By Drew Wilson
Legendary diva Jimmy James returns to Denver on Saturday, October 6 at Lannie's Clocktower Cabaret.
A thrillingly talented entertainer and vocal impressionist, James is a gay pioneer who made groundbreaking appearances on early talk shows like 'Donahue' and 'Sally Jessie Raphael'. A drag superstar before 'RuPaul's Drag Race' made it popular, James' Marilyn Monroe impersonation remains legendary even though he retired the character years ago.
We had a chance to catch up recently and talk his upcoming Denver show, how he broke into the entertainment biz, and 'Here Comes Honey Boo Boo'. It was fabulous.
Drew Wilson: So Jimmy, tell us about yourself!
Jimmy James: I'm
a Singer-Songwriter, Recording & Tribute Artist. As a recording
artist I've written my own Dance pop music album entitled JAMESTOWN (iTunes & Amazon) featuring my global club hit FASHIONISTA.
As a Tribute Artist, I pay vocal homage to some of the most legendary
female voices of all time: Cher, Madonna, Amy Winehouse, Barbra
Streisand, Billie Holiday, Liza Minnelli, Judy Garland, Eartha Kitt,
Patsy Cline and much more.
My
show is a showcase for my talent. It's a hybrid of Comedy, Drama &
Music - several classic theatrical elements rolled up into one show
coming from ONE person.
How did you break into the entertainment industry?I was an actor with good makeup skills. My reason for honing my Makeup skills was because I had such a baby face and or a "girl face" so I needed to know how to alter my appearance through the illusion of makeup.
Originally in the early 1980s I first tried to alter my face to
do Barbra Streisand but it was a 4 hour process. That was too long. Her
face was too different from mine. Then one day I was at the mall and
came across a book called 'LIFE GOES TO THE MOVIES.' In this book
was a photo of Marilyn Monroe by Philippe Halsman. I immediately
recognized a similarity in our faces. Only a trained makeup artist would
recognize this. Recognizing it was only the first step. I had a long
road ahead of me to figure out what I could do with it. After about three years of intense research (remember there was NO internet, NO YouTube, I
worked hard to investigate her persona) I was ready to take Marilyn out
for a test drive. On Halloween 1982, I entered a costume contest. All I
could do was blow kisses and the people exploded with screams! I won
the contest. I got paid $250. For me that was a lot of money. I couldn't
believe it.
Soon I was designing my own one man shows where I would do
Marilyn in the first half of the show then change to androgynous to come
out to do the voices in the second half. I finally figured out how to
package my show. By 1997 I retired the Marilyn part of my show and
expanded the voices and I've added more comedy and a couple of my own
songs including FASHIONISTA.
You were famous for making the rounds on the talk show circuit during its Golden Age during the '80s and '90s. What are some of your most memorable moments?
DONAHUE gave me my first BIG break (May '87). People still talk about that appearance. Getting on JOAN RIVERS ('91) was a big thrill for me because I've read her books about show business. I loved kissing GERALDO in a Philadelphia mall by surprise. SALLY had me on 3 times! My least favorite was GORDON ELLIOT (now
executive producer of The Chew also producer for Paula Dean). I was on
his show around 1997 with some other New York Queens. They kind of made
fun of the queens. I was on the show just in drag (NOT as Marilyn). The
show was designed to malign the queens. I was incensed. I later called
the segment producer and bitched him out for putting all of us in that
position. The audience was encouraged to be hostile towards us. To
retaliate I raised my dress and flashed them my pussy panties. I shocked
them....hahaaaa!
What are some of your other personal career highlights?
There are so many moments but one sweet moment happened when I was featured on a billboard in the center of Times Square under the Sony jumbotron. I was featured on a fashion ad campaign as Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland & Bette Davis with Supermodel Linda Evangelista 1996. I flew my mother in from From Texas and had our picture taken under it. We celebrated that moment and it was special.
There are so many moments but one sweet moment happened when I was featured on a billboard in the center of Times Square under the Sony jumbotron. I was featured on a fashion ad campaign as Marilyn Monroe, Judy Garland & Bette Davis with Supermodel Linda Evangelista 1996. I flew my mother in from From Texas and had our picture taken under it. We celebrated that moment and it was special.
Another
great moment for me is seeing FASHIONISTA on YouTube. The influence my
song has had around the world with Drag queens lip synching to it,
little girls dancing to it, seeing people from other countries enjoy my
music on YouTube. This is a high that I can't describe.
You perform here a lot. What's your favorite thing about Colorado? The Denver airport where I will be for the end of the world.
Why should we come see you at Lannie's?
Because I'm funny, versatile and I do tricks with my throat. And Lannie's makes good martinis.
Because I'm funny, versatile and I do tricks with my throat. And Lannie's makes good martinis.
What inspires you?I love Honey Boo Boo!
What's your message for readers of MileHighGayGuy and the Denver gay community?
Be proud of who you are because it matters. Stay true to yourself. Be genuine. Have integrity. And shake your groove thing. Ya Ya!
Be proud of who you are because it matters. Stay true to yourself. Be genuine. Have integrity. And shake your groove thing. Ya Ya!
For more information visit JimmyJames.com or Lannies.com.
