Darcelle XV, Date of Birth

Darcelle XV

American drag queen

Date of Birth: 16-Nov-1930

Profession: actor, drag queen, stage actor

Nationality: United States

Zodiac Sign: Scorpio

Darcelle XV (born November 16, 1930), is the stage name of Walter W.
Cole, a drag queen in Portland, Oregon, United States.
Cole was raised in the Linnton neighborhood and served in the United States Armed Forces until the late 1950s, after which he lived a "conventional" life in southeast Portland with his wife and two children.
Funds he received from the military helped Cole start new business ventures.
He first purchased a coffeehouse near Portland State University called Caffé Espresso, which later relocated and was expanded to include a jazz club called Studio A.
In 1967, Cole purchased a tavern in northwest Portland called Demas, which became Darcelle XV Showplace. Cole first wore a woman's dress at age 37.
By 1969, he had developed the "alter ego" Darcelle and came out as gay.
He left his wife and began a relationship with Roxy Neuhardt.
During the 1970s, the Showplace became a popular destination for drag performance.
In 1999, Darcelle became the oldest female impersonator on the West Coast after the closing of San Francisco's drag venue Finocchio's.
In 2010, Darcelle served as grand marshal of the Portland Rose Festival's Starlight Parade and received the city's Spirit of Portland Award.
That same year, Cole and Sharon Knorr published his memoir, Just Call Me Darcelle; Knorr also served as director of Cole's 2010 one-person show of the same name.