Did You Know Ronald Regan Was In A Drag Show?

I was watching the movie "Before Stonewall" and they had a section on drag queens during World War II, how the soldiers use to dress up as women and give shows to the troops. One of the most famous show actually went around the country to sell War Bonds and it was made into a movie, “This Is The Army” and there are a number of scenes that feature drag [also “blackface”]. Former President of the United States played Johnny Jones (as Lt. Ronald Reagan) in the movie [President Regan was in the military during WW II and made movies with the 1st Motion Picture Unit producing training films].

Here is a newsreel clip of a "Universal Newsreel showing WW2 soldiers of Fort Slocum in a “Girlie Show” – an all singing, dancing, and cross-dressing version of 'Swing Fever.'”


On the website “Kilroy Was Here” the author George Osepchuk writes about a WW II occupation force in Korea at the end of WW II, he writes,

The "Bits Of Burlesque" show consisted of us GIs dressed in short skirts with coconut-stuffed bra tops doing chorus dances in our combat boots making for a hilarious act. We also had vocalists singing popular songs, accordion and harmonica players and comedy skits. Tony was the star as he did the strip tease as per burlesque shows. He had an authentic costume he wore during his dance. The GIs in the audience actually thought he was female. The "Bits Of Burlesque" show traveled all over South Korea performing at the many military outfits. We traveled with the show and performed for 5 to 6 months until USO shows started to arrive in Korea.

And those of you who watched the movie “South Pacific” know of the drag skit in the USO show. The website Bookworm had this to say about the two shows…

Most people remember South Pacific for two reasons:  it’s principled stand against racism and the gooey hit song “Some Enchanted Evening.”  I doubt many think of the scene in which Ray Walston dresses himself up in a coconut shell bra for the amusement of his fellow sailors and Marines (starting at 3:02):

Irving Berlin made even greater use of drag performances in “This Is The Army,” the Broadway-style review he created for the Army. It’s all-male, all-Army cast toured throughout the European theater in the thick of the war, bring a great deal of pleasure to the troops.

Because it was a Broadway-style review, Berlin of course had to write parts for women. And because there were no women to be had, every female part was a drag part. I can’t find any discrete clips but the entire movie is below, with the drag scenes at 58:00, 1:08, 1:12, and 1:28.

The tradition of soldiers doing drag has gone by the wayside in today’s modern military.