Jorge Perez Evelyn is the stage name of Jorge Perez, an Argentine actor who rose to prominence in the 1980s as the first man-vedette in the famous Corrientes Avenue theatres of Buenos Aires. Until then, being a vedette was a role only reserved for those born women.

Early life

Jorge Pérez is a third-generation artist. His mother, Hilda Dehil, was a vedette of vaudeville shows like the Moulin Rouge in Paris, and his grandma, Anita Bobasso, was an actress and singer. Jorge inherited both of his artistic talents. Being only 18 years old, he was in a musical show named "Verdissimo" (Very Green) at Cafe Teatro Popea on famous Corrientes Street, the center of all entertainment in Buenos Aires. As seen in "Alternativa Teatral," Jorge Perez, an Argentine actor who played Evelyn, is the transvestite who marked an era in that genre in Argentina. Evelyn was launched by journalist Leo Vanes on Corrientes Street in a musical named "Verdisimo" in "Teatro Popea.". This musical was followed by a revue show in Las Vegas style called "Los Vecinos de Corrientes", (The Neighbors of Corrientes), directed by Edgardo Cane and produced by Argentinian journalist Leo Vanés. The producer Antonio Prat, director of the well-known

Teatro Maipo Teatro Maipo is a historic theatre in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , ...

, invited Evelyn to star in a revue named "Una Noche de Locura.( A Crazy Evening) with the comedian Alberto Locati and the Argentinian folkloric ballet named "Argentina Trio" in Teatro El Gallo Azul de

Rosario Rosario () is the largest city in the central provinces of Argentina, Argentine province of Santa Fe Province, Santa Fe. The city is located northwest of Buenos Aires, on the west bank of the Paraná River. Rosario is the third-most populous ci ...

in November 1974. At the end of 1974, Gerardo Sofovich, the Argentinian producer, called Evelyn to star in a movie and, at the same time, be the attraction for his musical production called "Corrientes de Lujo" in Sans Souci Music Hall. The producer knew that having Evelyn in the movie theaters and, at the same time, in the musical show would attract a lot of attention. �This theater was considered the closest Argentinian version to Le Lido in Paris. It was located in the entertainment venue in Buenos Aires, Avenida Corrientes. In this musical, Evelyn shared the stage with Betty Lascaris, who was a dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Other Argentinian artists acting in this musical were Estela Raval, Marty Cosens, and Chico Novarro. As a result of this musical, Evelyn quickly became part of the news in the magazines, as shown on pages 76 and 77 of "Gente y la Actualidad," published by Editorial Atlántida, and Magazine siete dias. This theater was considered the closest Argentinian version to

Le Lido Le Lido is a cabaret and burlesque show located on the Champs-Élysées in Paris, France. It opened in 1946 at 78 Avenue des Champs-Élysées and moved to its current location in 1977. It is known for its exotic shows including dancers, singers ...

in Paris. It was located in the entertainment venue in Buenos Aires, Avenida Corrientes. In this musical, Evelyn shared the stage with Betty Lascaris, who was a dancer at the Moulin Rouge in Paris. Other Argentinian artists acting in this musical were

Estela Raval Palma Nicolina Ravallo, (19 May 1929 – 6 June 2012) better known as Estela Raval, was one of the first Argentine singer of pop latino back to the 1950s. She was accompanied by a band named The 5 Latinos. Raval was the lead in the musical Exc ...

, Marty Cosens, and Chico Novarro. As a result of this musical, Evelyn quickly became part of the news in the magazines, as shown on pages 76 and 77 of "Gente y la Actualidad", published by

Editorial Atlántida Editorial Atlántida is a prominent Argentine publishing house and the country's leading magazine publisher and distributor. History Development Editorial Atlántida's origins began with three magazines founded by an Uruguayan-Argentine journalis ...

, and Magazine siete dias. both magazines specializing in the show business including the two centers page of "Revista Gente" showing the cast of the musical "Corrientes de Lujo" with Jorge Perez EVELYN in the center, reading "A show to applaud and enjoy".

Military Dictatorship

The militaries, also known as the

dirty war The Dirty War ( es, Guerra sucia) is the name used by the military junta or civic-military dictatorship of Argentina ( es, dictadura cívico-militar de Argentina, links=no) for the period of state terrorism in Argentina from 1974 to 1983 a ...

took over the Argentinian government. Evelyn was supposed to starring a movie with a well-known Argentinian comedian

Alberto Olmedo Alberto Olmedo (24 August 1933 – 5 March 1988) was an Argentine comedian and actor, popularly regarded as one of the most important comedians in the history of his country, for his outstanding work in television, cinema and theater. Olmedo ...

. The film was named " My girlfriend the transvestite". The military censor did not allow to use the world

transvestite Transvestism is the practice of dressing in a manner traditionally associated with the opposite sex. In some cultures, transvestism is practiced for religious, traditional, or ceremonial reasons. The term is considered outdated in Western c ...

in the movie name, and it ended up being named "My girlfriend him"...As soon as the military censorship realized that a real transvestite was the star of the movie furiously let the producer know that "he will not allow a man dressed as a woman in the movie", ( but he did allow the actress that replaced Evelyn to dress as a man). Miguel Paulino Tato, is considered the highest censor in the history of Argentine cinema from August 1974 to March 24, 1976, during the presidency of María Estela Martínez de Perón; and from there until the end of 1980, during the civic-military dictatorship. The prestigious publication Page 12 from Buenos Aires, have featured Evelyn in its cover in January 2023, with 2 pages inside dedicated to the narrative of the Evelyn frustrated career. After having received a death threat note left on the dresser in his dressing room, Jorge decided to leave his country to protect his life, helped by longtime friend star Nelida Roca.

