A random collection of over 1910 books and audiobooks authored by or about my transgender, intersex sisters, and gender-nonconforming persons all over the world. I read some of them, and I was inspired by some of them. I met some of the authors and heroines, some of them are my best friends, and I had the pleasure and honor of interviewing some of them. If you know of any transgender biography that I have not covered yet, please let me know.
2020,
Brian Bradley,
Craig Russell,
English,
Full title: "Outrageous Misfits: Female Impersonator Craig Russell and His Wife, Lori Russell Eadie" by Brian Bradley.
"Craig Russell was an internationally admired entertainer and actor, known for his outrageous impersonations of some of Hollywood's greatest female celebrities: Mae West, Barbra Streisand, Bette Midler, Carol Channing, and Judy Garland, to name a few. Lori Russell Eadie, a shy theatre lover, was Craig's No. 1 fan and, eventually, his wife.
Together they were fun, fabulous, and eschewed convention. But behind the curtains, Craig and Lori's lives were troubled by their mental health, drug addiction, sexual assault, and abuse.
Through nearly one hundred interviews and extensive research, Outrageous Misfits reveals the life and legacy of one of the world's most popular female impersonators and his biggest fan."
Here is the excerpt from the memoir by David de Alba: "Later Mae West let me in on another confidence, that when Craig was president of her fan club, she let him stay at her beach house in Santa Monica. One day when Paul Novak, Mae's friend and companion for 27 years, stopped by to see how Craig was getting along, he was met by the young president of Mae's fan club undulating around the place, bewigged, made up (including "those" eyelashes,) dressed in one of Mae's heavily beaded gowns! There was also tangible evidence Craig had been quite busy trying on all of Mae's dresses. BUSTED! Mae directed Craig to vacate the premises at once; those were HER clothes, and HER eyelashes, and nobody else was going to wear them!
Some years later, when Craig was performing at what was once The Millionaire Club in Beverly Hills, I went to see his act. His Mae West impersonation was stunning! He did Mae as well as she did! Craig was a real stickler for detail, including "those" heavy stage eyelashes, big bosom, and Edith Head or Travis Banton style beaded gown (I wondered if perhaps he'd "lifted" this outfit from Mae's closet upon his quick exit out of it?!) After the show, I went backstage and met with him - he remembered me (good memory, as it had been several years since we met at Mae's). He was very cordial, and I'm glad I had the opportunity to see him that night, and tell him how much I enjoyed his work, because now he's gone. I saw "Outrageous!" not long ago, and, as in his nightclub act before, he essayed Mae better than I've ever seen anyone else portray my friend. Craig Russell was an extremely gifted artist, and a nice guy."
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