ALL PHOTOS BY CHRISTOPHER SCALZI / DISTILLED STUDIOS
THE ONE AND ONLY WORLD FAMOUS …
MU/HAIR BY NICOLETTE GOLD / GOWN BY DAVID QUINN / WIG BY PERFIDIA
THE DRAG DIVA
THE ACTIVIST DRAG (Do note those shoes)
GLORIOUS PROFESSION: Host, Activist for the Queer Community + Elders, Confidence Coach, Mother of the House of Famous
GLORIOUS PERSONA: Happy Pink Fun Fun — with a Dark, Chewy Center
GLORIOUS QUALITIES: Trailblazing through Drag and Gender, Standing Up, Speaking Out — Taking Down the Patriarchy
GLORIOUS PHILOSOPHY:
“I wake up each and every day — create and witness moments of beauty love and magic.”
When I first heard their title — “Creator of FUN” — the World Famous *BOB* was working with SAGE — and I was editing a piece on LGBTQ elders for AARP.
I knew *BOB* as a mind-boggling downtown drag and burlesque performer in NYC — who used to call herself “The rock’n’roll tit clown.”
So. Ummm. How’d this re-start happen!?!!
So much has been written about *BOB* — their image, their gender, their performances — that I wanted to focus on this powerful human’s transitions — from Drag to Queer & Elder activist (hosting and burlesque along the way y’all) — taking down the patriarchy from the House of Famous in Austin, Texas …
LET’S START WITH THE BEGINNING. HOW DID YOU BECOME … YOU?
YOU LEFT HOME AT 16?
Fifteen and a half — from the boondocks of Paso Robles, California
SO: YOU LEFT THOSE SCRAPPY BEGINNINGS — MOVED TO THE EAST VILLAGE IN NYC, BECAME A PERFORMER/BURLESQUE/DRAG/PUNK STAR.
AND ON THE WAY, GOT YOUR HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA AT 40 — AT 50 WORKING ON YOUR MASTERS — AND AN ACTIVIST THROUGHOUT … WHILE PERFORMING, HOSTESSING AND WORKING WITH LGBTQ ELDER COMMUNITY. I’M EXHAUSTED WRITING THIS.
Hold on. Gotta take that down a notch. At 50 I received my Associate degree in gerontological studies — no masters — but the rest’s right on. (Laughs)
WHAT'S NEXT FOR YOU?
Creating spaces where we can discuss end of life issues, chip away at the discomfort around death. And rebrand aging while we’re at it.
WELL THAT’S HUGE!
HOW DID YOU COME TO THIS POSITIVE PLACE IN YOUR LIFE?
Positivity keeps me going. Love and courage. My chosen people reflect who I want to be when I grow up, if I ever to do that.
*BOB* — Inside and Out
AND WHERE DID YOU GET THIS DRIVE?
I'm like the candy Good and Plenty: The exterior is bright and colorful. And then the interior — a shadow self if you will — it’s dark and rich and thicker. I’m learning to work with that part of myself, instead of fearing it and not letting it run the whole show.
WHEN DID YOU COME TO THIS SELF AWARENESS?
When I was younger — maybe 13 to 25 — I had a lot of problems with addiction and alcohol. When I got sober, I was able to thicken up that candy shell.
BUT IT’S THE HAPPY YOU DISPLAY FULL ON!
(Laughs) Nobody has this big display of color if they are not fighting equally large demons. This is my antidepressant. The colors in my home and the colors I wear. It’s over the top … and the energy I want to emit.
AND WHEN THIS DOESN’T WORK? I MEAN — YOU ARE HUMAN.
I will just shut it all down. Go on strike. That’s a place of privilege. I realize that. But I had never had it before.
“Nobody has this big display of color – if they are not fighting equally large demons. This is my antidepressant. The colors in my home and the colors I wear. It’s over the top… and the energy I want to emit.”
DID YOU REALIZE THIS AFTER YOU GOT SOBER?
I did. Everything I tried to drink or drug away — every dilemma, trauma, emotion — went into a waiting room, sat there, holding up its number. And when I got sober that door opened: “Are you ready for us now?” So I am careful not to send things to that waiting room. Unless I absolutely need to.
DO YOU HAVE A MANTRA?
I have a mission statement that I wrote years ago — different from a mantra. Here’s it is:
“I wake up each and every day, create and witness moments of beauty love and magic.”
I LOVE THAT.
Artivist
DO YOU VIEW YOURSELF AS AN ARTIST FIRST — OR ACTIVIST FIRST?
You cannot separate them.
EXPLAIN PLEASE.
Like the motto — “not about us without us.” I am careful to not step in front of people I want to support.
For example: The queer communities. I would be an ally and less of a “I’m gonna take up space” in the queer persons of color community — ‘cause that doesn’t apply to me. So it is finding my artist and advocate self, how and where to apply it.
