Crowned the world’s oldest working drag performer in 2016 by the Guinness Book of World Records
Walter Cole, best known as the iconic drag queen who performed for decades as Darcelle XV and fearless supporter of the LGBTQ+ community, has died of natural causes in Portland, Oregon at age 92.
Darcelle, who died on Thursday, was crowned the world’s oldest working drag performer in 2016 by the Guinness Book of World Records. As a performer, Darcelle was known for hosting the longest running drag show on the US West Coast. Offstage, Cole, being an Army veteran, championed LGBTQ+ rights and charity work in Portland.
Today, on his 91st birthday, Walter Cole, who performs in drag as Darcelle, saw the unveiling of a new plaque outside of Darcelle XV Showplace commemorating the Portland club’s placement on the National Register of Historic Places as the oldest drag cabaret in the US pic.twitter.com/Pg3dtqOdiQ
— The Oregonian (@Oregonian) November 17, 2021
The club that opened 50 years ago in downtown Portland, the Darcelle XV Showplace, has become a Portland cultural institution and in 2020 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the first venue in Oregon to be recognized for its significance in the history of the LGBTQI+ community. .
In its early days in the 1970s and 1980s, it was considered taboo and protesters protested outside it.
Walter C. Cole, better known as Darcelle XV, the iconic drag queen who performed for decades, has died of natural causes in Portland, Oregon, at 92.
The Guinness Book of World Records named Darcelle the world’s oldest working drag performer in 2016. https://t.co/PtGaz9sxXq pic.twitter.com/fVH6uw8kbV
— The Associated Press (@AP) March 24, 2023
Source :Skai
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