I would argue that Danny La Rue was the best and most well-known of all the female impersonators in the UK. Danny, however, always liked to make it clear that he preferred to be known as: "a comic in a frock". Indeed, La Rue's comic asides to his various audiences more than made it more than clear that underneath all his fabulous frocks he was dear old "Danny Boy".
La Rue began his life impersonating females in White Cargo, a production staged by ENSA during the forties.
In the Sixties La Rue owned a nightclub in London's Mayfair called Winston's. Very much a place to be seen at the time, performers including Ronnie Corbett appeared on stage in cabaret there with Danny.
TV viewers will have to be, like me, in their mid-thirties to remember the TV credits of Danny La Rue (real name Daniel Patrick Carroll) who was born in Cork in Ireland on the 26th July 1928.
The entertainers memorable TV appearances included: The Good Old Days (which featured Andrew Sachs' father, Leonard Sachs as the chairman), Danny La Rue at the Palace (the Palace Theatre in London’s West End) and Danny La Rue - The Ladies I love.
In 1972, Danny made the Second World War-based comedy film, Our Miss Fred. Filmed on location Norfolk on the East Coast, this film also saw post-production work completed at Elstree Studios in Borehamwood.
In the film, La Rue played Fred Wimbush, a Shakespearean actor who ends up appearing in drag at a camp variety show when the German's descend on the complex. His apparent appearance as a woman to the German's, in-time, helps to save his bacon and help dear old England.
Directed by Bob Kellett, who also wore the director's hat on sitcom spin-off films made at Elstree including: Up Pompeii and Are You Being Served?, Our Miss Fred proved that Danny should have made further films.
Our Miss Fred also starred Alfred Marks, Lance Percival and then-future Rising Damp actress, Frances De La Tour.
Although Danny's TV appearances were few and far between in more recent years, he continued to play theatres to great success across the land in music hall and pantomime. Indeed, 1982 also saw La Rue play the role of Dolly Levi in a stage production of the musical, Hello, Dolly!
His theatre dates over the years included the Cromer Pavilion, the same theatre on Cromer Pier which Danny can be spotted at the very start of his film Our Miss Fred.
It might sound like an old cliché, but we really won't see Danny La Rue's like again. He was a unique and talented entertainer who will be greatly missed.
RIP, Danny.
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