MIKE JEKNAVORIAN National Interviews

FRANK DECARO

Frank DeCaro has interviewed them all, from Mel Brooks to Robin Williams to Bea Arthur.  But on the heels of his new retrospective book about drag, what old job did DeCaro have that he said was a “real” drag? 

PHOTOGRAPH BY ERICA BERGER

If you had to live somewhere other than New Jersey or Los Angeles, where you would live?  I wish we still had a Manhattan apartment.  When I’m in New York City from morning until night—which happens a lot—there’s never anywhere to nap in the afternoon.  I miss that.  What’s special about L.A. that isn’t common knowledge? Not everyone knows that the best underground drag theater in L.A. is literally underground. It’s at the Cavern Club Celebrity Theater in the basement of a Mexican restaurant called Casita Del Campo in Silver Lake.  I’ve had more fun there than the law allows.  What’s the “interview that got away”?  Liberace.  When I get to hell, I hope he’s the first person I see.  Which interview is most special to you, and why?  Mel Brooks, because he’s my comedy idol.  And at the end of our chat he said, “No bullshit.  I really enjoyed this.”  My hour with Robin Williams was pretty special, too.  We compared our ridiculously hairy arms, and he said, “You’re wearing the Quest for Fire opera gloves, too!”  I loved talking with Bea Arthur, too.  She swore like a sailor, just as I hoped she would. 

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Drag celebrates the fabulous current and historical influence of drag, and its talented and inspiring performers.

Who’s your dream interview?  I want to write a first-person piece called, “My Year of Living with Cher.”  What’s the most embarrassing thing that ever happened during an interview?  When I was doing my satellite radio show, Alan Arkin came on to promote his memoir, and then—when the red light went on—he decided he didn’t want to talk about it.  His publicist was mortified.  Other than Bob Mackie, who’s your favorite designer?  I wrote about fashion for many years, and I adored getting to know Gianni Versace, the man as well as the designer.  He was very funny and very big-hearted.  Franco Moschino was a hoot, too.  I shouldn’t pick only Italians, so, while I’m namedropping, I’ll say that Karl Lagerfeld and Jean-Paul Gaultier were always pistols to chat with.  But, yeah, Bob Mackie will always be my favorite.  The book he and I did together in 1999 is a real treasure.  Other than RuPaul, who’s the most important drag queen, and why?  The brilliant playwright and actor Harvey Fierstein has done so much to not only entertain audiences, but also to educate them.  Thanks to him—and Mama Ru—drag queens can be more authentically and gloriously themselves.  He’s a true LGBTQ icon and activist, and I love that we’re pals. 

PHOTOGRAPH BY ERICA BERGER

Which drag queen is the most underrated?  More people need to know about the great Charles Pierce.  He was an amazing female impersonator whose signature bit was Bette Davis and Tallulah Bankhead reading each other to filth.  He’d do them both at the same time!  He’d say things like, “You’re so old, you need moisturizer or wood filler!”  It was genius.  Do you think that drag is too commercial now, or is that a good thing?  No!  I love how mainstream drag is now!  It’s about time everyone got with the program.  But, thank heaven, there’s also plenty of subversive drag for the snatching, too.  You just have to look harder to find the really wigged-out stuff—but you should!  Which one of your old jobs least prepared you for what you do now?  My two-day stint at Burger King.  It was a real drag.  If God were to take you tomorrow, how would you like to be remembered?  As someone who was really funny and really smart and a really good kisser.  What do you want to live long enough to see?  Me, back on TV on a regular basis!  Will you ever retire?  No!  My work is too fun to ever retire.  Plus, there’s this pair of Gucci glitter sneakers…  What’s the weirdest question that a fan ever asked you?  In high school, a classmate asked if he could paint my nose.  Not on canvas, my actual nose.  He was not a fan. 

What other celebrity did you act like a “fan” around?  I was star-struck when I said “hello” to Michelle Williams last week at a Fosse/Verdon event.  She’s so fantastic as Gwen Verdon that I was in awe just to breathe the same air!  What’s the last thing that you looked at online?  My latest “Drag Moment of the Day” post!  I post them every day at @frankdecaroshow on every social media platform but Scruff.  What’s the best place that you’ve visited?  Hawaii.  And the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland.  What’s your favorite movie?  Imitation of Life—the 1959 Douglas Sirk version.  What drives you crazy?  A lack of curiosity, poor grammar, and bad teeth.  Not necessarily in that order.  Do you like zoos?  I like a good sample sale.  They can be a real zoo.  What’s something that you learned in life only when you got older?  That the only way isn’t up, it’s forward.  What did you learn from your parents?  My mother always said, “Nobody’s better than you, and you’re no better than anyone else.”  She was right.  Who’s your favorite performer?  Elton John.  What’s your best characteristic?  That the littlest things can bring me total joy.  How do you enjoy spending your time?  Laughing.  What celebrity do you have crush on?  Idris Elba.  I’d like him to you-know-what me in half. 

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If you’ve ever fantasized about feasting on Frank Sinatra’s Barbecued Lamb, lunching on Lucille Ball’s “Chinese-y Thing,” diving ever-so-neatly into Joan Crawford’s Poached Salmon, or wrapping your lips around Rock Hudson’s cannoli – and really, who hasn’t? – hold on to your oven mitts!

Whom do you admire?  My husband, Jim Colucci.  He’s the author of Golden Girls Forever, and just a swell guy.  And my drag mother, Bruce Vilanch.  If you could bring one person back from the dead, who would it be?  Divine.  Where would you go in a time machine?  The Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on March 29, 1989.  I want to be in the room when Rob Lowe and Snow White sing their duet together on the Oscars.  What’s your favorite recipe?  Bucatini pasta with garlic, anchovies, and breadcrumbs. It’s my best dish, although my chocolate chip cookies with pecans and Heath Bar chips rock, too.  What would your last meal be?  A double Shack Burger, fries, and a Concrete from the Shake Shack.  What are you afraid of?  Stupid people in positions of power.  If you were a musical instrument, what would you be?  A kazoo.  Who are you closest with?  My husband, my dog, and my “wife.”  What’s on your bucket list?  Seeing the Taj Mahal and the Sydney Opera House in person.  What’s your greatest regret in life?  Not learning to tap dance or speak fluent Italian—yet.  What’s something secret about you that people don’t know?  I find doing laundry extremely satisfying.  Where can we see you?  On my social media platforms, on my website, and at book signings!

 

MIKE JEKNAVORIAN Local Interviews

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 Island.  How 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 claim–to–fame?  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 you’ve 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 Martin.  What 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 Way.  Do 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