GayStarNews is reporting that British drag performer Ruby Venezuela died Friday night following a period of illness. It’s believed she was in her mid-60s.
For those unacquainted with “phenomenal talent” that was Ruby Venezuela, she
was born Brian Pearce and raised in Plymouth, where he began his drag career. He relocated to London to work as a front window display artist at Harrods, but eventually left full-time to concentrate on cabaret.
Venezuela was best known for hosting shows at Madame Jo Jo’s in Soho in the 1980s and 1990s. Pearce became artistic director of the venue. He also performed abroad, including residencies in Vienna in the late 1970s and Amsterdam in the 00s, besides other international locations.
He also presided over her own Soho bar, Ruby’s on Gerrard Street, in the late 90s.
Read more about her life and legacy (including a fabulous run-in with Princess Diana) here.
(Photo: Facebook via GSN)
