Danny La Rue's sequined frocks and costumes for sale

Danny La Rue was the first drag act in the Royal Variety Performance

Sequined gowns and pantomime classics worn by the late entertainer Danny La Rue are to be auctioned in March.

They include outfits worn in the West End hit Hello Dolly! and glamorous frocks he wore impersonating Zsa Zsa Gabor, Tina Turner, and Dolly Parton.

The costumes and other memorabilia from La Rue's 60-year career will be sold at Brick Lane Music Hall in London.

The Irish-born star, who was once Britain's best known drag act, died last May at the age of 81.

The costumes are being sold by Annie Galbraith, the entertainer's long-time friend and companion towards the end of his life.

Comic in a frock

Four have already been bought by the Victoria and Albert Museum, two of which will be on permanent display.

Another pair will be featured in a forthcoming exhibition of pantomime costumes at the Museum of Childhood.

During the 1960s and 70s, La Rue was one of the highest paid stars on television as well as carving out a successful career on the stage and in cabaret.

He was born Daniel Patrick Carroll, in Cork in 1927 and moved to London with his family when he was nine.

La Rue moved into show business after leaving the navy and made his West End debut in the mid-50s.

Danny La Rue wearing his "Mae West" dress at the Brick Lane Music Hall

 

In 1969, he became the first drag act to feature in the Royal Variety Performance, the first of three such appearances.

He also became the first man to appear as a female character in a major musical when he took the role of Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly! in a 1982 production which eventually transferred to the West End.

He became a regular in pantomime and in summer shows around the country leading one critic to describe him as "a national monument".

He continued working almost to the end with appearances in a biographical revue in Spain at the age of 79 and the Brick Lane Music Hall in 2007.

Though he made his name as a drag performer, Danny La Rue always refused to be labelled as a female impersonator, once describing himself as "a comic in a frock".