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​​DARCELLE XV – A PORTLAND LEGEND

Darcelle XV (born November 16, 1930), is the stage name of Walter W. Cole, a drag queen, entertainer, and cabaret owner and operator in Portland, Oregon, United States, Guinness World Records has certified her as the oldest drag queen performer on the West Coast, and her career as an entertainer as of 2021 spans 55 years.

Cole was born in 1930 and raised in the Linnton neighborhood and served in the United States Armed Forces, and was discharged after the during Korean War in 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 called Caffé Espresso, which later relocated and was expanded to include a basement jazz club called Studio A. In 1967, due to urban renewal 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 his artistic director Roxy Neuhardt, although they remained legally married, his relationship with his children was strained. During the 1970s, the Showplace became a popular destination for cabaret and 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 Club.

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.

During his childhood, where he was described as a shy, “four-eyed sissy boy”.[3] Cole was discharged from the military in the late 1950s following the Korean War, Cole worked at a Fred Meyer store and described himself as having “a crew cut and horn-rimmed glasses”.[2]

Cole, who had an interest in acting and had worked at Portland Civic Theater, developed his “alter ego” Darcelle and came out as gay. The name “Darcelle” honors French actress and singer Denise Darcel.
Darcelle wore false eyelashes, jewelry, and shiny clothing. Cole has described Darcelle’s persona as having “sequins on the eyelids, lots of feathers, big hair, big jewels, and lots of wisecracks”. Avoiding an Oregon law that prohibited the use of more than one instrument during performances, entertainers at Darcelle XV Showplace lip-synched. The business was fined after Neuhardt performed a “ballet-like adagio” with another man.

Darcelle and the Showplace have become part of Portland’s culture over the years. Darcelle attends many social functions throughout the city. In 2011, she 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. The book recalls Cole’s life, including his childhood, military service, and experiences as Darcelle. Cole also shared stories of Portland’s culture, from his visit to Old Town Chinatown with his mother in the 1930s, to Magic Garden as a lesbian club in the 1960s, to his description of the Hoyt Hotel.

Darcelle XV Showplace has hosted the longest-running drag show on the West Coast. In 2011, Willamette Week‘s Kelly Clarke called Darcelle the “unofficial welcome wagon” to Portland for forty years. She wrote that Just Call Me Darcelle reads blandly, “like a plainspeak transcription”, but also acknowledged the value of his recollections of Portland culture, spanning more than 75 years. In her review of Cole’s memoir, Clarke described him as “an energetic businessman whose desire for a life less ordinary catapulted him from a job at Fred Meyer to become the proprietor of a counterculture coffee shop, an after-hours jazz club, a rough-‘n’-ready ‘dyke bar’ and, finally, a nationally known drag revue, without ever leaving Portland.

Darcelle XV was recognized by Guinness World Records as the world’s oldest drag queen in 2016, at the then age of 85 years and 273 days.

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EIN Presswire - 03/17/2021

​Drag Legend Darcelle Will Hold Drive-In Performances Next Month at Zidell Yards

​Darcelle XV Drag Drive-In runs for three nights, April 9, 10, and 11, 2021, from 9:00pm to 10:30pm with exciting brunch edition performances on April 10 and 11, 2021 from 11:00am to 12:30pm. This COVID-safe event is a great way to spend time with friends and family, at a safe distance, to support a local Portland icon!

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The Oregonian - 12/01/2020

​Darcelle XV becomes first Oregon business designated a national historic site for its place in LGBTQ history. 

​The club Walter Cole opened 53 years ago in Portland’s Old Town is now officially a nationally recognized historic site, the first in Oregon to be picked because of its part in LGBTQ history.

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KATU2 ABC - 11/17/2020

​Portland's famous Darcelle XV turns 90.

A Portland icon celebrated a big milestone on Monday. Walter Cole, aka Darcelle 15, turned 90 years old! Happy 90th Birthday, Walter Cole and Darcelle! Darcelle is the world’s oldest working drag queen according to Guinness World Records, and a Portland nightlife staple.

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PDX Monthly - 09/03/2020

​The nightlife hub, home to the West Coast’s longest-running drag show, launches its first-ever drag brunch. 

​Starting this Sunday, Darcelle XV will offer a weekly drag brunch with mimosas for the first time ever, hosted by Poison Waters and Alexis Campbell Starr. “It’s been really great getting back to work, and we’re all super excited about getting to do it in a different way with the brunch,” Cook says.