GIVE ME ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF YOUR ART AND ACTIVISM.
Every time I have been naked on stage — it’s been a political statement. And it’s art.
WHY?
‘Cause I have a body that isn’t mainstream ideal — and assigned ideals tend to unravel when I get on stage naked.
WERE YOU EVER SCARED UP THERE?
I’m scared all the time. Everybody’s fears are different — and everybody has fear. But I have a courage reference.
OOOOO. WHAT’S A COURAGE REFERENCE?
Every time you take a step — a little bit bigger than you are comfortable with — that is a courage reference. One step at a time, not attached to results.
GIVE ME SOME EXAMPLES IN YOUR LIFE.
In my mid 20s I didn’t love singing — but I was so scared that I knew I had to do it.
So I started voice lessons. After 8 months, I sang with a queer band that really intimidated me — and had a great time. Now I still don’t love singing (laughs) — but I did it.
And at 13, I wrote my first book “A Mere Thought.” I thought I had a book in me then. Now, at 50, to write my own story seems really scary. I lack discipline. Whenever I have this much resistance, it is exactly what I am supposed to do. I know that.
WRITE IT. ‘CAUSE IT WOULD MAKE A GREAT MOVIE, I CAN TELL YOU THAT.
Bring on the Burlesque
YOU ARE OLDER FOR A BURLESQUE STAR — IS IT HARDER TO GET JOBS?
I stopped dancing 10 years ago and became an exclusive MC. So I took the reins on that one.
GOOOO!
One of the main reasons I did that was — not because of age, but because I got sick — Hashimoto’s disease. It was hard to be in my body and really hard to dance. I was a performance artist for 31 years — I always thought the moment it didn’t feel like the stage was the only place to be — I will stop. Living with chronic illness I shifted gears. And that was terrifying.
SO HOW’D YOU PRESENT THAT SWITCH?
I called my friend Kate Valentine one of the best performers in the world — somebody I learned so much from and said: “How do I tell somebody that I only host now.” Her response? “Not like that. Tell them: I exclusively host now.”
“Every time I have been naked on stage — it’s been a political statement. And it’s art.”
PERFECT
You need people around you that can reframe. That’s key.
AND THEN YOU GET TO MERGE ALL THESE TALENTS WITH THE LIVING LEGENDS BALL …
Oh … my Temple. I get to go out on stage and bathe in their gloriousness
TELL US
It’s a 4 day Las Vegas extravaganza now known as the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend. It started as an annual gathering of burlesque stars — a reunion — and now …
I have been introducing these Legends over the past 16 years.
I got to bring out Jean Idelle, 92 years old — they called her “a sepia toned Sally Rand.”
Trail-blazer. When she was on the scene, the black musicians would have to play behind the curtain. But she has such a draw — the clubs would book her — and she negotiated that curtain to be dropped. She used her body and her power to integrate spaces.
TALK ABOUT POLITICAL ART!
WHAT ARE THE VIBES AT THE EVENT?
I always start that show by saying if you don’t have a lump in your throat or a tear in your eye by the end of tonight — you’re dead inside. (Laughs)
New York Dolls
WHAT WERE YOUR EARLY DAYS ON STAGE LIKE?
I’ll tell you about one of my favorite acts: It was New York in the 90s. Another fabulous gay bar. I’d come out with an exercise mat, two bags of McDonald’s cheeseburgers in an American flag bikini. I’d put down the mat — throw the cheeseburgers out to the crowd and take off my bikini while AC/DC’s “You Shook Me All Night Long” blasted away. People were just: Who’s this crazy person — this huge blonde wig with the painted-on eyebrows — topless aerobics with J cups? I called myself a rock’n’roll tit clown.
That’s almost burlesque — making fun of something. And it’s also political.
WHEN’S IT GET TO BE REAL BURLESQUE?
I thought — I’m gonna do a blonde bombshell Marilyn number. My drag mom Jackie Beat said: “You should mix a drink in your tits – they’re big enough.”
But what if I made it more classy — Marilyn Monroe mixing a martini in her cleavage and pouring it — with no hands. Pulling an olive out of her panties.
So I created this show “Martini Time” — and it was a smash.
During the day I had black hair shaved into a widow’s peak — like that good and plenty center — and at night, I’d be Marilyn.
A guy in the audience said: “I love your burlesque.” I never heard the word before. He was bitchy and funny and said — “Go the library and look it up.” I did. And fell in love.
“I used to call myself the rock’n’roll tit clown.”
THESE CHARACTERS YOU DEVELOP — THEY ARE YOUR STORY TELLING.
They are. I developed over 21 drag characters. I would sketch them in a book, name them, catch phrases, and started this at 15. No Ru Paul Drag Race out there. And I didn’t have a drag mother. Or a drag bar.
