Ethyl Eichelberger was an Obie award-winning American drag performer, playwright, and actor.
12 Facts About Ethyl Eichelberger
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Ethyl Eichelberger became an influential figure in experimental theater and writing, and wrote nearly forty plays portraying women such as Jocasta, Medea, Nefertiti, Clytemnestra, and Lucrezia Borgia.
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Ethyl Eichelberger became more widely known as a commercial actor in the 1980s.
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Ethyl Eichelberger was born on July 17,1945, in Pekin, Illinois to Amish Mennonite parents.
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Ethyl Eichelberger attended Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois and graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1967.
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Ethyl Eichelberger then returned to New York, changed his name to Ethyl, and became a member of Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatrical Company, acting and designing wigs.
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At the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, Eichelberger met actor Black-Eyed Susan, who became a close friend.
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Ethyl Eichelberger's plays were performed in almost any space that might pass as a stage in New York City during the height of the East Village performance bar scene of the 1980s.
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Ethyl Eichelberger took productions of his plays on tour to such far away places as Australia and Europe.
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Ethyl Eichelberger often performed solo works in free verse based on the lives of the grandes dames of history, including Lucrezia Borgia, Jocasta, Medea, Lola Montez, Nefertiti, Clytemnestra, and Carlotta, Empress of Mexico.
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Ethyl Eichelberger became more widely known as a commercial actor in the 1980s, appearing with The Flying Karamazov Brothers on Broadway in Shakespeare's The Comedy of Errors, and with Sting in The Threepenny Opera.
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Ethyl Eichelberger appeared as a cast member of the HBO variety series Encyclopedia.