David Raven, who was better known as Maisie Trollette and was believed to be the oldest drag performer in Britain, died on Wednesday in Brighton, England. He was 91.
His death was confirmed by a friend, Scott St. Martyn, who said that Mr. Raven had been living in a nursing home.
Mr. Raven performed as Maisie Trollette for over half a century, wearing a blonde wig, a thick layer of makeup and long sequined dresses while singing old show tunes and cracking naughty jokes. He became a mainstay of the British drag circuit, a regular presence at the Brighton and Hove Pride event and a mentor to younger drag queens.
He came out as gay in his 20s, at a time when “homosexual acts” were still illegal in Britain. (The law changed in 1967 in England.) Mr. Raven began performing in drag as the form became popular with the rise of Danny La Rue, a famous British drag performer (who was, according to Mr. St. Martyn, a big fan of Mr. Raven’s).
Early in his career, Mr. Raven described himself as a “pantomime dame,” Mr. St. Martyn, an actor who became friends with Mr. Raven in the 1980s, said in an interview. “He always tried to legitimize it by being a professional actor.”
Mr. Raven rose to fame in the 1960s as one half of the drag duo the Trollettes alongside Jimmy Court, who performed as Jimmy Trollette.
“They were kind of slapstick comedians,” said Dave Lynn, a longtime friend of Mr. Raven’s who performed with him in the 1980s and ’90s. “You never knew what was going to come from them, most of it was ad-lib.”
Eventually, Mr. Raven branched out as a solo act, performing as Maisie in charity shows and venues across Britain, and appearing in the inaugural parade for Brighton and Hove Pride, the largest Pride festival in Britain, in 1973.
“Maisie was such a staple,” said Christopher Dennis, better known as his drag alter ego, La Voix, who met Mr. Raven in the early 2000s. “Everyone knew of him even if you hadn’t seen him. You just knew the name.”
Though Mr. Raven was well-known on the drag circuit and in Brighton, where he lived, little was known about his early life and childhood. Even friends who knew him for decades said he never spoke about his past.
David Raven was born Aug. 15, 1933, in Cornwall, England, and was raised by adoptive parents in Norfolk. He had no immediate survivors; his partner, Don Coull, whom he referred to as his “idol” and his “other half” in “Maisie,” a 2021 documentary, died from complications of AIDS about two decades ago.
While Mr. Raven was an undisputed pillar of British drag, he was serious about separating his alter ego from his day-to-day identity, reprimanding anyone who called him Maisie when he was not in character.
“He came from a very cold background,” Mr. Lynn said. “He couldn’t be a queen full time.”
Mr. Raven continued to perform well into his 80s, eventually using a walking stick onstage. “I can’t believe that I’ve been doing this for 50 years,” he said in the 2021 documentary.
While Mr. Raven was a singular figure in Britain, he did have an American counterpart: Walter Cole, also known as Darcelle XV, an American drag queen who earned a Guinness World Record as the world’s oldest drag performer. (Mr. Cole died at 92 in 2023.)
In the documentary “Maisie,” the two octogenarian performers have a meal together and prepare for a performance in Brighton. Standing next to each other, they pose for photos and exchange quips and (sometimes dirty) jokes.
Mr. Raven had a wicked sense of humor, and his friends described him as “naughty” and a “prankster.” On trips with friends, he would hide in closets or under beds to scare them. In his free time, he loved betting, especially on race horses. Even later in life, when he was too unwell to leave the house, Mr. Raven would ask people to place bets for him, Mr. St. Martyn said.
His longevity inspired younger performers, and he offered deep encouragement to younger acts in an effort to help Britain’s drag scene flourish, Mr. Lynn said.
“There’s a feeling in the arts that there’s an expiry date,” Mr. Dennis said. “And David showed us there’s no expiry date on being fabulous.”
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