Pansy Craze
Encyclopedia
During the Pansy Craze of 1930-1933 in Manhattan
, gay clubs and performers, known as "pansy performers", experienced a surge in underground
popularity.
balls in Village
and in Harlem
, but the early 1930s saw a new development within a highly commercial context, bringing the gay subculture of the enclaves of Greenwich Village and Harlem onto the mainstream stages of midtown Manhattan
in a veritable Pansy Craze from 1930 until the repeal of prohibition in 1933. After the repeal of prohibition, this tolerance
waned. Any sympathetic portrayal of gay characters (termed sexual perverts) was prohibited by the motion-picture production code from being included in Hollywood films. Performer Ray Bourbon was arrested many times for his act, considered tame by today's standards.
The 1920s and 1930s saw the emergence of notable and visible gay and lesbian presence and subculture in various cities in the USA. In many ways, New York City set the tone, particularly in its "bohemian artistic enclaves" of Greenwich Village and Harlem, as well as in the cabarets and speakeasies
around the Broadway Theater District centered on Times Square. Whereas the late 19th century restricted gay male activity to the seedy red-light district under the elevated train of the Bowery, with an even less visible lesbian life largely restricted to private salons for upper class women and a quite limited dance hall life for the less well-off, Prohibition allowed the first emergence of a visible gay and lesbian life in a largely middle-class context. Prohibition forced a new mixing of all kinds of people—all in search of the same illicit drink, and economics made for a culture of at least mild tolerance if not outright "anything goes". As prohibition was quite bad for business in cosmopolitan cities, city officials and Madison Avenue conspired together to create the "Cult of the Urban Sophisticate" who was above the petty and outdated moralism of the Temperance movement. Not only did the 1920s see the emergence of visible, tolerated gay enclaves—but also the emergence of several gay-owned (or more often lesbian-owned) and -operated speakeasies and clubs, precursors of the outright "gay" or "lesbian" bars. There was an increasing association of gay and lesbian people with a kind of cultural renaissance, with many artists and writers gay and lesbian, and many of the salons that nurtured this talent, whether in the Village, Harlem or in sister commentates in Paris, run by women, quite often lesbians.
was born Victor Eugene James Malin in Brooklyn
on June 30, 1908 to working class Polish
/Lithuania
n parents. He had two brothers and two sisters. As a child, he attended P.S. 50 in Brooklyn and then Eastern District High School for a while. One brother became a police officer, and the other worked for a sugar refinery
.
Several columnists noted Mailn's talent and in 1930 at age 22 Malin was booked at Louis Schwartzs' elegant "Club Abbey" at 46th and 8th Ave. Although Malin was at times assisted by "Helen Morgan JR.", a popular drag artist of the day, he did not appear in drag himself. He did not impersonate women, but appeared as an openly gay male. He moved on stage and among the audience members as a tuxedo-clad, elegant, witty, wisecracking Emcee.
Malin became Broadway's top earner of Broadway. After headlining numerous New York clubs, he took his act to Boston
and ultimately to the West Coast
.
Malin was killed in a car accident on August 10, 1933, following a farewell performance at the Ship Cafe in Venice, California.
and became a standard in gay bars for decades to follow.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, gay clubs and performers, known as "pansy performers", experienced a surge in underground
Subculture
In sociology, anthropology and cultural studies, a subculture is a group of people with a culture which differentiates them from the larger culture to which they belong.- Definition :...
popularity.
Performance styles
By the end of the 1920s much of the public image of gay people was still limited to the various dragDrag (clothing)
Drag is used for any clothing carrying symbolic significance but usually referring to the clothing associated with one gender role when worn by a person of another gender. The origin of the term "drag" is unknown, but it may have originated in Polari, a gay street argot in England in the early...
balls in Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
and in Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
, but the early 1930s saw a new development within a highly commercial context, bringing the gay subculture of the enclaves of Greenwich Village and Harlem onto the mainstream stages of midtown Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
in a veritable Pansy Craze from 1930 until the repeal of prohibition in 1933. After the repeal of prohibition, this tolerance
Toleration
Toleration is "the practice of deliberately allowing or permitting a thing of which one disapproves. One can meaningfully speak of tolerating, ie of allowing or permitting, only if one is in a position to disallow”. It has also been defined as "to bear or endure" or "to nourish, sustain or preserve"...
waned. Any sympathetic portrayal of gay characters (termed sexual perverts) was prohibited by the motion-picture production code from being included in Hollywood films. Performer Ray Bourbon was arrested many times for his act, considered tame by today's standards.
