Cummings, Paul Lavern, 1927-2018

Paul Lavern Cummings was born on August 17, 1927 in Santa Ana, California. In the 1950s, Cummings began working as a female impersonator under the name Lavern Cummings and would sing as both soprano and baritone during her acts. From 1950 to 1956, Cummings performed with the Jewel Box Revue, a traveling troupe of female impersonators. In 1956, he began performing at Finnochio’s, a nightclub in San Francisco, California, known for female impersonators. Cummings worked as a contract performer at Finnochio’s for twenty-six years before retiring in 1982. Cummings also worked as an actor appearing in a 1979 television movie called The Golden Gate Murders playing a female impersonator named Lavern Smith. Cummings eventually moved to Las Vegas, Nevada where he continued working as an actor and appeared as an extra in a number of movies and television shows filmed in Las Vegas. In March 2018, Cummings passed away in Las Vegas after being hit by a car while crossing Charleston Boulevard near Decatur Boulevard.

Sources:

Corbin, April. “Keeping ‘em guessing.” Las Vegas Sun. March 10, 2011. https://lasvegassun.com/news/2011/mar/10/keeping-em-guessing/.

Flanagan, Michael. “Laverne, surely.” The Bay Area Reporter. May 23, 2018. https://www.ebar.com/bartab/nightlife//260270

O’Neal, Nathan. “Pedestrian killed in crosswalk, a former female impersonator, trailblazer in entertainment.” Channel 3 News Las Vegas. March 27, 2018. https://news3lv.com/news/local/pedestrian-killed-in-crosswalka-former-female-impersonator-trailblazer-in-entertainment.

Speegle, Troy. “#DragHerstory: The Incomprable, Lavern Cummings.” The WOW Report. May 6, 2016. https://worldofwonder.net/dragherstory-laverne-cummings/.