HEKLINA

What does a tambourine, rats, Iceland, and a Halloween party in San Francisco have in common?  Answer: Heklina!

By Mike Jeknavorian

Where did you grow up?  Iceland, Minnesota, New York, and Boston.  What do you miss about any of those places?  I miss Iceland, because it’s the one place I can relax.  What’s something special about San Francisco that’s not common knowledge?  This is a hard question, as the city is a mess right now.  A lot of the special things have been drained away, but it’s still the city I look forward to getting back to whenever I travel.  If you had to live somewhere other than San Francisco, where would you live?  Well, I bought a house in Palm Springs, so there for sure (laughs).  Also, Iceland, and perhaps Puerta VallartaWhat’s the most outrageous thing that you’ve ever seen at Trannshack?  Oh my god, there were so many things, it’s impossible to narrow one down.  But perhaps the first most shocking thing was when the club first opened in 1996.  A queen named RunRig popped popcorn off a hot-plate on her head, and immediately after her performance had to be rushed to the hospital for life-threatening burns to her scalp! 


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Who’s the most underrated drag queen?  Anyone not on RuPaul’s Drag Race.  Has drag become too mainstream and lost its send of the irreverent?  Yes.  Of all the films spoofs that you’ve been in, which one was your favorite?  The favorite thing I do is our Golden Girls LIVE production!  Who’s your favorite film performer?  Wow.  I guess Elizabeth Taylor…  Or Divine.  What’s your favorite film?  The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a film I can watch over and over.  It’s clichéd, but true.  Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now?  Data processor in the navy.  If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered?  For the things that I’ve created—Trannyshack and Oasis—and the fact that I never fucked anyone over or was dishonest in getting where I am.

What do you want to live long enough to see?  The death of Donald Trump of course!  Will you ever retire?  Yes.  What’s the weirdest question that a fan’s asked you?  Nothing seems weird to me.  What other celebrity did you act like a “fan” around?  Bjork.  What’s the last thing that you looked at online?  Porn.  What’s the best place that you’ve visited?  Rio De JaneiroWhat politician don’t you like?  I don’t like any of them!  What’s your favorite drink?  Coffee.  What’s your most treasured possession?  My cat, Dexter.  Do you believe in ghosts?  Absolutely.  Either living or dead, who would you love to have lunch with?  Judy Garland.  What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older?  Don’t sweat the small stuff, and—for god’s sake—don’t try and solve arguments online.

What did you learn from your parents?  What not to do.  Who’s your favorite performer?  David BowieWhat’s your best characteristic?  I’m loyal, if you don’t fuck me over.  How do you enjoy spending your time?  Going to shows—concerts, theater and films—and traveling.  What celebrity do you have crush on?  Chris EvansWho do you admire?  David Bowie.  If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be?  David Bowie (laughs).  I love Bowie.  Where would you go in a time machine?  Back to 1975.  I was just a baby, but I’d like to be an adult during that era.  Glam rock, disco, and punk!  What would your last meal be?  Barbecue!  What do you worry about?  Climate change.  What are you afraid of?  Rats and heights.  If you were a musical instrument, what would you be?  A tambourine.  I don’t wanna be bothered too much.

Are you more like a sheep or a wolf?  A wolf, for sure.  Many boys who cross my path can vouch for that.  Who depends on you, and for what?  My cat Dexter does, for the obvious things.  My employees do, for a livelihood.  My audience…?  Who are you closest with?  Pippi Lovestocking, Peaches Christ, and Matthew MartinWhat would your autobiography be called?  That’s It?  What’s on your bucket list?  An African safari.  What’s your greatest regret in life?  Wasting all my time as a youth taking drugs and clubbing.  But it’s also the thing I remember most fondly.  What’s something secretive about you that people don’t know?  I’m actually a really nice person.  Never trust anyone who is not a cunt.  Where can we see you?  At Oasis!  Also, at the Victoria Theatre this December for Golden Girls LIVE!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TONY DEE

Twenty-seven years ago, Tony Dee started it all in Wilton Manors with Chardees.  As he’s about to re-open the historic venue, he tells us what “The Drive” was like in its infancy.   

