I remember the summer of 1987 very well why? Because I went to what is now known as a legendary gay ball. A old fashion Harlem, NY ball held by the Royale House Of Princess in New York. I remember being underage, very skinny, not particularly well dressed and scared to death of the Bronx, NY. I also remember dating a 27 year old by the name of Raymond Moore who knew everyone who was in the ball scene and had a sister that was a model and lived in Chelsea.He loved fashion and was a great dresser in what was then the best style of the day that preppy Polo look.
During this time balls were a mostly drag queen affair. The catergories I remember were very limited, they were held in the wee wee hours of the morning after most of the "girls" would come off 3rd ave or the Kentucky strip ( 8th, 9th and 10th ave strolls) it was mostly about beauty and realness and labels(clothes labels) that's why everyone went to these things.
Truth be told my mother had a friend that worked at Rikers Island jail in Elmhurst, Queens her name was Miss. Gearldine and she was a member of our church. I knew when a ball was going to be because the "kids" would be in jail for stealing out of Saks, Bergdorf, and Bloomingdales! This before the flyers would even announce the affair!
The legendary boosters had the good stuff like Chanel Dior, Ted Lapidus and of course Ralph Laurens Polo No bootleg in those days! The category called "Pieces from a magazine" and during that time when you entered a club an obnoxiuous yet fabulous fem queen would check your label his name was Miss Stacy I adored her/him because they gave me my first Dior shirt and stiff lecture on Herion and drugs and to never drink or smoke anything anyone gave you. also he spent the night in the major department stores and was quite the legend just for that! He was sort of a mentor and I remember him having given me a Chanel tie a big deal to a 8th grader! Also a leather portfolio for my school books. My friends didn't want me to get "Read" because my mother shopped at Macys, Ohrbachs and Sears. So I was the kid everyone just cared about and gave stuff to that I had hell explaining to my Mom where i got it to...My memory serves me correctly inspite of the morals or whatever they were genuinely nice people who looked out for my crew a gang of mangy teenagers that ran 8th avenue from Penn station to west 42nd street. Mostly the majority of this crew died during the AIDS/HIV epidemic that rocked New York City ( RIP) I miss them.
Men that emulated women. New York to me had the top in this category (not to be taken lightly. I had already been on Central Avenue in LA in 1988 with two of my friends and saw the ones that hung at the old waldorf bar no match for NYC in my eye!)due to the popular doctors at the time that made these people beutiful Dr. Felix Schiffman on Park Avenue and Dr. Wallman(sic) in Brooklyn produced legendary beautys such as Candy Lebji, Vanity, Onjanee, Portia and Patasa were a few of the more famous ones during this period that I actually met.
For the hustling girls there was a boot leg doctor called "Jimmy Treetop who I remember got accused of selling Monkey hormones" God only knew what these were! drag queens that looked like models that was the big deal in those days . But their were others that were just as famous " Mona" and Silicone Paris were popular for the sheer amounts of work they had (implanted silicone in their bodies) and Mona whose husband beat her and her silicone shifted causeing her to walk with a limp and it had to be scraped out in LA Striking to look, lovely to see was one such person who left me with what can only be described as a gasp and a sigh. "She" was tall and very beautiful light complexed and wore a dress with a white fox cape! Drinking a high ball at the now defunct Sallys Hideway ( formerly Blues bar) which was on west 43rd street I believe off seventh ave.
Even though they were whores and drug abusers in my youthful mind this was a new world and it really fasinated me. i didnt want to be LIKE them i did want to be AROUND them. Plus I was a nice looking guy who looked mature and they loved showing me off they never molested me or any of my friends tho. They had morals when it came to that!
We all got into this cab and went to the Bronx The Savoy Manor I believe or the Elks Club I cant remember correctly which it was 5 am thats when these events started in those days. One of the people in the cab said "Isnt she giving you Pat Clevland? I had no idea who the hell Pat Clevland even was I had to be about 12 or 13 years old at the time because I was in Junior high School and was just learning the New York City scene as I was raised in Long Island ( The two places are like night and day)Long Island is the country or suburbs and all I knew about was GQ magazine and my mothers Ebony which had a fashion fair section in it. I read it after dark when no one was looking little boys didnt read that type stuff without a lot of questions and funny looks
Its amazing the old new York u could do anything and go anywhere underage!
