How was it possible during the Eisenhower era, that an effeminate black man who wore makeup, eyeliner, huge hair, & crazy clothing could take on the world with manic Rock N’ Roll music? Without Little Richard, would there have been Elvis, The Beatles, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, James Brown or Prince? He grew up poor & was kicked out of his house at 13 for being gay, but he took on the world & is still going strong on his 77th birthday.
Let's get one thing straight.. Comedian Margaret Cho isn't gay, strictly speaking. She's been married to a man, artist Al Ridenour, since 2003. But she's been part of the gay community nearly as long as she can remember. A self-described "fag hag," Cho grew up around Polk Street in San Francisco, where her parents ran a bookstore, & later lived in the Castro neighborhood until she hit the road in 1990 & eventually settled in Los Angeles. "Fag hags are the backbone of the gay community," Cho says in her act. "Without us, you're nothing!" The nice thing about being a woman who loves men who love other men is that they love her right back, & gay men make up a large portion of Cho's fan base. "That's like the best thing ever," she notes, "only the best people have lots of gay fans … these great, tragic, crazy divas, gay icons like Judy Garland or Liza Minnelli, & I'm a fan of these women, too. I'm also very gay in that way."
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