![]() New York City law previously required people to wear at least three pieces of clothing that matched their gender. Stormé was typically decked out in collared tuxedos, suits and fedoras with accessories like cufflinks and a pipe in hand. It was rumored that DJ Stormé Skies had previously spent a little time in Chicago before coming to the Jewel Box, where she allegedly worked as a bodyguard for mobsters (she was, in fact, the goodest fella) and perhaps she picked up some style tips from these mafiosos. The one drag king of the hour was, you guessed it, DJ Stormé Skies. The troupe had 25 drag queens and one drag king during their performances. They frequented major theaters such as the Apollo in Manhattan. Created in 1939 by Danny Brown and Doc Benner, the Jewel Box Revue fostered a welcoming gay community of performers that carved out queer communities in cities as they toured to different places across America. ![]() Their performances attracted a multiracial and mainstream audience. The Jewel Box Revue was a hidden gem because it was the only racially integrated drag troupe. of the Jewel Box Revue, which was a touring drag show. It was in the 1950s and ’60s when Stormé the star was born.ĭeLarverie delighted in the role of M.C. She performed at clerbs in cities as close as New Orleans and as far as Europe, but eventually landed in NYC. Sadly she was injured in a fall and that ended her circus career, but not her time in the spotlight. ![]() When she reached her teen years, Stormé took the entertainment world by storm and joined the Ringling Brothers Circus not as a singer but as a horse rider who jumped over barrels and through hoops of fire (allegedly). Though Stormé celebrated her birthday on Christmas Eve, the real date of her actual birth is a mystery because she was never given a birth certificate. ![]() The two eventually married and said goodbye to life along the Mississippi River and hello to life on the Pacific Coast in California. Stormé’s mother met her father because she was a servant for his family. Rumor has it she swooned the delivery room with her scat singing and jazzy vocals. She went home to take care of her eye, got hold of a lawyer, and went back with money in case she could bail out any of her friends.Stormé DeLarverie (De-Lah-vee-yay) was born in The Big Easy AKA New Orleans (that cajun last name tho) on December 24, 1920, to a Black mother and a white father. She stayed back and watched to see what was going on.Ī cop, who perceived Stormé as a man, said, "More along, faggot", and when Stormé declined, hit her from behind, injuring her eye. Stormé responded by spinning around and knocking him out with a punch before leaving. She'd walked over to check on her friends & see if anyone needed her help) after the last (midnight) show of the Jewel Box Revue at the Apollo and found the fighting already started. Or, as Charles Kaiser noted in In the Life, possibly the only punch).Īfter finding as many historical sources and reading/watching/listening to the earliest accounts from Stormé herself (ie the ones least likely to be affected by memory issues due to her vascular dementia), these are my own conclusions: this story gets mixed with "threw the first punch" (which is likely true.Charles Kaiser says Stormé told him that wasn't her.this account contradicts Stormé's own words, across multiple interviews over many years.There are issues with this version, including: Wherever it was, by 1943, Stormé and Diana were together.Īlmost everyone, I think, has heard the story that Stormé was the cross-dressing dyke who fought back against the cops while handcuffed & shoved into a police car, and yelled something like "Why don't you guys do something.", "sparking the riot". Or it could've been in Florida, where Ringling's winter quarters were. Ditto if they hired anywhere else on tour. I believe it's likely that they met at Ringling Brothers or via the greater Showmen community in 1942 or 1943.Ĭould they have met in Chicago, with Stormé auditioning and joining Ringling there? I don't know if Ringling worked that way, but it's possible. Her partner Diana was an aerialist (a person who works on tightropes, high wires, and/or trapeze) as well as a dancer. She turned 20 in December 1943, which means if it was in her teens, it had to be in 1942 or 1943. Stormé related in more than one interview that she learned to ride horses at home (and her BIL did indeed have horses) and was an equestrienne for Ringling Brothers in her teens until an injury forced her to quit. At the same time, both In the Life Media's A Stormé Life and Penny Coleman's book Village Elders state that when Stormé's partner Diana died in the month after Stonewall, they'd been together 26 years.
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