Walter Cole — the world’s oldest drag queen — has died at age 92.
The LGBTQ activist, who performed under the name Darcelle XV, passed away on March 23 from natural causes in Portland, Oregon.
His nightclub, Darcelle XV Showplace, shared the news of his passing on Facebook.
“Please join us and celebrate her legacy and memory, thank you in advance for your continued support,” they wrote, adding that all previously scheduled shows at the venue will still go on “as per Darcelle’s wishes.”
He was certified as the globe’s oldest drag performer in 2016 by the Guinness Book of World Records and earned notoriety for hosting the longest-running drag show on the West Coast.
He came out as gay and created his drag queen persona in 1969.
In 1967, Cole purchased the Demas Tavern in the Old Town neighborhood of Portland, and it soon became the Darcelle XV Showplace — a landmark that is still standing today.
In 2020, the space was listed in the National Register of Historic Places — the first place in Oregon to be commemorated for its importance in queer history.
Cole, who was born in Portland in 1930, scored a 2011 Spirit of Portland Award, which recognizes “local individuals and organizations who have demonstrated an outstanding dedication to positive change in our community.”
Cole preferred to use male pronouns when he wasn’t performing and female ones while he was in drag, according to the Oregonian, adding that his drag hotspot provided a safe haven for many of his LGBTQ peers.
“If I hadn’t admitted who I was, I’d probably be dead now,” the trailblazer told his hometown paper in 2010. “I’d be sitting on a couch retiring from … management. Not for me.”
Todd Addams, the interim executive director of Basic Rights Oregon, reflected on Cole’s life and work with the Los Angeles Times, noting: “She touched the lives of so many, not only through her performances but also through her fearless community advocacy and charitable works. She was nothing short of an icon.”
Journalist Susan Stanley, who interviewed Cole in 1975 and became his close friend, told the LA Times how Cole was “just a very, very nurturing person” and “encouraged other guys to perform and get out of their shells.”
Playwright Donnie Horn called him “an amazing friend” in an interview with the CBC show “As It Happens.”
“He had his ways and you lived through his ways. He would speak his piece,” Horn said of Cole, who also performed at New York’s Wigstock gathering in 2018.
“But he always, always was genuine. And he accepted everybody for who they were at that point. He didn’t ask for you to be better or worse. He asked you to be the best you could be,” Horn added of Cole, an Army veteran who was celebrated as a barrier-breaker in a 2020 Oregon Public Broadcasting documentary.
In 1951, he married his high school sweetheart, Jeannette Rosini, and the pair had a son, Walter Jr., and a daughter, Maridee.
After his military stint, Cole founded a coffee shop named Caffe Espresso and later began an affair with former Las Vegas performer Roxy LeRoy Neuhardt while doing theater side jobs, according to The Oregonian.
Funeral and memorial details have yet to be announced.