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Transgendered Sheet Music
Julian Eltinge: Mainstream Songstress
By Ms Bob and Carol Kleinmaier
First of Three Parts
Part 2 | Part 3
This is the first of three installments featuring sheet music. It
highlights Julian Eltinge, the brightest light among female impersonators to
ever grace the American stage. Next month we'll feature Karyl Norman, "The
Creole Fashion Plate," whose fame peaked in the roaring 1920's. In February
we'll bring in the boys with a raucous gang of male impersonators. But for
now, let us join the ladies.
Click on Images to See Large Version
The end of the 20th Century is a golden age for female impersonation and one
of the easiest ways to see it is to look at the popular media. Whether you
examine popular music, movies or television, you'll easily find numerous
examples of men in female dress. Interestingly the beginning of this century
was also a golden age for gender pretenders. That, too, is reflected in the
media, where it was seen on stage in vaudeville, burlesque and musical
theatre. Its presence in music is documented by hundreds of pieces of sheet
music, whose covers are graced with photos of female and male impersonators.
The large quantity of sheet music produced in this era should come as no
surprise. Before the electronic media, before television, recording or even
radio, there was sheet music. It was the cheapest way to bring current pop
songs into people's lives. If folks "way back when" wanted music in their
homes, someone had to sit down and play it and someone had to sing.
Instruments were plentiful. Everything from tubas and trumpets to guitars
and ukuleles were available from mail order catalogues. Even pianos were not
out of reach for most of the middle class. This created a tremendous demand
for sheet music, especially songs for voice and piano.
Music publishers responded with thousands of new songs every year. People
heard many of these songs on the stage, be it in town hall, vaudeville, the
legitimate theater or even Broadway, and if they liked the song, they went
out and bought the sheet music. Acts featuring "he-she's" and "she-he's"
were as common as monologists, ventriloquists, school acts, boy-girl duos,
comedy teams, or blackface. Many of the songs are by well-known composers
and lyricists, a testament to the main stream popularity gender impersonation
enjoyed. Few people today realize how integral gender impersonation was to
American popular entertainment.
Julian Eltinge must have been an astounding impersonator. His professional
work was lauded by every writer and artist of the day. The possible
exception being W. C. Fields, who took a jaundiced view of so many things,.
His oft quoted comment was that when Eltinge took the stage, "Women went
into ecstasies over him. Men went into the smoking room." But, it must be
remembered that Fields was a well known misogynist and how could a man who
denigrated women praise a man who imitates them? (Another article featuring
our views on Eltinge can be read in the earlier TGForum column called "The
Crinoline Girl.")
THE FASCINATING WIDOW, from the show of the same name, is the oldest sheet
presented here. It was published in 1910, the year the show opened, first in
Atlantic City, then New York. The show ran only 56 performances in
Manhattan, but it established Eltinge as a star and served him as a touring
vehicle until 1914. When he opened this show Eltinge weighed 210 pounds.
Being only 5'9" tall he must have been somewhat substantial around the
mid-section Yet he packed his body into "old ironsides," the name he gave to
his corsets, and appeared on stage with a 24" waist. His normal baritone
was raised to a falsetto when he sang and his singing was always highly
praised.
Kerry Mills, who composed the music for THE FASCINATING WIDOW, is an
excellent example of how gender impersonation was as much a part of show
business then as it is now. Mills was a well-known and respected "tin pan
alley" composer and music publisher. His hit songs include "At a Georgia
Campmeeting" (1897) and "Meet me in St. Louis, Louis" (1904), the title song
of the Judy Garland movie of the same name. Mills' contribution to Eltinge's
repertory affirms the main-stream nature of Eltinge's work.
SWEETHEART is a song from the show "Cousin Lucy" which opened in Broadway in
1915. It was later made into a silent film, also staring Eltinge. This song
was published the year after the show opened in 1916. It might have been
something of an in-joke. Al H. Woods, who produced this show, as well as
"The Fascinating Widow" and "The Crinoline Girl," had a habit of calling
everyone, male or female, 'sweetheart." It must have given a Damon Runyon
touch to his character.
Some sources cite Jerome Kern as writer of the music for the three act
"Cousin Lucy." Though he wrote some of the songs, he didn't write this
one. The musical credit here goes to Percy Wenrich. He, like Kerry Mills,
was one of the white composers of ragtime songs. And though his name may not
be on everyone's lips today, he is the composer of such turn-of-the-century
classics as "Put on Your Old Gray Bonnet" (1909) and "When You Wore a Tulip
and I Wore a Big Red Rose" (1914) - big favorites on George Burns' hit
parade.
FRIENDS was published in 1919. The line below the title says "Successfully
introduced by Julian Eltinge." Eltinge was doing a good bit of vaudeville
performing in 1918 and 1919. In 1918 he performed an 18 minute piece at the
Palace Theatre, which was considered the Valhalla of all vaudeville variety
theaters throughout the world. A year later he created his own show,
"Eltinge's Revue," in which he did a series of four female impersonations.
It is likely that this song is from one of those two vaudeville shows.
The most noteworthy name here is not the composer, Joseph H. Santly, but one
of the two lyricists George W. Meyer. The other was Howard Johnson. Meyer
was a one time secretary and even director of the American Society of
Composers, Authors and Publishers, commonly called ASCAP. He was a composer
as well. Some of his songs are locked in the past, such as "Everything is
Peaches Down in Georgia." But, like Kerry Mills, one of his songs was
revived and became the hit of a 1940's movie, "For Me and My Gal," which,
coincidentally also starred Judy Garland.
But, the most interesting thing about this song is the final chorus. After
going through all kinds of friends; those who are false to those from
childhood, FRIENDS ends:
To lose a good friend causes us great sorrow,
And we all lost one not long ago,
A real true blue friend to his great nation,
All the whole world loves him so.
'Way up in Heaven 'mid the songs of angels,
His flying boy met his dear old Dad,
Good-bye old Rough and Ready,
We'll miss you Teddy, you're the best friend we've ever had.
Picture Eltinge - who always asserted his virility and circulated stories
about beating-up stage hands and drunks who slandered his manliness - paying
tribute to Theodore Roosevelt. Roosevelt was "bully," the hero of the Battle
of San Juan Hill, who indulged in all truly manly endeavors from big game
hunting in Africa to supporting the Boy Scouts. Imagine Eltinge in full drag
singing his own version of "Hail to the Chief." Who could doubt Julian's
virility then? Who could miss the machismo peeking out between the sequins
and bangle beads?
These few examples are only the tip of the sheet music iceburg. Eltinge's
image alone probably appeard on dozens of additional songs. Average
Americans bought them, performed them and put them put them on their pianos.
The names of the stars, composers and lyricists were as well known to them
as the stars of "The Birdcage" are to us. In its golden eras impersonation
flows into the mainstream. It was there in the beginning of the century and
it is again in the nineties.
Cindy and I have discussed highlighting other elements from the
collection. But, we're not sure where to begin. Is there
anything you'd like to see or find out about? If so drop
a note to TGForum or Miss Bob at msbob@tgforum.com
Is an avid collector of TG material
He welcomes the chance to compare collections
buy, sell or trade.
He can be reached by Email
msbob@tgforum.com
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