1982 # 1
Place: Darcelle XV Showplace
Date:
Theme: None
Host: Darcelle XV
Judges: Kathy Smith of KGW-TV
Cheryl Hansen of KGW-TV
Junia Stephens of KPTV
La Femme Magnifique I Lorelei Lee Portland
La Femme Magnifique I – Runner Up – Lady Elaine Peacock
Our first La Femme and we got press. However, I would have preferred a more positive one – here goes: “You’re What You Wear” is the title. I might say that the evening dragged on. Sunday evening Darcelle’s was packed for La Femme Magnifique, a pageant to select the most talented female impersonator in the Pacific Northwest.
The mirrored tiles are peeling; the drapes are faded and torn. Even the spray-on glitter on the flowerpots on stage is wearing thin. The boys – I mean the girls – who strut their stuff at Darcelle’s don’t have to worry about being out-dazzled by the décor.
Lest it be thought that the business of being a drag queen is a peculiarly contemporary and urban phenomenon. I shouldn’t perhaps mention that the passion usually had two distinct roots: a small town and mummy’s closet. Consider Sunday evening’s contestants. Harley Dee hails from Silverton, Michelle Craig from Coos Bay, and Kelly Grant from Grants Pass. These are not the sort of towns where quiche looms large on local menus.
The contest was judged by a trio of (real) women well-versed in the art of playing dress-ups. Kathy Smith and Cheryl Hansen of KGW-TV, and Junia Stephens of KPTV turned out to be terribly good sports. Channel 8’s three-times-a-day before-meals news anchor, for example, was introduced as looking “as radiant as Liz Taylor…but not quite as well developed.” Hansen was called “butch” for showing up with a cast on a broken ankle – the latest testament to oft-quoted ferocity on the racquetball court.
In the final analyses, the choice of judges and crowd was unanimous. The crown went to Lorelel Lee, a young man who wowed the house with his positively eerie performance as Marilyn Monroe.
Note: There is no known video of this pageant.
