Today is the birthday of Francis Leon (Francis Patrick Glassey, b. 1844). Eventually billed simply as “Leon” or “The Only Leon”, he was the foremost female impersonator in blackface minstrelsy. Let it be known that the category of the “wench” was universally popular in minstrel shows — every comedian did drag, just like every comedian […]
SOURCE: Trav S.D. at 01:14PM on November 21, 2014