Larry Edwards, also known by his drag persona Hot Chocolate, is an American entertainer. Known for his performances in Las Vegas, primarily as a

Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the " Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue before ...

female impersonator A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

. Edwards has also competed in national pageants, being crowned as

Miss Gay America Miss Gay America is a national pageant for female impersonators. Established in 1972, the pageant is based on the Miss America contest and follows a similar format. Each year, contestants compete at various city, state, and direct regional pre ...

in 1980. Edwards has made numerous appearances on film and in television, including ''

Miss Congeniality 2 ''Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'' (also known as simply ''Miss Congeniality 2'') is a 2005 American female buddy action comedy film directed by John Pasquin, written and co-produced by Marc Lawrence, and co-produced by and starring Sand ...

'', ''

What's Love Got to Do with It What's Love Got to Do with It may refer to: *Tina Turner: ** "What's Love Got to Do with It" (song), a 1984 song by Tina Turner ** ''What's Love Got to Do with It'' (1993 film), a biographical film about Tina Turner ** ''What's Love Got to Do with ...

'', the documentary '' Pageant'', and the competition series ''

The Next Best Thing ''The Next Best Thing'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film directed by John Schlesinger (his final feature film before his death in 2003) about two best friends who have a child together and a custody battle years after. Starring Madonna, Rup ...

''. Edwards studied Fashion Merchandising at Massey Business College in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,7 ...

. Edwards performed in

Frank Marino Francesco Antonio Marino (born November 20, 1954) is a Canadian guitarist and singer, best known as the leader of Canadian hard rock band Mahogany Rush. Often compared to Jimi Hendrix, he is described as one of the most underrated guitarists of ...

's Las Vegas drag-revue show ''Divas'' as

and previously performed in the long-running hit show ''La Cage'' at the

Riviera Hotel and Casino Riviera (colloquially, "the Riv") was a hotel and casino on the Las Vegas Strip in Winchester, Nevada, which operated from April 1955 to May 2015. It was last owned by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, which decided to demolish it t ...

. Edwards met

at a taping of

The Oprah Winfrey Show ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'', often referred to as ''The Oprah Show'' or simply ''Oprah'', is an American daytime syndicated talk show that aired nationally for 25 seasons from September 8, 1986, to May 25, 2011, in Chicago, Illinois. Produced ...

. Edwards was the Celebrity Grand Marshall of the Las Vegas Pride Parade in 2010. Las Vegas mayor

Oscar Goodman Oscar Baylin Goodman (born July 26, 1939) is an American attorney and politician. A Democrat-turned-independent, Goodman was the mayor of Las Vegas, Nevada from 1999 to 2011. His wife, Carolyn Goodman, succeeded him as mayor in 2011. Early li ...

awarded Edwards the Keys to the city for his work in promoting the hospitality industry of the area. In 2019, when

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

announced her 2019/2020

Courage World Tour The Courage World Tour is the fourteenth concert tour by Canadian singer Celine Dion, in support of her English-language studio album '' Courage'' (2019). It was her first world tour in over a decade, since her Taking Chances World Tour. The to ...

, she released a video titled "Ciao for now Las Vegas", in which she leaves Las Vegas in a car full of

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

s. Impersonator Steven Wayne stood in for Dion, alongside drag queens; Bryan Watkins, Crystal Woods and Hot Chocolate as

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

, Diana Ross and

. He released a music video in 2020 featuring the remixed version of "

" by

Kygo Kyrre Gørvell-Dahll (born 11 September 1991), known professionally as Kygo (), is a Norwegian DJ and music producer. He garnered international attention with his December 2013 remix of the track " I See Fire" by Ed Sheeran and his December 20 ...

.Edwards Interview, ReviewJournal.Com
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Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Larry Living people African-American drag queens American drag queens American gay actors LGBT African Americans LGBT people from Florida LGBT people from Nevada People from Fort Myers, Florida Year of birth missing (living people)