PHOTOGRAPH BY GENE HUSZCZA

Where did you grow up?  In Dix Hills, Long IslandHow long have you lived in South Florida?  I moved her in 1969.  Back then, I could have bought the whole state for probably $50,000 (laughs).  Well, make it $49,999.  I always like a discount.  Why did you move here?  I had a chain of men’s hair salons in Long Island, but I always wanted to live in Florida.  I came down here for a Christmas party one year, and I was sold.  I was like, “it’s Christmas, and people are wearing bathing suits?”  It blew my mind to see that, coming from all that snow.  I bought a home in southwest Miami, and that was the beginning of it.  What part of South Florida do you live in?  I live in Wilton Station.  I’m a one-man-show, and I’ve always have been.  I’m five minutes away from my work.  What do you like most about living here?  The weather and Wilton Manors.  I’ll never leave here.  What South Florida venue do you miss that’s gone?  For me, personally, it would be Chardees.  I’m not a bar person, and I never was—I don’t drink.  So I never really went to the other places.  Where do you hang out in South Florida, and why?  I love Galanga—it’s a Thai restaurant.  I also love What The Pho? and Sea and Olive.


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You mentioned that you owned salons.  Were you a stylist?  Yes.  My full name is Anthony Deriggi, but everyone kept getting my last name wrong, so I said, just call me Tony “Dee.”  I was the hairdresser for the male stars at the Westbury Music Fair.  I styled all the stars that didn’t have a personal stylist.  What’s your claimtofame?  When I first started looking at property in Wilton Manors, it was desolate.  Nothing was there.  I had a vision of a New York supper club, with music and entertainment.  We opened Chardees on October 1, 1990—I was the first there.  I booked Eartha Kitt within six months, and then it just took off.  But it was a lot of work; it took a lot of renovations.  I mean, you still had the air conditioner in the window.  Things like that.  And here we are, 27 years later.  How did you come up with the name “Chardees”?  My former business partner’s first name—he died—was “Charlie.”  So, we combined “Charlie” with “Dee,” for me, and we got “Chardees.”  How would you like to be remembered?  Honesty, it’s corny, but I’d like to be remembered as someone who did it their way.  Will you ever retire?  I’m a workaholic, so I don’t see that in the near future.  What’s the last thing that you looked at online?  I don’t do it.  Call me and I’ll talk to you.  What’s the best place that youve visited, and why?  Greece in the 1950s, and then followed by Italy and Spain.

WITH ANDY MARTIN – PHOTOGRAPH BY GENE HUSZCZA

What did you learn from your father?  How to pay your bills on time.  Where you think your drive comes from?  I don’t know.  My parents moved around on Long Island a lot—it was just the three of us.  I used to joke that I came home from the army—I wasn’t in the armed services—but they’d moved.  Maybe it comes from husting from place to place…?  Are you an only child?  Yes, and I’m adopted as well.  I was adopted when I was two and a half years old.  I never met my biological parents.  What performer do you admire?  Eartha Kitt was the best I ever worked with.  I never saw her before or after that one time, but she was the best.  Who’s the most exciting person you ever had dinner with?  Elizabeth Taylor.  I flew to New York for it, and it was about 12 of us.  How do you enjoy spending your time?  I enjoy spending time with my husband, Andy.  I’m two different people.  I’m one way at home, and another way at work.  I’m very high strung, but Andy calms me.  What celebrity do you have a crush on?  Ricky MartinWhat do you admire in others?  Honesty.  Whatever you have to say, just say it.    If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be, and why?  Liberace.  He was one of my all-time favorites.  I had a lot of down time backstage with him throughout the years, and if you take away all the glitz and the glamour, he was just such a nice and kind human being.  And he was so talented.

WITH GLENDA GRAINGER – PHOTOGRAPH BY GENE HUSZCZA

What would your last meal be?  A cowboy ribeye from the Council Oak at the Hard Rock.  What do you worry about?  I worry about aging and the future, because I’ve been healthy all my life.  I worry about pain and suffering that’s inflicted on others.  If you were a musical instrument, what would you be, and why?  A piano.  It’s my favorite instrument.  Who depends on you?  No one.  Who are you closest with?  Andy, and a number of friends, and one cousin.  If this cousin died, I don’t know what I’d do.  What would your autobiography be called?  I Did It My WayDo you ever put music on when you’re upset?  No.  If I’m upset, I work or I put on a rerun of the original Will and Grace.   What’s on your bucket list?  To do whatever I have to to make sure that Andy succeeds with Chardees.  I own the building, but he owns the business, so it’s easy to get rent from the tenant (laughs).  What’s your greatest regret in life?  Not having children.  Can you tell me something that you never told anyone else?  I worked with George Hamilton once, but this was when he was younger.  And when I worked with him, he was in his underwear.  I can tell you that it was hard to keep my hands to myself that day.  Where can we see you?  Most nights, you can see me at Chardees.

WITH ANDY MARTIN