Craig Russell (actor)

Craig Russell (born January 10, 1948 in Ontario , † October 30, 1990 in Toronto ; real name Russell Craig Edie ) was a Canadian entertainer and impersonator .

life and work

He first worked as the secretary of the actress Mae West and as a hairdresser before starting his career as a woman impersonator. Russell was able to dispense with playbacks because, thanks to his own extremely modulatable voice that was three octaves in length, he was not only able to use body language, but also the voices of stars such as Judy Garland , Marlene Dietrich , Peggy Lee , Bette Midler and Mae Imitating West, Ella Fitzgerald and Barbra Streisand . He was also able to imitate the voices of Elvis Presley , Neil Diamond and Louis Armstrong .

Russell achieved world fame through the 1977 film Freaky (original title: Outrageous ), in which many of his imitations can be seen. The film was based on the short story Making it by his partner Margaret Gibson and included biographical references to both artists. In 1978 he received the Actor Award at the Berlin Film Festival for his performance in this film . He performed his show in New York, Las Vegas, Hollywood, Berlin, London and Paris. The recording of a concert in Hamburg was broadcast on German television, the recording of a concert in Amsterdam was broadcast on Dutch television.

As the pressure to succeed increased, psychological problems became noticeable at Russell, which also had a negative impact on his career. In 1986 he shot the movie Too Outrageous! a sequel to Outrageous , which however could not build on the success of the original.

He died of complications from AIDS .

literature

In 1979 Russell brought out the book "Craig Russell and his Ladies" together with photographer David Street. ISBN 0771593457

swell

• Hermann J. Huber "Live Love Legends", Fotokunst Verlag
• Kathrin Brigl "Insomniac with make-up" in "Idols 4 - Messages from Strange Dreams", Ullstein Verlag