  danny la rue, obe (26 july 1927 â 31 may 2009) was an irish-born british entertainer known for his singing and drag impersonations. ==early life== born as daniel patrick carroll in cork city,irish times obituary ireland, in 1927, la rue was the youngest of either four or five siblings. the family moved to england when he was six and he was brought up at earnshaw street in soho, central london. when the family home was destroyed during the blitz, his mother, a seamstress, moved her children to kennford, a devon village where young daniel developed an interest in dramatics. âthere weren't enough girls so i got the pick of the roles ... my juliet was very convincingâ, la rue recalled.daily telegraph obituary he served in the royal navy as a young man following his father's footsteps, and even had a brief career delivering groceries, but he became known for his skill as a female impersonator (or "comic in a frock" as he preferred to be called) in the united kingdom and was featured in theatre productions, and in film, television and records. ==career== among his celebrity impersonations were elizabeth taylor, zsa zsa gabor, judy garland, marlene dietrich and margaret thatcher. at one point he had his own nightclub in hanover square, and also performed on london's west end. in the 1960s he was among britain's highest-paid entertainers. he owned the swan at streatley hotel in the 1970s. in 1982 he played dolly levi in the musical hello, dolly!. he also has the distinction of being the only man to take over a woman's role in the west end theatre when he replaced avis bunnage in oh, what a lovely war! and he was until his death still a regular performer in traditional christmas pantomime shows in britain. in 1968 his version of "on mother kelly's doorstep" reached number 33 in the uk singles chart; la rue later adopte
1927_births 2009_deaths British_entertainers Burials_at_St._Mary\'s_Roman_Catholic_Cemetery,_Kensal_Green Cancer_deaths_in_England Deaths_from_prostate_cancer Drag_queens Gay_entertainers LGBT_people_from_England Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire Pantomime_dames People_from_Cork_(city) People_from_Soho People_from_Teignbridge_(district) Royal_Navy_sailors