Mitchum and La Rue in a dramatic clinch in River of No ReturnEntertainer Danny La Rue has died at his home in Kent at the age of 81, his spokeswoman has said.
"Danny died peacefully in his sleep just before midnight last night after a short illness," she said.
His beloved companion Annie Galbraith was with him at their home in Kent," she added.
La Rue had been ill with cancer. He made a career out of his vaudeville drag act although he disliked being called a drag artist.
One of his biggest West End successes was the cabaret show At the Palace, which ran for two years.
In 1969, he became the first drag act to feature in the Royal Variety Performance, the first of three such appearances.
He also became the first man to appear as a female character in a major musical when he took the role of Dolly Levi in Hello Dolly in a 1982 production which eventually transferred to the West End."
Entertainer Bruce Forsyth called La Rue "a great comic with great... timing... He always looked so beautiful in these gowns and wigs he wore, he looked fabulous, and he'd say, 'Good evening all' in that lovely deep other voice he had," added Forsyth.
Not many people remember his standout feature film, Our Miss Fred (1972) or his critically lauded appearance opposite Robert Mitchum in Otto Preminger's The River of No Return (1954).
La Rue made few appearances on television, but played a leading role in keeping the traditions of music hall and pantomime alive.
In the 1970s and 1980s, La Rue was the most famous female impersonator in the world and was at one time the highest-paid entertainer in Britain, according to The Stage newspaper.
He received an OBE from the Queen at Buckingham Palace in 2002 who admitted to being a long-time fan of the entertainer.
He first donned his wig and eyelashes during a naval concert party, having been sent to Singapore as part of Lord Mountbatten's invasion task force towards the end of World War II - and we still managed to win.
Broadcaster Nicholas Parsons said: "We have lost a great performer and a real trouper. And he could hold audiences in the palm of his hand."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8077329.stm
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