Thorgy Thor is the stage name of Shane Thor Galligan, an American

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

and musician who came to international attention on the eighth season of ''

RuPaul's Drag Race ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' is an American reality competition television series, the first in the ''Drag Race'' franchise, produced by World of Wonder for Logo TV (season 1–8), WOW Presents Plus, VH1 (season 9–14) and, beginning with the f ...

'' and on the third season of '' All Stars''.

Early life

Galligan studied music at the

University of Hartford Hartt School The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford located in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, that offers degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920 by Julius Hartt a ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

before graduating from the

State University of New York, Purchase The State University of New York at Purchase (commonly Purchase College or SUNY Purchase) is a public liberal arts college in Purchase, New York. It is one of 13 comprehensive colleges in the State University of New York (SUNY) system. It was fo ...

with a

Bachelor of Music Bachelor of Music (BM or BMus) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. In the United States, it is a professional degree, and the majority of work consists of pre ...

in both viola and violin performance in 2006. He also knows how to play the cello. His mother, Elaine Frantzen Galligan (born March 22, 1953), died from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

on March 20, 2005.

Career

Drag

Thorgy Thor moved to

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 2006 and considers herself a Brooklyn queen. She has said Brooklyn's drag style has contributed to her aesthetic. Galligan's first drag performance was as Frank N. Furter from ''

The Rocky Horror Show ''The Rocky Horror Show'' is a Musical theatre, musical with music, lyrics and book by Richard O'Brien. A humorous tribute to the Science fiction film, science fiction and Horror film, horror B movies of the 1930s through to the early 1960s, the ...

''. He was also Marvel Ann in the theater version of '' Psycho Beach Party''. His original drag name was Shananigans; as Thorgy Thor she won the LEGEND award at the 2014 Brooklyn Nightlife Awards. Having auditioned for ''Drag Race'' since

season one Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) Season 2 may refer to: ...

, Galligan, as Thorgy Thor, was announced to be competing on the eighth season of ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' on February 1, 2016. He placed sixth out of twelve overall, losing to Chi Chi Devayne in the seventh episode. Thorgy was brought back for the third season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race: All Stars'', revealed on October 20, 2017. Thorgy got eliminated in ninth place by

season 2 Season 2 may refer to: * ''Season 2'' (Infinite album) * '' 2econd Season'' See also

* {{disambig ...

and 3 queen Shangela. Thorgy's response to being eliminated, "Oh Jesus, gross", was turned into a three-second video clip and became a viral

meme A meme ( ) is an idea, behavior, or style that spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ...

. During the show's finale, Thorgy Thor was the only queen to vote for Shangela, despite a previously rocky relationship. Thorgy Thor appears with

BeBe Zahara Benet Nea Marshall Kudi Ngwa (born March 20, 1980) better known by his stage name BeBe Zahara Benet, is a Cameroonian-American drag queen, drag performer, television personality, and musician best known for winning the RuPaul's Drag Race (season 1), fir ...

Jujubee Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae. Description It is a smal ...

and Alexis Michelle in the TLC special ''

Drag Me Down the Aisle ''Dragnificent!'' is a television series on the American network TLC. The show started as a special branded as ''Drag Me Down the Aisle'' which aired on March 9, 2019. It features Alexis Michelle, BeBe Zahara Benet, Jujubee, and Thorgy Thor, four ...

'', which aired on March 9, 2019. The special was expanded into a full series titled ''Dragnificent!'' which premiered on April 19, 2020.

Music

Thorgy Thor contributed to the albums ''

Christmas Queens 2 ''Christmas Queens 2'' is a holiday compilation album by various artists. It was released by Producer Entertainment Group on November 11, 2016. Consisting of 30 tracks, the album is a sequel to '' Christmas Queens'' (2015) and features ''RuPaul's ...

'' (2016) and ''

Christmas Queens 3 ''Christmas Queens 3'' is a holiday compilation album, released in 2017. The album is the third installation in a similarly-named series, following ''Christmas Queens'' and ''Christmas Queens 2'', and features Alaska Thunderfuck, Bob the Drag Queen ...

'' (2017). She was out of drag in the music video for

Trinity The Tuck Ryan A. Taylor, known professionally as Trinity "The Tuck" Taylor or just Trinity the Tuck (born December 10, 1985),Taylor in is an American drag queen and recording artist best known for competing on the ninth season of '' RuPaul's Drag Race' ...

's "I Call Shade" in February 2019. She has performed with string instruments at the

Le Poisson Rouge (Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space w ...

, the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

and the

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th and 57th Streets. Designed by architect William Burnet Tuthill and built ...

. In 2018, Thorgy Thor and conductor

Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser is a Canadian orchestral conductor.Eric Volmers"Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser's journey from teacher to professional conductor takes him home to the CPO" ''Calgary Herald'', February 8, 2019. He is best known for creating and ...

created the symphony show "Thorgy and the Thorchestra", which was staged for the first time by

Symphony Nova Scotia Symphony Nova Scotia is a Canadian orchestra based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Their primary recital space is at the Dalhousie Arts Centre's Rebecca Cohn Auditorium. History Symphony Nova Scotia began in 1983 with 13 full-time musicians. ...

in Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada in conjunction with

Halifax Pride Halifax Pride is an LGBT pride festival, held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the largest 2SLGBTQ+ event in Atlantic Canada,Vancouver Symphony Orchestra The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) is a Canadian orchestra based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The VSO performs at the Orpheum, which has been the orchestra's permanent home since 1977. With an annual operating budget of $16 million, it is ...

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, for ...

and the

Charlotte Symphony Orchestra The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Charlotte, North Carolina. As the largest and most active professional performing arts organization in the central Carolinas , the Charlotte Symphony plays approximately 100 perfo ...

Charlotte, North Carolina Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most popu ...

. The creation and debut of Thorgy and the Thorchestra are profiled as part of ''

Disruptor Conductor ''CBC Docs POV'' is a Canadian television point-of-view documentary series, which airs on CBC Television."CBC documentary delivers useful, timely primer on pot". ''Edmonton Journal'', October 29, 2015. The series premiered in fall 2015 under th ...

'',

Sharon Lewis Sharon M. Lewis is a Canadian television personality and film director from Toronto, Ontario. She studied political science at the University of Toronto.John McKay, "Sharon Lewis finds activism experience a plus for new role as CounterSpin host," ...

's 2019 documentary film about Bartholomew-Poyser.Nina Dragicevic
"Drag star Thorgy Thor brings her star power to the world of orchestral music"
''CBC Docs''.

Filmography

Film/Television

Web series

Music videos

Discography

Singles

Featured singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thor, Thorgy Living people 1984 births 21st-century violinists American drag queens American violinists People from Brooklyn RuPaul's Drag Race contestants State University of New York at Purchase alumni University of Hartford Hartt School alumni Thorgy Thor