Tony Midnite (Sept. 20, 1926 - Aug. 31, 2009) was a female impersonator, costume designer, activist, and book reviewer.

Early life

Midnite was born Tony Murdoch on Sept. 20, 1926 in

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. He worked in the defense industry at Hunter's Point Navy Yard near

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during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After seeing a female impersonation show at the legendary Finocchio's in San Francisco around 1948, he became a performer himself, starting in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...

, transitioning to Hollywood, California, then making his way to Chicago.

Career

Midnite had begun performing with the traveling Jewel Box Revue, America's first racially-inclusive traveling revue of female impersonators. He took a hiatus, however, in 1951 to move to Chicago. His mentor, Stanley Rogers, was the costume designer for the Jewel Box; when Rogers retired, Midnite took over the post. He also opened his own costume design studio in Chicago in 1953 in the basement of the Lorraine Hotel at 411 South Wabash Ave. in the city's Rush Street nightclub area. Though he was having throat troubles in the mid-1950s which caused him to step back from performing for a time, he was nevertheless photographed in full glamour drag regalia in 1955 and 1956 by celebrity and theatrical photographer Maurice Seymour, who stars sought "because of his ability to portray them as they appeared to the audience 100 feet away. He could retouch the photos, enhance their appearance...keep the illusion going." Midnite eventually performed and designed costumes for four years at Club 82 in New York City. In this time, he created original designs for fellow performers such as Lavern Cummings and Tillie the Dirty Old Lady. As the drag scene boomed not only in Chicago proper but

Calumet City Calumet City ( ) is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 36,033 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Chicago metropolitan area. History Calumet City (commonly referred to locally as "Cal City") was founded in 1893 ...

and Cicero, with approximately 50 strip clubs abounding, Midnite designed for "all manner of exotic stage performers." In addition, he designed for road shows of ''

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'' and ''

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'' and for the Jewel Box's Broadway production, which debuted at Loew's State Theatre in

Times Square Times Square is a major commercial intersection, tourist destination, entertainment hub, and Neighborhoods in New York City, neighborhood in the Midtown Manhattan section of New York City. It is formed by the junction of Broadway (Manhattan), ...

. He designed for Club Chesterfield performers as well and worked under the supervision of David Merrick on various productions for the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

. He started booking shows for the Jewel Box Revue, inevitably shaping the drag scene at the time with an 8-month-long booking on the South Side of Chicago called ''25 Men and a Girl'' which signaled a drag boom in the region in the 1960s. Throughout his performance career, he appeared in shows such as Club 82's ''Fun-Fair for '57'' and ''Club 82 Revue'' and the Jewel Box's ''Show Sensation of the Nation'', among numerous others. His final performances were in a recurring show called ''The Fantasy Revue'' which played at the Granada Lounge and Blue Dahlia Show Lounge in Chicago. Later in life, Midnite worked as a book reviewer, reviewing for ''GayLife'' and other publications. In 1996, Mayor Richard M. Daley of Chicago inducted Midnite into the

Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame The Chicago LGBT Hall of Fame (formerly Chicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame) is an institution founded in 1991 to honor persons and entities who have made significant contributions to the quality of life or well-being of the LGBT community in Ch ...

Awards

inductee (1996)

Death

Midnite died in

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

on Aug. 31, 2009 at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Midnite, Tony American drag queens American costume designers American LGBTQ singers Activists from Texas 1926 births 2009 deaths 20th-century American LGBTQ people