In Portland, 92-year-old drag diva Darcelle dies 2023

Walter Cole, best known as the legendary drag queen who performed for decades as Darcelle XV and a brave advocate for the LGBTQ+ community in Portland, Oregon, has died of natural causes. He was 92.

Darcelle, who passed away on Thursday, was named the world’s oldest working drag performer by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2016 and continued to entertain audiences until her death. As a performer, Darcelle was recognized for hosting the longest-running West Coast drag show. Offstage, Cole, a veteran of the United States Army, advocated for LGBTQ+ rights and humanitarian work in Portland.

Darcelle died in Portland at the age of 92.

The nightclub that Darcelle built in downtown Portland more than 50 years ago, Darcelle XV Showplace, released a message on Facebook expressing sorrow and requesting privacy.

The club, which had become a cultural institution in Portland by the 1970s, was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2020, becoming the first landmark in Oregon to be nominated for its significance in LGBTQ+ history. According to The Oregonian/OregonLive, demonstrators picketed outside the theater during its early days in the 1970s and 1980s because it was deemed forbidden.

It was a lifeline for many in the city’s Homosexual population, including Cole, he said in a 2010 interview with a local newspaper. Cole told The Oregonian that he liked male pronouns offstage but preferred female pronouns onstage.

Darcelle, Guinness record holder as world’s oldest working drag queen

He told the newspaper, “If I hadn’t revealed who I was, I’d definitely be dead by now.” “I would be lounging on a couch, having retired from… management. Not for me.”

Todd Addams, the interim executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, stated about Darcelle, “She impacted the lives of countless people, not just via her performances, but also through her bold community advocacy and charity deeds.” She was nothing less than a legend.

In what is claimed as the first description of Darcelle XV, published in Willamette Week in 1975, Susan Stanley characterized the club as “warm and kind,” with singers “glittering in sequins and satin and a sparkling froth of feathers.”

Cole, a gay guy, refers to Darcelle in the third person using feminine pronouns while discussing his character. Cole said to Stanley, “I am an entertainer with a capital E.” “Like a character in a play, I put a lot of effort into Darcelle.”

Stanley ended up briefly working at the club and developing a strong friendship with Cole. She characterized the performer as a great artist who also created many of the club’s outfits, as well as a loving individual who was passionately committed in the LGBTQ+ community and the struggle against societal stigma at the time.

“(Darcelle) was an exceptionally caring individual. “She inspired other men to perform and get out of their shells,” Stanley said in a phone interview with the AP.

Following decades of activism by LGBTQ+ campaigners advocating for civil rights and liberties, Stanley lamented the polarization of drag in the current political context.

She stated, “This indicates a colossal miscommunication.” “Politicians desiring to regress decades in their attitudes… It fascinates and terrifies me at the same time.”

Cole was born in 1930 and grew up in the Linnton area of Portland. According to the club’s website, he was dismissed from the U.S. Military Forces in the late 1950s and utilized the money he earned from the service to launch his first business.

In 1967, after experimenting with a coffee shop and a jazz club, Cole bought the facility that would later become the Darcelle XV Showcase.

According to his description on the club’s website, two years later he formed a “alter ego” named Darcelle and came out as gay.

He separated from his wife and began dating his creative director. The Showplace became a famous venue for cabaret and drag performances in the 1970s.

Darcelle became the oldest drag performer on the West Coast in 1999, following the closure of Finocchio’s Club in San Francisco.

On Friday, admirers, including the mayor of Portland, lamented Cole’s passing via social media. In a social media post, Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden stated that “Darcelle etched out an indelible chapter in Portland’s history” with “pioneering boldness.”

In accordance with Darcelle’s intentions, the Darcelle XV Showplace will publish the specifics of a public memorial, and all performances will continue as planned.

Please join us in celebrating her legacy and memory, and we appreciate your continuing support,” the club’s statement said.