When Gender is a Drag for a Drag
HOW DID YOUR GENDER IDENTITY FACTOR INTO YOUR WORK?
Everyone said — you can’t do drag because you’re a girl and I will state clearly right now — that I am non-binary. I don’t identify as a woman or a man. My pronouns are she/him/they.
But we didn’t have that language, we didn’t have those words
TRAILBLAZER!
At 15, I thought I was trans. I thought I needed trans-sexual surgery … which is an antiquated thought but — I didn’t know. I felt like a tourist in my body. Being a girl was — a scratchy wool sweater hand-me-down that didn’t fit. And didn’t feel good.
So off to San Francisco I went — in the 80s — when I was 21 — brought a box of thrift store drag I put together — a couple of wigs, crazy girdles, torpedo bras — very John Waters — and got a job at The Stud. Perfect.
But …
Early ‘90s San Francisco.
WHAT’S THE “BUT” ABOUT …
To be accepted. The people close to me knew I was assigned female at birth. During the day I wore men’s clothes, underwear, all male. At night — I was a drag persona. But somebody who knew my assigned gender sprayed my crotch with a can of Lysol when I walked into the club and …
THAT’S VIOLENCE …
There were pockets of extreme. Look —some didn’t know and some did. For a small handful of people, they felt I was cheating. Saying things like — oh, you are “Victor/Victoria.” And when I finally saw the movie, it was really helpful. ‘Cause I said no — not me. Victor/Victoria was excited to go home and be a woman. I am not.
All Hail the Elderselder Love
AND HERE YOU ARE NOW. NON-BINARY. 10 YEAR MARRIAGE TO A BIG BEAR OF A HUSBAND — WORKING WITH LGBTQ ELDERS.
Oh yeah. I am art directing the entrance into my elder queen self. (Laughs)
I have started my caftan collection.
I HEARD A PODCAST WITH YOU AND DIRTY MARTINI — AND DIXIE EVANS CAME UP. A LOT.
Dixie Evans is my burlesque mother.
And I have 4 more moms.
“I am art directing the entrance into my elder Queen self.”
WHA? ONE MOM WAS PLENTY FOR ME...
Dixie created community and legacy. She ran the Exotic World of Burlesque Museum through the '70s and '80s — when people were not interested in burlesque. She guarded that little flame. And later, we could all light our fires from it. She was not the gatekeeper. It wasn’t her legacy. It was yours.
AND THE 4 OTHERS MOMS?
So... Dixie Evans — my burlesque mother.
Jackie Beat — my drag mother.
Flo — my husband’s mom — the pretty blonde lady I used to dream about having for a mom.
Maria from Greenpoint — my Brooklyn Italian mother.
Dottie — my 99 year-old bestie.
DO YOU HAVE AN OLD SOUL? IS THAT YOUR CONNECTION TO ELDERS?
No. I am a child. Looking for examples.
HOW DID YOU DECIDE TO GET MARRIED?
I was looking for a partner in a relationship. So I started online dating. 10 minutes a day. I had a whole formula.
AN ONLINE DATING FORMULA. DO TELL.
Here’s my system. I wore the same thing and met at the same place for every first date. I was in charge. But I got sick of bowling in that leopard dress. I met my husband, Erik at a Kenneth Anger film and it was the best date.
At one point I thought maybe Erik and I should just be friends. And decided to live my life according to the next Celestial Seasonings tea bag — whatever it says — that’s what I’m gonna do. It said “A relationship not built upon friendship first is like a mansion built upon the sand.” So I called him and asked him out on another date.
YOU LIKED HIM!
Yes. And I was used to holding sparklers! How shiny and bright! But they don’t last long. You get burnt. I thought, what about this beautiful candle — if I put my arm around it — I could see for years down the road.
AND YOU CHOSE TO LEAVE NYC ….
Yeah! Before I got bitter. And I was craving a real home.
WHY TEXAS?
It’s Erik’s family. His sister, my niblings, and Flo. It was: Hey lets figure out where we all want to go. I never had that type of family before.
We researched places and — Austin. Group decision. And in time, I actually have 4 of my 7 drag children here with me. I am so proud of them!
DO YOU HAVE A TRADITIONAL MARRIAGE?
Its monogamous. So that is traditional. I am gender queer. Sometimes people are like — is Erik? No Erik is cis gendered male. He is heterosexual. He is white.
BUT HE IS A SEXY BEAR AS YOU CALL HIM
I made it very clear early on about my gender. He was raised in a feminist household and so.
YOU ARE VERY MUCH A GLORIOUS BROAD.
HOW WOULD YOU DEFINE THE WORD GLORIOUS?
It’s a verb — radiating. That is the cool thing about this project — no box that people get shoved into as a Glorious Broad.
I ADORE YOU.
Your serotonin levels will thank you for checking out theworldfamousbob.com and World Famous BOB IG @worldfamousbob