Jim bailey gay

With so much focus on the amazing Caitlyn Jenner story, there’s been a lot of discussion involving gender identity and sexual preference and masculine and feminine presentation. Amid all this, Jim Bailey has died, at age 77. For those of you too young to recall, Jim was a phenomenon. He was most often called a female impersonator, or a gender illusionist. He would perform uncannily specific and loving, full-drag versions of Streisand, Garland, Peggy Lee and Phyllis Diller, among others. He didn’t lip-synch, as he was an astounding vocalist. During his heyday, especially in the 1970s, he appeared on every major TV variety and communicate show, and he was a Vegas headliner. He became friends with his idols, including Diller and Liza Minelli, and he’d execute with them. He was rarely asked about his sexuality, although sometimes illiterate talk show hosts would find it necessary to ensure the audience that Jim was “all man.” Through all of this, Jim maintained great dignity and commanded respect for his gifts. He was part of a grand theatrical tradition, of men playing female roles, which stretches from the ancient Greeks through Shakespeare