Rusty Ryan was the

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

of Robert Brian Timbrell (December 28, 1947 – July 28, 2003), a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

actor and

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 o ...

."Rusty Ryan"
''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former pr ...

'', August 20, 2003. He was a founding member of The Great Impostors, a long-running drag troupe in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

whose members included Ryan, Tammy Autumn,

Michelle DuBarry Michelle DuBarry is the stage name of Russell Alldread (born November 23, 1931), a Canadian drag queen,

, Danny Love, Jackie Loren, Terri Stevens, Christian Jefferies and Dale Barnett at different times. Timbrell was born in Kingston,

on December 28, 1947, the younger brother of politician

Dennis Timbrell Dennis Roy Timbrell (born November 13, 1946) is a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) from 1971 to 1987, and was a Cabinet minister in the Progressive Conservative governments of Bill Davis and Frank Mil ...

. He was working as a stockbroker when he first began performing in the 1970s, and was given his drag name by friend and fellow performer Craig Russell. With the Great Impostors, Ryan toured extensively across Canada, giving many smaller communities their first exposure to drag and

LGBT ' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity. The LGBT term is a ...

culture; in the 1980s, he accompanied

Frankie Goes to Hollywood Frankie Goes to Hollywood were an English synth-pop band formed in Liverpool in 1980. The group's best-known line-up comprised Holly Johnson (vocals), Paul Rutherford (backing vocals), Peter Gill (drums, percussion), Mark O'Toole (bass guit ...

on their North American tour. In 1992, he wrote and performed a one-man play, ''Driving to Tatamagouche'', at the

Toronto Fringe Festival The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been ...

Jeffrey Round Jeffrey Round is a Canadian writer, director, playwright, publisher, and songwriter, who has encouraged the development of LGBT literature, particularly in Canada. His published work includes literary fiction, plays, poetry and mystery novels.

''Driving with Rusty''
He also had numerous minor roles in television and film. Best known to film audiences for his supporting role as Jimmy the bartender in ''

Outrageous! ''Outrageous!'' is a 1977 Canadian comedy drama film written and directed by Richard Benner. The film stars Craig Russell as female impersonator Robin Turner, and Hollis McLaren as Turner's schizophrenic roommate Liza Conners. The plot begins i ...

'' and its sequel '' Too Outrageous'', he also appeared in the television films ''The Sins of Dorian Gray'' and ''The Wharf Rat'', the theatrical film '' 54'', an episode of '' Queer as Folk'' and a music video by Platinum Blonde. He died of a heart attack on July 28, 2003 in

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, following a performance that was part of his first tour performing comedy out of drag."Female impersonator could play it straight; Robert Timbrell also in films, TV 'He was a howl, he stole the show'". ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'', August 11, 2003. Following his death, writer

prepared and released a documentary film, ''Driving with Rusty''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Rusty Canadian male film actors Canadian drag queens Male actors from Kingston, Ontario Male actors from Toronto Writers from Kingston, Ontario Writers from Toronto Canadian gay actors Canadian gay writers 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights LGBT dramatists and playwrights 2003 deaths 1947 births Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 20th-century LGBT people