Darcelle XV (November 16, 1930 – March 23, 2023) was the stage name of Walter Willard Cole, an American

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

, entertainer, and

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

owner and operator in

Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at the confluence of the Willamette River, Willamette and Columbia River, ...

Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, list ...

had certified him as the oldest drag queen performer in 2016, with a career as an entertainer spanning 56 years at the time of his death.

Biography

Walter Willard Cole was born on November 16, 1930, and raised in the Linnton neighborhood of

. He was described as a shy, "four-eyed sissy boy". In 1952, he was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, where he was stationed in Italy with the

Signal Corps A signal corps is a military branch, responsible for military communications (''signals''). Many countries maintain a signal corps, which is typically subordinate to a country's army. Military communication usually consists of radio, telephone, ...

, and served for three years. Afterward, he lived a "conventional" life in southeast Portland with his wife and two children. He worked at a

Fred Meyer Fred Meyer, Inc. is an American chain of hypermarket superstores and subsidiary of Kroger based in Portland, Oregon. The stores operate in the northwestern United States, with locations in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Alaska. The company was ...

store and described himself as having "a

crew cut A crew cut is a type of haircut in which the upright hair on the top of the head is cut relatively short, graduated in length from the longest hair that forms a short pomp (Pompadour (hairstyle), pompadour) at the front hairline to the shortest a ...

and

horn-rimmed glasses Horn-rimmed glasses are a type of eyeglasses. Originally made out of either horn or tortoise shell, for most of their history they have actually been constructed out of thick plastics designed to imitate those materials. They are characterized b ...

". Cole used military funds to help start business ventures. Cole first purchased a

coffeehouse A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café (), is an establishment that serves various types of coffee, espresso, latte, americano and cappuccino, among other hot beverages. Many coffeehouses in West Asia offer ''shisha'' (actually called ''nargi ...

called Caffé Espresso, which later relocated and expanded to include a basement jazz club called Studio A. In 1967, he purchased a tavern in northwest Portland which became Darcelle XV Showplace. Cole first wore a woman's dress at age 37. By 1969, he had developed the alter ego Darcelle and

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBTQ people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. This is often framed and debated as a privacy issue, ...

as gay. He left his wife (though they remained legally married) and began a relationship with Roxy Neuhardt, who worked alongside Darcelle at the Showplace as a choreographer, show director, performer, bookkeeper, office manager, and payroll accountant. The two remained together until Neuhardt's death in 2017. Cole died of

natural causes In many legal jurisdictions, the manner of death is a determination, typically made by the coroner, medical examiner, police, or similar officials, and recorded as a vital statistic. Within the United States and the United Kingdom, a distinc ...

at a hospital in Portland on March 23, 2023, at the age of 92. In one of his final interviews, Darcelle stated on the

LGBTQ&A ''LGBTQ&A'' is a podcast hosted by Jeffrey Masters and produced by ''The Advocate'' magazine in partnership with GLAAD. It features interviews with notable LGBTQ figures such as Pete Buttigieg, Laverne Cox, Janelle Monáe, Brandi Carlile, and Ro ...

podcast that everything was set up to ensure that his daughter, son, and longtime collaborator, Poison Waters, would be able to keep Darcelle XV Showplace running after his death.

Darcelle

Cole, who had an interest in acting and had worked at Portland Civic Theater, developed his alter ego Darcelle and

as gay. The name "Darcelle" honors French actress and singer

Denise Darcel Denise Darcel (née Billecard, 8 September 1924 – 23 December 2011) was a French-American vaudevillian, actress and singer, who from 1948 and 1963, appeared in films in Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a ...

. Darcelle wore false eyelashes, jewelry, and shiny clothing. Cole described Darcelle's persona as "sequins on the eyelids, lots of feathers, big hair, big jewels, and lots of wisecracks". Avoiding an Oregon law that prohibited the use of more than one instrument during performances, entertainers at Darcelle XV Showplace lip-synched. The business was fined after Neuhardt performed a "ballet-like adagio" with another man. Darcelle attended social functions throughout the city. In 2011, he served as grand marshal of the

Portland Rose Festival The Portland Rose Festival is an annual civic festival held during the month of June in Portland, Oregon. It is organized by the volunteer non-profit Portland Rose Festival Foundation (named the Portland Rose Festival Association until the 2000s ...

Starlight Parade The Starlight Parade is an annual parade held in Portland, Oregon Portland ( ) is the List of cities in Oregon, most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon, located in the Pacific Northwest region. Situated close to northwest Oregon at ...

and received the city's Spirit of Portland Award. Cole and Sharon Knorr published his memoir, ''Just Call Me Darcelle'', in 2011. The book recalls Cole's life, including his childhood, military service, and being Darcelle.

Reception

Darcelle XV Showplace has hosted the longest-running

drag show A drag show is a form of entertainment performed by drag (entertainment), drag artists impersonating men or women, typically in a bar or nightclub as a burlesque-style, adult-themed nightclub event. The modern drag show originated in the speake ...

on the West Coast. In Kelly Clarke's review of Cole's memoir, she described him as "an energetic businessman whose desire for a life less ordinary catapulted him from a job at Fred Meyer to become the proprietor of a counterculture coffee shop, an after-hours jazz club, a rough-'n'-ready 'dyke bar' and, finally, a nationally known drag revue, without ever leaving Portland." Darcelle XV was recognized by

as the world's oldest drag queen in 2016, then aged 85 years and 273 days. In 2023, city officials announced plans to rename

O'Bryant Square Darcelle XV Plaza (formerly O'Bryant Square) is a square that was a small park and fountain at the intersection of Southwest Park Avenue and Southwest Harvey Milk Street in downtown Portland, Oregon, in the United States. It received the current n ...

in memory of Darcelle XV. The new plaza will replace O'Bryant Square. Drawings released in early 2024, show the park will have a stage, public art space, and a wall of fame for notable LGBTQ Portlanders.

Biography

Darcelle

Reception

See also