Club 82

Club 82, also known as the 82 Club, was a nightclub in Manhattan, New York City that employed female impersonators as entertainers. The nightclub had a second life as a music venue, but was eventually closed.

Club 82
Former names82 Club
Address82 East 4th Street
New York, New York
Coordinates40.7262°N 73.9899°W / 40.7262; -73.9899
OwnerAnna Genovese
TypeNightclub
Genre(s)Female impersonation
Construction
Built1926
Opened1953
Closed1973
ArchitectCharles B. Meyers

History

Predecessors

The 181 Club was a predecessor to Club 82, and was named for its address at 181 Second Avenue.[1] The club operated from 1945 to 1953, featuring male impersonators as waitstaff, and female impersonators as entertainers.[1] The 181 Club lost its liquor license after being labelled a "hangout for perverts of both sexes".[1]

Founding

Club 82 was connected to the Genovese crime family and the Costello crime syndicate. While mobster Vito Genovese was in hiding abroad, his wife Anna Genovese became hostess of Club 82.[2] The club's tagline was "Who's No Lady," and its drag revues featured both male and female impersonators.

Kitt Russell, dubbed "America's top femme mimic" by Walter Winchell,[3] hosted many of the shows, and countless acts performed in them, such as female impersonators Sonne Teal,[4] Kim Christy,[5] and Mel Michaels.[6] Revues were long and elaborate,[3][7][8] replete with sets and costumes,[9][10] and with titles like Sincapades of 1954,[11] A Vacation in Color,[12] Fun-Fair for '57,[13] and Time Out for Fun.[14]

Investigation

In 1953, Club 82 came under police investigation with a potential loss of its liquor license, allegedly orchestrated by vindictive Vito to spite Anna.[15] In testifying against her own clubs, Anna stated that the Club 82 was gang-owned.[15] Her testimony ostensibly served to shift the blame from solely herself to her husband Vito's associates who had presided over, and allegedly monitored her activities running the club, while Vito was in exile in Italy.

The State Liquor Authority had previously revoked Club 82's liquor license on account of "disorderly conduct,"[15] which was code at the time for infractions involving things like serving alcohol to gay people, or people suspected of being gay.[16][17]

Culture

Although the entertainers were mostly gay, Club 82 catered primarily to heterosexuals.[18]

Entertainers were reportedly overworked, and the club was frequented by wealthy celebrities:[18]

Management had inhuman expectations of the cast, which performed three Broadway-level productions every night, in glamorous gowns from designer John Wong. Orchestra leader Johnny Wilson and Carnegie-trained show director Kit Russel didn't allow anyone to miss even one beat. Liberace, Burt Lancaster, Judy Garland, Frank Sinatra, Elizabeth Taylor, Tennessee Williams and other celebrities behaved badly. It was the type of place where a drunken Errol Flynn might play the piano—with his male member—onstage at two o'clock in the morning.

See also

References
  1. Takach, Michail; Daniels, B. J. (2022). A History of Milwaukee Drag: Seven Generations of Glamor. History Press. p. 66. ISBN 9781467149174.
  2. Kilgallen, Dorothy (November 12, 1958). "Voice of Broadway". Shamokin News-Dispatch. Shamokin, Pennsylvania. p. 6, clip column 2, 3rd para – via newspapers.com.
  3. Anderson, Wayne (June 14, 2012). "Hidden History: Tobi Marsh & Club 82". HuffPost.
  4. "Image: club 82-gay scene.jpg, (679 × 515 px)". queermusicheritage.com. 12 July 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  5. "Kim Christy's Lost World". www.advocate.com. February 12, 2011.
  6. "Image: club82-1969-19.jpg, (1262 × 1658 px)". queermusicheritage.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  7. "Image: Image10.jpg, (904 × 1240 px)". queermusicheritage.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  8. "Image: Image4.jpg, (904 × 1241 px)". queermusicheritage.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  9. "Image: fmm1970e.jpg, (728 × 938 px)". queermusicheritage.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  10. "Image: 82 club bunny.jpg, (398 × 551 px)". queermusicheritage.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  11. "Image: sincapades1.jpg, (878 × 1186 px)". queermusicheritage.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  12. "Image: 82 club program 1953.jpg, (630 × 974 px)". queermusicheritage.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  13. "The Unique Club 82 Presents... Fun-Fair For '57 (1957) - Digital Transgender Archive". www.digitaltransgenderarchive.net.
  14. "Image: 82-ac.jpg, (438 × 319 px)". queermusicheritage.com. Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  15. Desmond, James (March 19, 1953). "Village Joints Probe Seeks Mrs. Genovese". Daily News. New York, New York. p. 89 – via newspapers.com.
  16. "Gay Rights". HISTORY.
  17. Chauncey, George (June 25, 2019). "The Forgotten History of Gay Entrapment". The Atlantic.
  18. Takach, Michail; Daniels, B. J. (2022). A History of Milwaukee Drag: Seven Generations of Glamor. History Press. pp. 67–68. ISBN 9781467149174.
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