Danny La Rue, OBE (born Daniel Patrick Carroll, 26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an Irish-English singer and entertainer, particularly in stage theatre known for his singing and cross-dressing performances.
Born as Daniel Patrick Carroll in Cork City,Ireland, in 1927, La Rue was the youngest of either four or five siblings. The family moved to England when he was six and he was brought up at Earnshaw Street in Soho, central London. When the family home was destroyed during the Blitz, his mother, a seamstress, moved her children to Kennford, a Devon village where young Daniel developed an interest in dramatics. “There weren't enough girls so I got the pick of the roles ... My Juliet was very convincing,†La Rue recalled.
He served in the Royal Navy as a young man following his father's footsteps, and even had a brief career delivering groceries, but he became known for his skill as a female impersonator (or "comic in a frock" as he preferred to be called) in the United Kingdom and was featured in theatre productions, and in film, television and records.
Among his celebrity impersonations were Elizabeth Taylor, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Judy Garland, Margot Fonteyn, Marlene Dietrich and Margaret Thatcher. At one point he had his own nightclub in Hanover Square, and also performed on London's West End. In the 1960s he was among Britain's highest-paid entertainers. In the 1970s, he owned the Swan, a noted inn at Streatley on the River Thames, which is now a 4-star hotel.
- La Rue, Danny (1987) From Drags to Riches: my autobiography, Harmondsworth: Viking,
- Underwood, Peter (1974) Life's a drag : Danny la Rue & the drag scene, London: Frewin,
- Baker, Roger (1968) Drag: A History of female impersonation on the stage, Triton:
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