Charles Pierce, Female Impersonator, 72

["Deathwatch Central" <cdw@slick.org>]

Female Impersonator Charles Pierce Dies

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Famed female impersonator Charles Pierce, whose
deliciously wicked take-offs of stars such as Bette Davis and Mae West
brought him fame in America and Europe, has died at the age of 72, a family
friend said Wednesday.

Pierce, dubbed a ``male actress'' by San Francisco columnist Herb Caen, died
at his North Hollywood home Monday. He had been battling cancer complicated
by a stroke, his longtime friend Peter Mintun said.

Pierce, who preferred to be called an actor rather than a female
impersonator, played clubs and theaters across the United States and in
London, where his fans included Sir John Gielgud and Dame Margot Fonteyn.

His ``targets,'' in addition to Davis and West, included Joan Crawford,
Gloria Swanson, Tallulah Bankhead, Carol Channing, Katharine Hepburn and
even ``Mrs. Olsen'' of the TV coffee commercials.

He recalled one occasion he did Carol Channing as part of his show when she
was in the audience. ``By the end of the evening she was in stitches and
told me, 'You do me better than I do, Charles.'''

Pierce introduced his show to audiences by saying, ``The legendary ladies of
the silver screen, all talking, all singing, all dancing -- all dead,''
although the latter was not always the case.

Born on July 14, 1926, in Watertown, New York, Pierce moved to Los Angeles
and began studying acting at the Pasadena Playhouse.

He once told an interviewer, ``I'd like people who see my work to remember
me as an actor -- a good actor -- who made his living by doing some really
good impressions. The fact that I went from rags to bitches was just one of
those quirks of fate written in the stars.''

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