Russell Craig Eadie (January 10, 1948 – October 30, 1990) was a Canadian female impersonator known by the stage name of Craig Russell.
His impersonations included Carol Channing, Bette Davis, Mae West, Barbra Streisand, Tallulah Bankhead, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Midler, Anita Bryant, Peggy Lee and Judy Garland. While performing, he always spoke and sang in the voices of the celebrities he was impersonating.
As a teenager, Craig Russell became president of Mae West's fan club and he briefly worked and lived in Los Angeles as her secretary. He returned to Toronto where he moved in with the writer Margaret Gibson. He worked as a hairdresser while pursuing his career as a stage performer. By 1971, he was a regular performer in Toronto gay clubs and had a burgeoning international following.
In 1977, Russell starred in the film Outrageous!, based on a short story written by Gibson about their time as roommates. A decade later, in 1987, he starred in the sequel to Outrageous!, appropriately titled Too Outrageous!
Russell's friend Stephen Jon Postal and his wife, Guia Dino Postal based a character, Kevin on his teen age life in their book, Of Margaret and Madness: A Novel Based on True Events (ISBN 9781434332752, 9781434362292).
He fathered a daughter, Susan Allison ("Allison"), who was born January 6, 1973 in Toronto. Father and daughter developed a relationship in the years prior to his death. Although he publicly identified as gay rather than bisexual, Russell married his close friend Lori Jenkins in 1982. Russell remained married to Lori until his death in 1990 of a stroke related to complications from AIDS. He was cremated and buried at Pine Grove Cemetery in Port Perry.
His widow Lori died on August 15, 2008 at Toronto Grace Hospital, after a long battle with cancer. Her body was laid to rest beside that of her husband in Port Perry.
   | Craig Russell bio at GLBTQ.com - glbtq >> arts >> Russell, Craig |
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