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If you happened to be driving on U.S. Route 87 about 12 miles south of Big Spring, Texas, back in November 1967, you might have seen quite a remarkable sight.
Standing on the side of the road, next to a broken down '55 Ford, was a crotchety old man, trying in vain to control what seemed like dozens of dogs, some of them dyed in bright shades of green and pink and orange, darting in and out of a large trailer being towed behind the Ford.
You might have a done a double-take as you cruised past this oddball scenario — but you surely couldn't have guessed that you were spying the bizarre prelude to a brutal murder and the end of what may be the most colorful career in showbiz history.
The old saw has it that “truth is stranger than fiction,” and offered as exhibit one is the story of Rae (or sometimes Ray) Bourbon, a performer who appeared in early silent films opposite Rudolf Valentino and Gloria Swanson... who was a close friend of Mae West's, and guest-starred in several of her stage shows... who was arrested dozens of times for a risque stage act that featured him dressing in drag... who was an FBI informant during the Cold War... who released 10 albums of gay-themed comedy and song in the 1950s that continued to sell well into the '70s... and who died in 1971, while serving time in jail after being convicted as an accomplice to murder.
To the extent that he is remembered today, Bourbon is known as a pioneer in the once-popular but now long-forgotten field of “pansy comedy.” Although the details of his early life are clouded by the many tall tales Bourbon told, it is believed he was born in 1892 as Hal Wadell, and grew up on a ranch. At some point early in his life, Bourbon -- who was apparently bisexual and, in 1918, sired a son — began to dress as a woman. In 1920, Photoplay magazine held a contest to discover the nascent film industry's next big starlet. The first prize was a contract with Paramount Studios. Bourbon submitted a photo of himself in drag — and won.
When he arrived in Hollywood and presented himself to the Paramount executives, they had no idea what to do with him, until someone noticed he looked a bit like Esthelle Taylor, a popular actress on the Paramount roster. Bourbon was hired as her stunt double, and spent the next several years assaying small parts in dozens of features and shorts.
Eventually, Bourbon hit the vaudeville circuit with an outrageous act that included liberal doses of what today might be referred to as “drag humor.” When vaudeville began to fade in the 1930s, Bourbon brought his cross-dressing schtick to the new nightclubs, like the Pansy Club in New York, Jimmy's Back Yard in Los Angeles and Tait's Cafe in San Francisco, that were catering to both straight and gay audiences.
Next week, in this space, we'll learn how a comic who in the 1950s headlined Carnegie Hall ended up in 1967 surrounded by 70 dogs on the side of a Texas highway -- and how that led to a tragic killing — as we continue the bizarre story of Rae Bourbon.
Notes is supported by the Gay and Lesbian Fund, committed to enriching life in Colorado by supporting the arts.
Craven Lovelace produces Notes, a daily cultural history of popular music, for KAFM 88.1 Community Radio, kafmradio.org. You can visit cravenlovelace.com for more of his musings on the world of popular culture.
Standing on the side of the road, next to a broken down '55 Ford, was a crotchety old man, trying in vain to control what seemed like dozens of dogs, some of them dyed in bright shades of green and pink and orange, darting in and out of a large trailer being towed behind the Ford.
You might have a done a double-take as you cruised past this oddball scenario — but you surely couldn't have guessed that you were spying the bizarre prelude to a brutal murder and the end of what may be the most colorful career in showbiz history.
The old saw has it that “truth is stranger than fiction,” and offered as exhibit one is the story of Rae (or sometimes Ray) Bourbon, a performer who appeared in early silent films opposite Rudolf Valentino and Gloria Swanson... who was a close friend of Mae West's, and guest-starred in several of her stage shows... who was arrested dozens of times for a risque stage act that featured him dressing in drag... who was an FBI informant during the Cold War... who released 10 albums of gay-themed comedy and song in the 1950s that continued to sell well into the '70s... and who died in 1971, while serving time in jail after being convicted as an accomplice to murder.
To the extent that he is remembered today, Bourbon is known as a pioneer in the once-popular but now long-forgotten field of “pansy comedy.” Although the details of his early life are clouded by the many tall tales Bourbon told, it is believed he was born in 1892 as Hal Wadell, and grew up on a ranch. At some point early in his life, Bourbon -- who was apparently bisexual and, in 1918, sired a son — began to dress as a woman. In 1920, Photoplay magazine held a contest to discover the nascent film industry's next big starlet. The first prize was a contract with Paramount Studios. Bourbon submitted a photo of himself in drag — and won.
When he arrived in Hollywood and presented himself to the Paramount executives, they had no idea what to do with him, until someone noticed he looked a bit like Esthelle Taylor, a popular actress on the Paramount roster. Bourbon was hired as her stunt double, and spent the next several years assaying small parts in dozens of features and shorts.
Eventually, Bourbon hit the vaudeville circuit with an outrageous act that included liberal doses of what today might be referred to as “drag humor.” When vaudeville began to fade in the 1930s, Bourbon brought his cross-dressing schtick to the new nightclubs, like the Pansy Club in New York, Jimmy's Back Yard in Los Angeles and Tait's Cafe in San Francisco, that were catering to both straight and gay audiences.
Next week, in this space, we'll learn how a comic who in the 1950s headlined Carnegie Hall ended up in 1967 surrounded by 70 dogs on the side of a Texas highway -- and how that led to a tragic killing — as we continue the bizarre story of Rae Bourbon.
Notes is supported by the Gay and Lesbian Fund, committed to enriching life in Colorado by supporting the arts.
Craven Lovelace produces Notes, a daily cultural history of popular music, for KAFM 88.1 Community Radio, kafmradio.org. You can visit cravenlovelace.com for more of his musings on the world of popular culture.