The 1920s and 1930s saw the emergence of notable and visible gay and lesbian presence and subculture in various cities in the USA. In many ways, New York City set the tone, particularly in its "bohemian artistic enclaves" of Greenwich Village and Harlem, as well as in the cabarets and speakeasies
Speakeasy
A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an establishment that illegally sells alcoholic beverages. Such establishments came into prominence in the United States during the period known as Prohibition...
around the Broadway Theater District centered on Times Square. Whereas the late 19th century restricted gay male activity to the seedy red-light district under the elevated train of the Bowery, with an even less visible lesbian life largely restricted to private salons for upper class women and a quite limited dance hall life for the less well-off, Prohibition allowed the first emergence of a visible gay and lesbian life in a largely middle-class context. Prohibition forced a new mixing of all kinds of people—all in search of the same illicit drink, and economics made for a culture of at least mild tolerance if not outright "anything goes". As prohibition was quite bad for business in cosmopolitan cities, city officials and Madison Avenue conspired together to create the "Cult of the Urban Sophisticate" who was above the petty and outdated moralism of the Temperance movement. Not only did the 1920s see the emergence of visible, tolerated gay enclaves—but also the emergence of several gay-owned (or more often lesbian-owned) and -operated speakeasies and clubs, precursors of the outright "gay" or "lesbian" bars. There was an increasing association of gay and lesbian people with a kind of cultural renaissance, with many artists and writers gay and lesbian, and many of the salons that nurtured this talent, whether in the Village, Harlem or in sister commentates in Paris, run by women, quite often lesbians.
Gene Malin
This change is probably best illustrated by the brief meteoric rise of the career/phenomenon of Gene (Jean) Malin. Gene MalinGene Malin
Gene Malin was a Finnish-born American actor, emcee, and drag performer during the Jazz Age. He was the first openly gay performer in Prohibition-era Speakeasy culture.-Early life:...
was born Victor Eugene James Malin in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
on June 30, 1908 to working class Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
/Lithuania
Lithuania
Lithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
n parents. He had two brothers and two sisters. As a child, he attended P.S. 50 in Brooklyn and then Eastern District High School for a while. One brother became a police officer, and the other worked for a sugar refinery
Sugar refinery
A sugar refinery is a factory which refines raw sugar.Many cane sugar mills produce raw sugar, i.e. sugar with more colour and therefore more impurities than the white sugar which is normally consumed in households and used as an ingredient in soft drinks, cookies and so forth...
.
Several columnists noted Mailn's talent and in 1930 at age 22 Malin was booked at Louis Schwartzs' elegant "Club Abbey" at 46th and 8th Ave. Although Malin was at times assisted by "Helen Morgan JR.", a popular drag artist of the day, he did not appear in drag himself. He did not impersonate women, but appeared as an openly gay male. He moved on stage and among the audience members as a tuxedo-clad, elegant, witty, wisecracking Emcee.
Malin became Broadway's top earner of Broadway. After headlining numerous New York clubs, he took his act to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
and ultimately to the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
.
Malin was killed in a car accident on August 10, 1933, following a farewell performance at the Ship Cafe in Venice, California.
Bruz Fletcher
The career of Bruz Fletcher (1906–1941) ran from about 1929 to 1940, including a long run from 1934 to 1940 at Club Bali in Los Angeles, a gay bar. When he committed suicide in 1941, at age 34, it was generally reported that he was despondent over his inability to find work as a gay performer. He had "a level of genius equaled by very, very few," recalled one of his fans. He became a master of gay code and double speak in order to survive and flourish in a very homophobic era. A singer, composer, novelist, playwright, the darling of sophisticated night spots in the 1930s. He left behind three albums of complex coded songs and two novels. His drama-filled life was a sad story of extremes and incredible plot twists. One of his more risqué recordings was called "My Doctor" (1935). His signature song "Drunk with Love" was daringly adopted by Frances FayeFrances Faye
Frances Faye was an American cabaret and show tune singer and pianist. She was born to a working-class Jewish family in Brooklyn, New York City. She was a second cousin of actor Danny Kaye.-Career:...
and became a standard in gay bars for decades to follow.
Ray Bourbon
In 1932, Ray (Rae) Bourbon was working full-time as a female impersonator at such clubs as Jimmy's Back Yard in Hollywood and Tait's in San Francisco. At the latter, in May 1933, police raided his "Boys Will Be Girls" review during a live radio broadcast. In the later 30s and early 40s he headlined at the Rendezvous in Los Angeles and starred in his own revue, "Don't Call Me Madam." Throughout the 50s and 60s Bourbon entertained at hundreds of clubs throughout the U.S. and released dozens of albums, certainly the most prolific female impersonator to have done the latter. His appearances are still fondly remembered by many who saw him when he toured in big and small towns all over the country, providing many isolated Gay men with a glimpse of the loose-knit urban Gay community of the pre-Stonewall era. His comedy was at once highbrow and lowbrow, overtly gay and covertly subversive. Despite his influence on gays, he remained vague about his own sexuality. There is evidence that he had relationships with both men and women, was married twice, and fathered at least one son. Bourbon excelled at generating numerous conflicting stories about himself.Sources
- George ChaunceyGeorge ChaunceyGeorge Chauncey is a professor of history at Yale University. He is best known as the author of Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940 .-Life and works:...
: Gay New York: Gender, Urban Culture, and the Making of the Gay Male World, 1890-1940 (Basic Books, 1994), especially Chapter 11: "Pansies on Parade" - Chad Heap, Slumming: Sexual and Racial Encounters in American Nightlife, 1885-1940 (University of Chicago Press, 2009), especially Chapter 6, "The Pansy and Lesbian Craze in White and Black"