Danny La Rue
Encyclopedia
Danny La Rue, OBE
(26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an Irish
-born British
entertainer known for his singing and drag
impersonations
.
, Ireland
in 1927, La Rue was the youngest of either four or five siblings. The family moved to England when he was six and he was brought up at Earnshaw Street in Soho
, central London. When the family home was destroyed during the Blitz
, his mother, a seamstress, moved her children to Kenn
, a Devon
village where young Daniel developed an interest in dramatics. “There weren't enough girls so I got the pick of the roles ... [M]y Juliet was very convincing”, La Rue recalled.
He served in the British Royal Navy
as a young man following his father's footsteps, and even had a brief career delivering groceries, but he became known for his skill as a female impersonator
(or "comic in a frock" as he preferred to be called) in Britain
and was featured in theatre
productions, and in film
, television
, and records.
impersonations were Elizabeth Taylor
, Zsa Zsa Gabor
, Marlene Dietrich
, and Margaret Thatcher
. At one point he had his own nightclub
in Hanover Square
, and also performed on London
's West End
. In the 1960s he was among Britain's highest-paid entertainers. He used to own the Swan at Streatley
hotel in the 1970s. In 1982 he played Dolly Levi in the musical
Hello, Dolly!
. He also has the distinction of being the only man to take over a woman's role in the West End theatre
when he replaced Avis Bunnage
in Oh, What a Lovely War!
and he was until his death still a regular performer in traditional Christmas pantomime
shows in Britain.
In 1968 his version of "On Mother Kelly's Doorstep" reached number 33 in the UK singles chart; La Rue later adopted the song as his theme tune.
He appeared in Every Day's a Holiday, The Frankie Howerd
Show, Our Miss Fred, Twiggs, Decidedly Dusty, Entertainment Express, Blackpool Bonanza and the BBC Play of the Month. He made a guest appearance in the Mr. Bean
episode, Mr. Bean in Room 426 in 1993.
He most recently appeared in Hello Danny a biographical show performed at Benidorm Palace
, Spain on 11 November 2007. The part of La Rue was played by Jerry Lane, and La Rue appeared at the start of the show and then in an interview on stage in the second half. He also performed a number of songs, including Jayne County
's "Queenage Baby", accompanied by Dave Peterson to a sellout crowd.
in January 2006 and all of his planned performances were cancelled. He had several subsequent strokes. He died at his home shortly before midnight on 31 May 2009 at the age of 81 after suffering from prostate cancer. His companion, Annie Galbraith, was with him at his home in Kent
when he died.
In the 1970s La Rue spent more than £1million on the purchase and restoration of a country house hotel, Walton Hall
in Warwickshire. Due to his performance commitments, he decided to sell the business in 1983 and two Canadians offered him a deal by which, if the hotel retained La Rue’s name, he would become the major shareholder. The duo claimed that they would invest a further £3million in the hotel and that they had organised a scheme for flying guests in from America, so La Rue signed the hotel over to them. Six months later he discovered that the two Canadians were being investigated by the police and that his name was linked to the investigation. La Rue was eventually cleared of any suspicion but the day after his 56th birthday he discovered that he had lost more than £1million.
in the 2002 Queen
's Birthday Honours List
. La Rue later stated in an interview that this was "the proudest day of his life". Other accolades included Royal Variety Performance
appearances in 1969, 1972 and 1978, Variety Club of Great Britain Showbiz Personality of the Year (1969), Theatre Personality of the Year (1970), Entertainer of the Decade (1979) and the Brinsworth Award from the EABF for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment profession and the community.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an Irish
Irish people
The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years , with the Irish people's earliest ancestors recorded having legends of being descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha...
-born British
British people
The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants...
entertainer known for his singing and drag
Drag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
impersonations
Impersonator
An impersonator is someone who imitates or copies the behavior or actions of another. There are many reasons for someone to be an impersonator, some common ones being as follows:...
.
Early life
Born as Daniel Patrick Carroll in Cork CityCork (city)
Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
in 1927, La Rue was the youngest of either four or five siblings. The family moved to England when he was six and he was brought up at Earnshaw Street in Soho
Soho
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster and part of the West End of London. Long established as an entertainment district, for much of the 20th century Soho had a reputation for sex shops as well as night life and film industry. Since the early 1980s, the area has undergone considerable...
