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05 July 2015

Dahlia McGowan (195?–) performer

There were two members of the Cockettes, the early 1970s San Francisco psychedelic drag troupe, who completed the journey to womanhood. We have already discussed Bobbi Cameron.

The other was Dahlia McGowan who looked like a young Elizabeth Taylor. She won a scholarship to study acting at the American Conservatory Theater. Bambi Lake describes her as funny and sweet.

After surgery she worked as a stripper in the sailor bars in San Diego.

In the 1980s Dahlia married, but her husband died in a bike accident.

Later she returned to Hawai'i to live with her mother.
  • Bambi Lake with Alvin Orloff. The Unsinkable Bambi Lake: A Fairy Tale Containing the Dish on Cockettes, Punks, and Angels. San Francisco: Manic D Press, 1996: 48-9.

1 comment:

  1. It seems so sad to me that as a man she could study at a prestigious drama school; as a woman she worked as a stripper. Sad, but so characteristic.
    Thank you Zagria for yet another fascinating story.

    ReplyDelete

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