Career

Jorge Perez Evelyn left Argentina with an stop in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

for a successful press conference. This press conference prepared by producer Hugo De Freitas, had the purpose of making Evelyn known in the Brazilian theater industry to star in a musical show after her contract in Venezuela ended, but this never happened due to the success obtained in Caracas that It lasted longer than expected. The Brazil stop was followed by the musical in

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

a country that wide opened their arms to receive Evelyn. Soon he become the center o the press showing in the cover of all Venezuelan magazines. He did there two musicals "Noche de Gala" and "Gran Variety a lo Riviera", produced by Joaquin Riviera, both productions lasted for a full year.

Europe

Libertad Leblanc Libertad María de los Ángeles Vichich Blanco (; 24 February 193829 April 2021) was an Argentine film actress, famous for starring in several erotic films during the 1960s. Leblanc was one of Argentina's platinum blonde sex symbols in the 1960 ...

an Argentinian movie star who is Jorge's close friend, suggested to Evelyn do not miss Europe. Libertad screamed to the press in Europe: "soon there will be arriving Evelyn, an stage artist produced in America, be ready to enjoy him"... The public, producers and press critics that assisted to the Evelyn Show presentation in Cerebros Music Hall in Madrid, Spain, (a presentation just for the media), as the Diario ABC de Madrid publishes in its column "Blanco y Negro" a photo of Evelyn with her dancers carrying her through the air that reads:''"Evelyn is a great star thanks to a great Argentine actor Jorge Perez and comments under the photo: Evelyn is, simply, a great star who sings, dances, and does what she wants on stage. The International Evelyn Show is a revue in vaudeville style without a book, in which nothing has been neglected".''. The Spain's press was impressed by Jorge's stage talent, that a week later he was in the cover of the Magazine Chiss. They called Evelyn to be the successor of the English Actor

Danny La Rue Danny La Rue, (born Daniel Patrick Carroll, 26 July 1927 – 31 May 2009) was an Irish singer and entertainer, best known for his on-stage drag queen, drag persona. He performed in drag and also as himself in theatrical productions, television ...

, and a contract followed the presentation for performing in European cities that lasted for 3 years, named International Evelyn Show. EVELYN performed in several Music Halls, and as the

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

newspaper reads:''"Oasis Seville" announces the sensation of America in Europe. Evelyn, the most beautiful woman in the world, is a man, and his name is Jorge Perez''. Continuing with the newspaper Libertad of

Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...

which also published an article named "I am a man", Jorge Perez Evelyn wants to make the issue very clear. He flees from misunderstandings because he thinks that being a transvestite is a genre as worthy as any other, and continue all over Europe including private millionaire's parties at the

Costa del Sol The Costa del Sol (literally "Coast of the Sun" or "Sun Coast") is a region in the south of Spain in the autonomous community of Andalusia, comprising the coastal towns and communities along the coastline of the Province of Málaga and the easte ...

, discothèques and Theatres. After a successful tour in Italy, Jorge Perez Evelyn received the Riccione award as a foreign actor, with

Walter Chiari Walter Annicchiarico (8 March 1924 – 20 December 1991), known as Walter Chiari , was an Italian stage and screen actor, mostly in comedy roles. Biography Walter Annicchiarico was born in Verona, Italy on 8 March 1924 to a family originally ...

as a national actor.

Back to America

America claimed Evelyn back in the 1999s, and after a long tour that lasted several years in Miami,

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

and New York City shows, Jorge decided to put a stop to his career and settle in New York City and

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

, to help develop his lifetime partner

Rodolfo Valentin Rodolfo Valentin (born June 22, 1944) is a New York City hairdresser and entrepreneur. Beginning his career as a fashion model in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Valentin later emigrated to New York and opened an elegant salon in Madison Avenue. Now He ...

his career. A chain of hair salons was opened in the New York City and Long Island NY area. As a result, Jorge has turned his former show-business life into an entrepreneur. Jorge Perez currently resides in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. Recently in 2023, Jorge Perez Evelyn has been rediscovered as seen in the Pagina 12 article "Evelyn's silenced story" on which Evelyn is also the cover, that reads ''"after leaving the country due to censorship (which prevented him from starring alongside Olmedo in the film My Girlfriend El..., released in 1975, with Susana Giménez as his replacement), the actor Jorge Pérez Evelyn continued working around the world and at the end In the 90s he settled in New York. A third-generation artist –his mother and grandmother were vedettes-, Pérez talks about exile, transphobia and hypocrisy in the Argentine showbiz, and the differences between cross-dressing and the drag universe. And it also tells the story of Evelyn, its most famous character, and also the most persecuted, who is now rescued by proposals that range from podcasts to exhibitions in national museums to a series soon to be seen on one of the important platforms"''.

Musical Revues

Movies

*1975: ''My Girlfriend him'' - With

, movie that was censured by the military dictatorship government and Evelyn was replaced by another person.