, central London. When the family home was destroyed during the Blitz
The Blitz
The Blitz was the sustained strategic bombing of Britain by Nazi Germany between 7 September 1940 and 10 May 1941, during the Second World War. The city of London was bombed by the Luftwaffe for 76 consecutive nights and many towns and cities across the country followed...
, his mother, a seamstress, moved her children to Kenn
Kennford
Kennford is a village situated in Devon, England, several miles to the south of Exeter, in one of the country's main tourist areas.The village became prominent in the 1970s as the location of a new service station on the A38 Devon Expressway between Exeter and Plymouth, near the southern terminus...
, a Devon
Devon
Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...
village where young Daniel developed an interest in dramatics. “There weren't enough girls so I got the pick of the roles ... [M]y Juliet was very convincing”, La Rue recalled.
He served in the British Royal Navy
Royal Navy
The Royal Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Founded in the 16th century, it is the oldest service branch and is known as the Senior Service...
as a young man following his father's footsteps, and even had a brief career delivering groceries, but he became known for his skill as a female impersonator
Drag queen
A drag queen is a man who dresses, and usually acts, like a caricature woman often for the purpose of entertaining. There are many kinds of drag artists and they vary greatly, from professionals who have starred in films to people who just try it once. Drag queens also vary by class and culture and...
(or "comic in a frock" as he preferred to be called) in Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and was featured in theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
productions, and in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
, television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, and records.
Career
Among his celebrityCelebrity
A celebrity, also referred to as a celeb in popular culture, is a person who has a prominent profile and commands a great degree of public fascination and influence in day-to-day media...
impersonations were Elizabeth Taylor
Elizabeth Taylor
Dame Elizabeth Rosemond "Liz" Taylor, DBE was a British-American actress. From her early years as a child star with MGM, she became one of the great screen actresses of Hollywood's Golden Age...
, Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Zsa Zsa Gabor is a Hungarian-born American stage, film and television actress.She acted on stage in Vienna, Austria, in 1932, and was crowned Miss Hungary in 1936. She emigrated to the United States in 1941 and became a sought-after actress with "European flair and style", with a personality that...
, Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich
Marlene Dietrich was a German-American actress and singer.Dietrich remained popular throughout her long career by continually re-inventing herself, professionally and characteristically. In the Berlin of the 1920s, she acted on the stage and in silent films...
, and Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Thatcher
Margaret Hilda Thatcher, Baroness Thatcher, was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990...
. At one point he had his own nightclub
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
in Hanover Square
Hanover Square, London
Hanover Square, London, is a square in Mayfair, London W1, England, situated to the south west of Oxford Circus, the major junction where Oxford Street meets Regent Street....
, and also performed on London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
. In the 1960s he was among Britain's highest-paid entertainers. He used to own the Swan at Streatley
Streatley, Berkshire
Streatley is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in Berkshire, England.-Location:Streatley is about from Reading and from Oxford. It is in the Goring Gap on the River Thames and is directly across the river from the Oxfordshire village of Goring-on-Thames...
hotel in the 1970s. In 1982 he played Dolly Levi in the musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
Hello, Dolly!
Hello, Dolly! (musical)
Hello, Dolly! is a musical with lyrics and music by Jerry Herman and a book by Michael Stewart, based on Thornton Wilder's 1938 farce The Merchant of Yonkers, which Wilder revised and retitled The Matchmaker in 1955....
. He also has the distinction of being the only man to take over a woman's role in the West End theatre
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
when he replaced Avis Bunnage
Avis Bunnage
Avis Bunnage was a British actress of film, stage and television.She attended Manley Park Municipal School and Chorlton Central School in Manchester. She worked as a secretary and a nursery teacher before deciding to become an actress...
in Oh, What a Lovely War!
Oh, What a Lovely War!
Oh, What a Lovely War! is an epic musical originated by Charles Chilton as a radio play, The Long Long Trail in December 1961, and transferred to stage by Gerry Raffles in partnership with Joan Littlewood and her Theatre Workshop in 1963...
and he was until his death still a regular performer in traditional Christmas pantomime
Pantomime
Pantomime — not to be confused with a mime artist, a theatrical performer of mime—is a musical-comedy theatrical production traditionally found in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Jamaica, South Africa, India, Ireland, Gibraltar and Malta, and is mostly performed during the...
shows in Britain.
In 1968 his version of "On Mother Kelly's Doorstep" reached number 33 in the UK singles chart; La Rue later adopted the song as his theme tune.
