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back to Drag Artist Discography entry page Liz Lyons, aka Lee Leonard 7/4/19 -- 4/24/91 before
she became Liz Lyons, she performed under as Lee Leonard Click for Lee Leonard Clippings
Below, 1951
as Liz Lyons Download Liz Lyons "Up Your Ass" (33:30) Download Liz Lyons "Live from Around the World to You" (32:19)
Added November 2009, a letter from a website visitor: Hi, My name is Dan. I met Liz as Lee Leonard when I was 21, back in 1964. He was the first female impersonator I had ever seen (or heard of). He was working at the Gay 90's in Minneapolis which in those days was a pretty famous strip club along with vaudeville acts such as Lee's and a sister tap dancing act. The 90's also had a live band. I was so fascinated with him that I started hanging out at the 90's and Lee and I became good friends. When I was 22 I enlisted in the Air Force (I had gotten my draft notice) and turned 23 in basic training. My parents gave me a going away party which Lee and his lover attended. His lover later left him for a stripper at the 90's who had been in a long term lesbian relationship with another stripper. They got married and had at least one child. In 1968, the University of Minnesota hospital was doing research in the gender reassignment surgery, following John Hopkins, and, I believe, doing free surgery. It was then that Lee had the "change." I was home on leave and brought Liz a pound of chopped liver in the hospital which she loved. She had been raised in Chicago with an Italian father and Jewish mother and Lee had loved to eat. After the sex change, I lost track of Liz. When I got out of the service in 1970, she was gone and I heard she was living somewhere in Saskatchewan. I never saw her or heard from her again. I would assume she is no longer living as she was in her 50's when she went through the surgery. One other memory is that after I moved out of my parents home when I was 21, Lee would have me over for dinner almost every Sunday evening along with the other entertainers and some of the staff from the 90's. It was very exciting for me being only 21. One highlight of a dinner was that I met Sally Rand, the famous fan dancer. She was performing at the Gay 90's. I found out she was about my mother's age so she had to be in her very early 60's. I'm 66 yrs old now but have many fond memories of those days and of Lee. Added November 2009, a letter from a website visitor: I came upon your fantastic site today when I was doing a Google search for Liz Lyons. I saw Ms. Lyons perform when I was18 or 19, probably around 1984. She was playing a straight strip club here in Calgary, Canada. My friends and I had just gone to check out the peelers and had no idea who this lady was or what to make of her. Believe it or not, I had no idea until I saw your article that she was trans-gendered (I was young). I remember her act as a mix of bawdy comedy (of sorts) and song-- I recall her singing 'Birth of the Blues' to taped accompaniment. As described in different accounts, she did indeed lift her top at one point to flash her copious breasts (little homo-to-be that I was, I looked away). Liz was well past her prime then, I think, and we were a bit bewildered by her act, but looking back I'm glad I got to see a part of drag and queer history. I'm sure she has long since passed away, though I couldn't find any more information. Thanks, Chris E. if you have other photos or information about Liz (or Lee) puleeze let me know... Click for Lee Leonard Clippings
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