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Craig Russell

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Drag Queen

The Resume

    (January 10, 1948-October 30, 1990)
    Born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada
    Birth name was Russell Craig Eades
    Known for his impersonations of Carole Channing, Mae West, Barbra Streisand, Judy Garland, Tallulah Bankhead, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Midler, Peggy Lee and Shirley Bassey
    Starred in the film ‘Outrageous!’ (1977)
    Starred in an off-Broadway show, ‘A Man and His Women’ (1978)
    Died of an AIDS-related stroke

Why he might be annoying:

    While waiting for his big break, he worked as a hairdresser. (Nothing stereotypical about that, no sirree.)
    His sequel ‘Too Outrageous!’ was nowhere near as successful as the original.
    Although he identified as gay instead of bi, he fathered a daughter (1973) and married a woman (1982).
    He had trouble handling fame and turned to booze and drugs.
    His tour of Western Canada was cancelled when he stripped onstage and threw wigs and jewelry into the audience (1981).

Why he might not be annoying:

    As an adolescent, he was bullied when he wore makeup to cover a skin condition.
    He was president of Mae West’s fan club and worked for her as a secretary/companion.
    He had a three-octave range that let him perform a ‘duet’ as both Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong.
    He won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival for ‘Outrageous!’
    His performance in ‘Outrageous!’ inspired Harvey Fierstein to continue his career and Scott Thompson to come out of the closet.

Credit: C. Fishel


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 84 Votes: 64.29% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 22 Votes: 95.45% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 10 Votes: 90.0% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 96 Votes: 57.29% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 33 Votes: 54.55% Annoying