New South Wales
. The building was owned by Sydney identity Abe Saffron
. Carlotta, a transgender
person, rose through the ranks of the show to eventually become the show's compere
and its most famous member.
Les Girls and Carlotta soon became must-see attractions for visitors to Sydney
and the show was popular with visiting international celebrities. The show continued in the Les Girls building until 1993, when, inspired by the film "Priscilla Queen of the Desert", the Les Girls show went on-the-road, touring Australia. The Les Girls building, which was still standing intact with original 1960s features, throughout the 1990s was the venue for alternative cabaret, including the much loved Sunday night club The Tender Trap (club)
.
Carlotta was featured in the soap opera
Number 96
in 1973 as Robyn Ross, the new girlfriend of Arnold Feather. In the story it was soon revealed that Robyn was in fact a transsexual showgirl, a revelation that led to the character's quick departure from the show. To preserve the shock ending to this storyline the true identity of Robyn's portrayer was kept secret from all but a few central cast and crew members of the series, her scenes were shot on a closed set, and Carlotta was credited as "Carolle Lea".
Carlotta's sex-change operation in the early 1970s was not the first such procedure in Australia, but due to her celebrity status it became the first to receive publicity there. Carlotta was also one of the inspirations for the film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. She had a few short breaks from Les Girls for international tours, but overall by the time she left the show for the final time in 1992 she had spent a total of 26 years performing with the troupe.
From 1997, Carlotta has been a regular panelist on the discussion program Beauty and the Beast.
In 2005, she featured in her own half a million dollar stage production, "Carlotta's KingsX", presented at the Big Top, Luna Park, Sydney. Produced by Brett Elliott and Richard Bernardo, the 90 minute show delivered classic storytelling, stand up comedy, lavish costumes, and team of 'Les Girls' dance performances throughout. Supported by massive 6x22m video backdrop, video content presented the story of Kings Cross collated from footage supplied by ABC, Channel 7 and Channel 9.
Carlotta is currently touring Australia with her "Carlotta: Live and Intimate", a one woman show that regularly features all sorts of events and premieres like Sydney's Mardi Gras.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n cabaret performer and television celebrity. She began her career as an original member of the long-running Les Girls
Les Girls
Les Girls, also known as Cole Porter's Les Girls, is a 1957 musical comedy film made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. It was directed by George Cukor, produced by Sol C...
cabaret show, performed entirely by heavily costume
Costume
The term costume can refer to wardrobe and dress in general, or to the distinctive style of dress of a particular people, class, or period. Costume may also refer to the artistic arrangement of accessories in a picture, statue, poem, or play, appropriate to the time, place, or other circumstances...
d males, which started in 1963 in the purpose built Les Girls (nightclub) building which stood on a prominent corner in the heart of Sydney's Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross, New South Wales
Kings Cross is an inner-city locality of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is located approximately 2 kilometres east of the Sydney central business district, in the local government area of the City of Sydney...
. The building was owned by Sydney identity Abe Saffron
Abe Saffron
Abraham Gilbert "Abe" Saffron was an Australian nightclub owner and property developer who was reputed to have been one of the major figures in Australian organised crime in the latter half of the 20th century....
. Carlotta, a transgender
Transgender
Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies to vary from culturally conventional gender roles....
person, rose through the ranks of the show to eventually become the show's compere
Compere
Compère can refer to:* Loyset Compère, a French composer of the Renaissance* Louis Fursy Henri Compere , a French general in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars...
and its most famous member.
Les Girls and Carlotta soon became must-see attractions for visitors to Sydney
Sydney
Sydney is the most populous city in Australia and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney is located on Australia's south-east coast of the Tasman Sea. As of June 2010, the greater metropolitan area had an approximate population of 4.6 million people...
and the show was popular with visiting international celebrities. The show continued in the Les Girls building until 1993, when, inspired by the film "Priscilla Queen of the Desert", the Les Girls show went on-the-road, touring Australia. The Les Girls building, which was still standing intact with original 1960s features, throughout the 1990s was the venue for alternative cabaret, including the much loved Sunday night club The Tender Trap (club)
The Tender Trap (club)
The Tender Trap was a cabaret nightclub that ran in Sydney, Australia from December 1994 to January 2000. It was one of the most successful Sydney clubs of the 1990s...
.
Carlotta was featured in the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...
Number 96
Number 96 (TV series)
Number 96 was a popular Australian soap opera set in a Sydney apartment block. Don Cash and Bill Harmon produced the series for Network Ten, which requested a Coronation Street-type serial, and specifically one that explored adult subjects...
in 1973 as Robyn Ross, the new girlfriend of Arnold Feather. In the story it was soon revealed that Robyn was in fact a transsexual showgirl, a revelation that led to the character's quick departure from the show. To preserve the shock ending to this storyline the true identity of Robyn's portrayer was kept secret from all but a few central cast and crew members of the series, her scenes were shot on a closed set, and Carlotta was credited as "Carolle Lea".
Carlotta's sex-change operation in the early 1970s was not the first such procedure in Australia, but due to her celebrity status it became the first to receive publicity there. Carlotta was also one of the inspirations for the film Priscilla, Queen of the Desert. She had a few short breaks from Les Girls for international tours, but overall by the time she left the show for the final time in 1992 she had spent a total of 26 years performing with the troupe.
From 1997, Carlotta has been a regular panelist on the discussion program Beauty and the Beast.
In 2005, she featured in her own half a million dollar stage production, "Carlotta's KingsX", presented at the Big Top, Luna Park, Sydney. Produced by Brett Elliott and Richard Bernardo, the 90 minute show delivered classic storytelling, stand up comedy, lavish costumes, and team of 'Les Girls' dance performances throughout. Supported by massive 6x22m video backdrop, video content presented the story of Kings Cross collated from footage supplied by ABC, Channel 7 and Channel 9.
Carlotta is currently touring Australia with her "Carlotta: Live and Intimate", a one woman show that regularly features all sorts of events and premieres like Sydney's Mardi Gras.