floorgasm
05-28-2003, 10:20 AM
from www.planetout.com (http://www.planetout.com)
Pepper LaBeija, a queen of Harlem drag balls and a subject of the documentary "Paris Is Burning," died on May 14 in Manhattan at the age of 53. The cause of death was a heart attack, the New York Times reported.
LaBeija, whose given name was William Jackson, appeared at the balls in glamorous fashions and presided for more than 30 years over the House of LaBeija, a group of drag performers who used the surname LaBeija.
"A house is a family for those who don't have a family," she said in "Paris Is Burning."
Pepper LaBeija was the last of the four major Harlem drag ball queens. The others, Angie Xtravaganza, Dorian Corey and Avis Pendavis, died in recent years.
LaBeija supported herself by producing the balls and teaching modeling, the Times reported.
Chronicled in "Paris Is Burning," the balls are performance extravaganzas that blur gender boundaries and feature contests to see which performers can look and act most like a certain archetype, for instance a fashion model. The Harlem ball scene also innovated the stylized dance form known as "voguing."
LaBeija was sidelined in recent years by diabetes and had both of her feet amputated because of the disease. She last performed at a ball in 2001, according to the Times.
Pepper LaBeija, a queen of Harlem drag balls and a subject of the documentary "Paris Is Burning," died on May 14 in Manhattan at the age of 53. The cause of death was a heart attack, the New York Times reported.
LaBeija, whose given name was William Jackson, appeared at the balls in glamorous fashions and presided for more than 30 years over the House of LaBeija, a group of drag performers who used the surname LaBeija.
"A house is a family for those who don't have a family," she said in "Paris Is Burning."
Pepper LaBeija was the last of the four major Harlem drag ball queens. The others, Angie Xtravaganza, Dorian Corey and Avis Pendavis, died in recent years.
LaBeija supported herself by producing the balls and teaching modeling, the Times reported.
Chronicled in "Paris Is Burning," the balls are performance extravaganzas that blur gender boundaries and feature contests to see which performers can look and act most like a certain archetype, for instance a fashion model. The Harlem ball scene also innovated the stylized dance form known as "voguing."
LaBeija was sidelined in recent years by diabetes and had both of her feet amputated because of the disease. She last performed at a ball in 2001, according to the Times.