He appeared in Every Day's a Holiday, The Frankie Howerd
Frankie Howerd
Francis Alick "Frankie" Howerd OBE was an English comedian and comic actor whose career, described by fellow comedian Barry Cryer as "a series of comebacks", spanned six decades.-Early career:...
Show, Our Miss Fred, Twiggs, Decidedly Dusty, Entertainment Express, Blackpool Bonanza and the BBC Play of the Month. He made a guest appearance in the Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean
Mr. Bean is a British comedy television programme series of 14 half-hour episodes written by and starring Rowan Atkinson as the title character. Different episodes were also written by Robin Driscoll, Richard Curtis and one by Ben Elton. The pilot episode was broadcast on ITV on 1 January 1990,...
episode, Mr. Bean in Room 426 in 1993.
He most recently appeared in Hello Danny a biographical show performed at Benidorm Palace
Benidorm
Benidorm is a coastal town and municipality located in the comarca of Marina Baixa, in the province of Alicante, Valencian community, Spain, by the Western Mediterranean....
, Spain on 11 November 2007. The part of La Rue was played by Jerry Lane, and La Rue appeared at the start of the show and then in an interview on stage in the second half. He also performed a number of songs, including Jayne County
Jayne County
Jayne County , formerly known as Wayne County, is an American male-to-female transsexual performer, musician and actress whose career has spanned several decades. County would go on to be known as rock's first transsexual singer...
's "Queenage Baby", accompanied by Dave Peterson to a sellout crowd.
Death
La Rue suffered a mild strokeStroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
in January 2006 and all of his planned performances were cancelled. He had several subsequent strokes. He died at his home shortly before midnight on 31 May 2009 at the age of 81 after suffering from prostate cancer. His companion, Annie Galbraith, was with him at his home in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
when he died.
Personal life
La Rue would often perform parts of his show in men's clothes, and was often seen out of costume on television. In later life, he was more candid about his private life, including his homosexuality. La Rue lived for many years with his manager and life partner of 40 years, Jack Hanson, until Hanson's death in 1984.In the 1970s La Rue spent more than £1million on the purchase and restoration of a country house hotel, Walton Hall
Walton Hall, Warwickshire
Walton Hall is a 19th century country mansion at Walton, near Wellesbourne, Warwickshire, once owned by the late entertainer Danny La Rue, now in use as an hotel. It is a Grade II* listed building....
in Warwickshire. Due to his performance commitments, he decided to sell the business in 1983 and two Canadians offered him a deal by which, if the hotel retained La Rue’s name, he would become the major shareholder. The duo claimed that they would invest a further £3million in the hotel and that they had organised a scheme for flying guests in from America, so La Rue signed the hotel over to them. Six months later he discovered that the two Canadians were being investigated by the police and that his name was linked to the investigation. La Rue was eventually cleared of any suspicion but the day after his 56th birthday he discovered that he had lost more than £1million.
Accolades
He was appointed OBEOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
in the 2002 Queen
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
's Birthday Honours List
British honours system
The British honours system is a means of rewarding individuals' personal bravery, achievement, or service to the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories...
. La Rue later stated in an interview that this was "the proudest day of his life". Other accolades included Royal Variety Performance
Royal Variety Performance
The Royal Variety Performance is a gala evening held annually in the United Kingdom, which is attended by senior members of the British Royal Family, usually the reigning monarch. In more recent years Queen Elizabeth II and The Prince of Wales have alternately attended the performance...
appearances in 1969, 1972 and 1978, Variety Club of Great Britain Showbiz Personality of the Year (1969), Theatre Personality of the Year (1970), Entertainer of the Decade (1979) and the Brinsworth Award from the EABF for his outstanding contribution to the entertainment profession and the community.
Selected filmography
- Every Day's a HolidayEvery Day's a Holiday (1965 film)Every Day's a Holiday is a 1965 British musical comedy film directed by James Hill and starring John Leyton, Michael Sarne and Peter Birrell. A group of teenagers take up jobs working in a seaside resort for the summer. It is also known as Seaside Swingers.-Cast:* John Leyton ... Gerry Pullman*...
(1965) - Junfans Escape (1968)
- Junfan Captured (1970)
- Our Miss Fred (1972)
- Come Spy with Me (TV movie 1977)
- Mr. Bean in Room 426 (1993)