My Life is a Drag

Before I left New York, I would often photograph pretty boys as pretty girls.

We spent another weekend drunk with drag queens. My first encounter was way back in Providence when I met Mona, a seven foot black drag queen who once pulled an axe out of her pocketbook and chopped up the Cadillac of a man who dissed her. It began a life-long fascination with drag; here I am deep in conversation with Madame Sobechenskaya of the Trockadero Ballet drag ensemble. She danced from Monte Carlo to the East Village and I followed her to Paris once to document the trip; she gave me a diamond brooch in thanks for the attention.

I would often be offered forbidden fruit, but my interest was solely to photograph and follow my beloved creatures.

Some were masters of deception. During the day he was a New York state judge; by night she was Lady Barbara with a stupendous brownstone in which she hosted parties for like ladies and the men who admired them.

The stunning Catherine Harkness was often a date of mine at parties where no one was the wiser; I mean, she was just Miss Harkness from Queens (and no one go that joke, either).

Another girl who tried to get me to marry was the ravishing Arman Ra.

And for every tragedy....

...there would be one to follow it up. They all fascinate me.

And, then, of course, there are memorable times of myself "dressed"; of note, was in Hitler's bunker in 1945 listening to Russian tanks rumble overhead and helping Martin Bormann into a ballgown. I've had a lot of fun.