T.C. Jones (Thomas Craig Jones) was an extraordinarily talented female impersonator, recording artist and “male actress” who became quite popular in the 1950’s and mid 1960’s. T.C. was a member of the famed Jewel Box Revue in Miami and was known for his impersonations of stars such as Tallulah Bankhead, Judy Garland, Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis. He got his big break when theatrical producer Leonard Sillman cast him in the revue New Faces of 1956, directed by Paul Lynde. Sillman was strongly advised not to cast a female impersonator but he stated, "I never think of T. C. as a female impersonator, as a man imitating a woman. T. C. on stage is simply an extraordinarily talented woman.” The successful show would run for 220 performances. T.C.’s fame began to grow and he would be cast in several other productions as well as television appearances, including The Ed Sullivan Show and several other televised appearances that included wild portrayals of homicidal transvestites. He played a killer queen with a knack for strangling nurses in "An Unlocked Window", in an episode of The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in 1965 as well as playing the killer transvestite in "Night of the Running Death", a 1967 episode of The Wild Wild West. His personal life was well guarded, a trait that was not uncommon to many female impersonators during that time. It is known that he later befriended and then married Connie Dickson, who was a competitive fencer and owner of several beauty parlors. They had no children and sadly T.C. died of cancer in 1971 at the age of 50. His talent would not soon be forgotten and was often said to be "probably the best female impersonator since vaudeville's late famed Julian Eltinge". (Photo via QueerMusicHeritage)
