Drag: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business

by Frank Decaro, Bruce Vilanch (Foreword by)

Overview

Drag celebrates the fabulous current and historical influence of drag, and its talented and inspiring performers.

Since man first walked the Earth...in heels, no other art form has wielded as unique an influence on pop culture as Drag. Drag artists have now sashayed their way to snatch the crowns as the Queens of mainstream entertainment.
Through informative and witty essays chronicling over 100 years of drag, readers will embark on a Priscilla-like journey through pop culture, from television shows like The Milton Berle Show, Bosom Buddies, and RuPaul's Drag Race, films like Some Like It Hot, To Wong Foo..., and Tootsie, and Broadway shows like Hedwig and the Angry Inch, La Cage aux Folles, and Kinky Boots.
With stops in cities around the globe, and packed with interviews and commentaries on the dramas, joys, and love that "make-up" a life in wigs and heels, Drag features contributions from today's most groundbreaking and popular artists, including Bianca del Rio, Miss Coco Peru, Hedda Lettuce, Lypsinka, and Varla Jean Merman, as well as notable performers as Harvey Fierstein and Charles Busch. It includes more than 100 photos--many from performers' personal collections, and a comprehensive timeline of drag "herstory."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847862351
Publisher:	Rizzoli
Publication date:	04/30/2019
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,163,386
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 10.20(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Frank DeCaro hosted his own live national talk show The Frank DeCaro Show every weekday on Sirius Satellite Radio for over 10 years. For nearly seven years, he co-wrote and hosted the popular Out at the Movies segments on the Emmy Award-winning Daily Show with Jon Stewart. A much sought-after pop culture pundit, he has appeared on numerous programs including TV Land's Tickled Pink, Logo's The Evolution Will Be Televised, CNN's Showbiz Tonight, NBC's Dateline, VH1's The List, E! Entertainment Television's The E! True Hollywood Story: The Sopranos, and Bravo's Bravo Profiles: RuPaul. As a journalist and fashion editor, he wrote the funny-but-chic biweekly column "Style Over Substance" for The New York Times. His work has appeared in myriad publications including The New York Times Magazine, Martha Stewart Living, Entertainment Weekly, Newsweek, Vogue, USA Weekend, Metropolitan Home, In Style, Time Out New York, and the Advocate.
Bruce Villanch is an award-winning writer and performer

Table of Contents

Foreword Bruce Vilanch 8

Introduction 10

Chapter 1 Sequins Older Than Dirt 14

Chapter 2 Boys Will Be Girls 20

Chapter 3 Broads on the Boards 50

Chapter 4 The Three Charles-es 66

Chapter 5 Big Screen Drag 82

Chapter 6 TV on TV 100

Chapter 7 Pyramid Scheme 124

Chapter 8 Sashay Your Way Across the U.S.A. 150

Chapter 9 California Gurls 178

Chapter 10 You Better Burp! 208

Chapter 11 Born Naked 214

Chapter 12 Eating Cleveland 234

Drag-Dendum But Wait, There's More! A Select Timeline 240

Editorial Reviews

"If you are a recent lover of drag, and have really only been exposed through Drag Race, then Frank DeCaro’s new book, Drag: Combing Through the Big Wigs of Show Business, is for you. The new book is here to teach the children about the history of drag, shining a spotlight on those who sashayed in heels long before the queens of Drag Race." —LOGO TV/Next New Now


"DeCaro’s new primer, out now on Rizzoli Books, includes profiles of dozens of drag queens—pop-culture fixtures like RuPaul, Harvey Fierstein and Divine, but also acclaimed contemporary performers like Hedda Lettuce, Dina Martina and Murray Hill, one of the only drag kings to break big." —NEWSWEEK.COM

From the Publisher