Portland Lost a Legendary Performer

On March 23, 2023 Portland lost legendary drag performer Darcelle. Walter W. Cole Sr. was 92 when he died.  The iconic drag queen is reputed to have been the longest performing drag queen in the nation.  Darcelle was on stage for over 50 years, performing at Darcelle XV in Old Town.  In addition to his fame as a performance artist, Cole was known for his charity and community work and was received an award from Mayor Vera Katz for his charity work related to AIDS prevention.

Darcelle had said, “I’m not scared about dying. The people I’ve loved over the years have died. If they can do it, I can do it”.

“I want to be remembered because I made somebody smile and care. And another thing that happens here a lot is, young people will tell their parents that they’re gay, and they come here. And then they look around — the parents see their contemporaries and they’re enjoying themselves, and the son can say, look, you see? Those are the kinda things I’d like to be remembered for.”
— Walter Cole

Watch this short UO student documentary about Darcelle:

Poison Waters on Darcelle

Poison Waters reflects on the legacy of Darcelle in this OPB article, saying,… the very first time I met him, I remember him saying about drag, “Most of all have fun.” You know, there’s more to it than just being dolled up and being sassy. You’ve got to have fun.  But, you know, there’s the business side, [and] there’s the humanitarian side. People are coming to drag shows that have issues and troubles far beyond what we can understand.  We need to be kind to everyone.  And he always would say that.  He’d say, “Be kind.” Because sometimes I can be a little snarky. He would always say, “Be kind.”