I lived in London for 6 months in 1990 and I had a grand time but the highlight of my trip was my weekly trek to The Black Cap Pub in Camden to worship the greatest drag performer I have ever seen: Regina Fong. I love drag, period. Any guy in a dress amuses me but Regina Fong was truly the most amazing, most charismatic and most loved drag queen I have ever seen.
Every Tuesday night hundreds of "Fong-worshippers" would cram into the backroom of The Black Cap Pub for three hours of pure, hyper, adrenaline-filled escapism. Every week we'd sing along to the same songs and watch her do the same routines and every week it was fresher and funnier than before.
I became an instant fan and went every single Tuesday. I forced my friends to go and they fell in love with her, too.
I haven't been back to London in many years but I've thought of her often, so last week I Googled her and my mouth fell to the floor as I read the following:
"It is with the utmost sadness that we report that one of the all-time great drag performers, H.I.H. Regina Fong died last night following a long battle with cancer."
She passed away on April 14, 2003
I was stunned all day. I don't worship many performers. I use to worship Adam Ant. I love Anthony Hopkins. I find Jodie Foster endlessly fascinating. Patti Lupone is another performer I can never get enough of but the list is small. This woman, this otherworldy creature, this one-of-a-kind entertainer should have been granted immortality. Every Tuesday night I experienced pure joy for three hours. It was a gift she gave her followers.
I met Reg once out of drag in the lobby of the Drill Hall Arts Centre. I approached him and told him what a big fan I was and he smiled humbly and responded, "It's just lipsynching."
No Regina, it wasn't. In memory of her on the anniversary of her death I created a video tribute to this amazing person who gave me so much happiness. I miss you Regina Fong!
Click here to enter the magical world of Regina Fong.
Click here to view the video tribute on my website.
4 comments:
Thanks for this gem. Do you know, I don't think there are ANY recordings of her brilliant show to be found anywhere. What a loss!
All the best from Berlin.
What a lovely tribute. Regina Fong is still missed.
Best wishes from London
I too was a big Regina Fong fan. I lived in London in 1988 and was a regular at her shows.
I just mentioned her on my blog today:
www.rickrockhill.blogspot.com
oops forgot the link to my blog:
http:\\www.rickrockhill.blogspot.com
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