Leslie-Ann, vocalist and bass player with the
Gay Asian Kittens, has worked extensively since 1959 as a Male Impersonator trained by Ricky Renee, and has for many years passed as and was accepted as male in her daily life.
Leslie-Ann's comedy includes illusionist impersonations of Humphrey Bogart, John F. Kennedy, Bullwinkle, Mr Magoo, Peter Lorre, Boris Karloff, Arnold Schwarzenegger, George W. Bush, Martin/Lewis, Amos and Andy, Abbott and Costello.
She also does female stars such as Cher, Judy Garland, Marilyn Monroe, Liza Minelli and Barbra Streisand.
Her children have also become entertainers and have made her a grandma twice over.
Still as active as ever, She does charity shows and public shows at least once a month.
Influences: Ricky Renee, Eddie Izzard, Frank Gorshin, Rich Little, Jimmy James, Charles Pierce, Jim Bailey, George Carlin, Nipsy Russell, Foster Brooks, Red Buttons, Moms Mabley, Lord Buckley, Ruth Buzzi, Lucille Ball, Gracie Allen, Roseanne Barr, Lewis Black, Jeff Dunham
Similar To: Lucille Ball, Moms Mabley, Ruth Buzzi, Roseanne Barr, Frank Gorshin, Eddie Izzard, Ricky Renee, Jimmy James, Charles Pierce, Jim Bailey, Rich Little
What she says ...
My dad went into the army, leaving me and my mom alone in Columbia, South Carolina...at the time we couldn't obtain clothing due to extreme poverty, so my mom accepted our housemates' discarded clothes from her young boy, exactly my age.
Crossdressing as a male continued...my grandfather, a famous dress manufacturer, had my birth certificate forged so I could register as a boy, which I did.
From then on, I went to extreme lengths to avoid shower rooms, etc. and maintained the male persona, just in order to get work -- I wanted fair pay for my time and efforts, and i discovered that I got it only as a male!
Then I started developing a facility for doing very deep voices -- it helped that I smoked a carton of Marlboros a day, which I've since then quit, even after our Gay Asian Kitten comeback in 2002.
After that it was easy to get into a style -- my friend Ricky Renee, who was a famous female impersonator, had taught me the basics of femme style comedy, and the Gay Asian Kittens started at The Store on Sunset Boulevard in summer of 1964 ... and we've been doing the act ever since, with a few changes in personnel over the years, of course.
As I age, I look more and more male, which helps the illusion, so I'm one woman who is grateful for the aging process!!!
You can catch the Gay Asian Kittens -- we appear fairly regularly in Reno, Vegas, Gold Country California venues, and this year we did Tokyo on July 27th. Subscribe to this channel for performance dates and really fun DVD releases of our band and other cool groups.
