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Danny La Rue dies
By: Nigel Robinson
La Rue was one of the UK's biggest stars
La Rue was one of the UK's biggest stars
Danny La Rue has died at the age of 81
The female impersonator – or “comic in a frock” as he preferred to call himself – died peacefully at his home on Sunday 31May shortly before midnight. He had been suffering from cancer for some time.
Born Daniel Patrick Caroll in Cork, Ireland, La Rue moved to London with his mother at the age of nine.
He first donned drag while with the Royal Navy in Singapore during the Second World War
By the 60s and 70s he was one of the UK’s biggest stars and the most famous female impersonator in the world.
However, following a stroke in 2006 he largely retired from the public eye.
Although he was ambiguous about his sexuality for much of his career, he had recently been much more open about his being gay. For many years he lived with his partner and manager, Jack Hanson, until Hanson’s death.
