Rae Bourbon

Ray (or Rae) Bourbon (August 11, 1902 – July 19, 1971) was the stage name of an American female impersonator and comic entertainer noted for his "outrageous" risqué monologues and songs, written by composers such as Bart Howard ("Fly Me to the Moon"), Bob Wright and Chet Forrest (MGM's "Kismet"), and actor Robert Mitchum. Beginning a show business career around 1920 as a bit player in silent movies and later appearing in vaudeville, Ray rose to prominence in the early 1930s as part of the so-called "Pansy Craze", where gay nightclubs became fashionable hangouts in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, and other cities. In the 1930s and 40s, Ray owned his own nightclub in Los Angeles, the Rendezvous, and appeared regularly in several cities across the US. He also appeared in two Mae West plays in the 1940s, “Catherine Was Great" and "Diamond Lil", in parts especially written for him, as well as headlining three revues on the legitimate stage in Los Angeles, "Insults of 1944", "This is It", and "The 11:45 Revue”. In 1932, under the pen-name Richard F. Mann, he wrote and published a novel called "Hookers." Ray released several recordings, first on 78 rpm discs and later on lp records, sold in music stores, by mail order, and at his shows from the 1930s through the 1960s. These are mostly studio recordings of Ray performing songs and character routines, but also include two lp records of his live act recorded in the early 1950s and 1960s. After a decline in his career in the 1960s, with Bourbon mainly appearing at the Jewel Box Revue in Kansas City and attempting to pull together a Broadway show, "Daddy Was a Lady", he was arrested for conspiracy to commit murder in Texas in 1968. Bourbon died while serving time in prison.