However, years went and even more balls in those days their was at least a ball or two a month. The house of lebeji, the house of Wong, Dupree, lebeji yu can call the role on those legendary houses thatthrived before that shit got international it was as columist Cindy use to say "Only in New york Kids!" and I had never even seen a picture of Pat Clevland tho people described her beauty and she was quite popular still even then. Their was no
Google in those days so old information was obtained by micro film at the libary or scanning old magazines from garage sales. At that age .....No thank you
Sometime in the early 1990s while visiting Colledge Park, Ga a suburb of Atlanta we all went out slumming to a bar called The Marquette or
The Queasy to celebrate someone named Nicoles birthday another trans gender that I remember wore her hair like Josephine baker, wore no make up and was a dead ringer for the person I met in New York and watched walk in the house of princess ( Now defunct) ball. The club was owned by a guy named hunter whose father was in the service with my father and later worked as a guard in jackson ga at a State prison their if my memory serves me right. he owned this gay bar alot of ppl probably still remember it.
Again I heard someone in our party ask the same question "Doesnt Miss. Nicole give you Pat Clevland? " I remember replying " Looks like Josephine baker to me" My escort at the time a guy from the old Techwood housing projects had driven us to his old home ATL said they call that perfect emulation he can emulate a woman to perfection.....He loved the whole art of it and in those days it was at its peak
Well, up to that point the best emulators all seemed to have one thing in common " Looking like Pat Clevland tall, light skinned, and skinny" it was still a few years till I got my first Tandy computer and finally laid eyes on the Great Pat Clevland herself but if you guys are still alive and kicking I am ,putting it in writing " Yes both of them looked like Pat Clevland! enjoy the blog my memories and the bio on this wonderful model and the pictures and Happy February.
Who was Pat Clevaland? (orginally posted by dpbenson)
Pat Cleveland
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I searched and searched and was shocked to discover that she does not have her own thread.
From http://www.divasthesite.com/Runway_D...Cleveland.htm:
One of the first women of color to enjoy worldwide recognition, American model Pat Cleveland got her break when she was 14, after being spotted on the subway by a Vogue editor. She is best known for her playfully over-the-top poses and worked with Valentino, Oscar de la Renta and Yves Saint Laurent. Also, together with Karen Bjornson and Anjelica Huston she was one of Halston's original models. They were so loyal that they became known as the Halstonettes. Cleveland returned to the runway five years ago, walking at the Bill Blass and Stephen Burrows shows in New York and is now in her late fifties.
From http://panachereport.com/channels/ol...e/Donyale.htm:
Contrary to popular belief, Naomi Campbell is not the runway queen. That title belongs to Pat Cleveland who became the best runway model in fashion history.
Affectionately called Cleveland. Pat Cleveland (pictured above to the left) would dominate the runway like no other model. Legendary performer Josephine Baker made it well known, she wanted Cleveland to portray her in a film, if her life story was ever adapted for a movie because Cleveland bore a resemblance to a younger Baker.
The things that Cleveland did on the runway; have yet to be duplicated. She had a partner, male model and dance partner, Sterling St. Jacques, pictured above, (son of late actor Raymond St. Jacques), they walked the runway like two graceful black panthers and they were known to break into a Tango.
The crowd would stand on their feet in anticipation when they came on stage and they didn't disappoint. At one event, St. Jacques came out carrying Cleveland on his shoulders. They were also dance partners on Soul Train.
Pat Cleveland is currently signed with the Legends division of the Ford Modeling Agency.
When she isn't working on the modeling circuit, she relaxes at her Chateau in the Swiss Alps.
She loves to vacation in Monte Carlo, eating smoked barracuda on private yachts.
When she attends Fashion Week in New York, she has reserved ringside seats and she's treated like royalty.
Read more: Pat Cleveland - the Fashion Spot http://forums.thefashionspot.com/f52/pat-cleveland-75328.html#ixzz1nE4oEz6B
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