Seattle Gay History

Seattle Gay History

by Don Paulson - SGN Contributing Writer This is the story of the quintessential Pioneer Square character, 'Dee Dee,' barmaid at the Double Header Tavern for 20 years and the first cross-dresser to work legally in drag, complete with bleached hair, painted eyebrows and an antiphony attitude. From 1946 to ca. 1975 the Double Header Tavern has been Seattle's supreme Gay and straight slumming place. It was famous for its "drunks, Queers, bull dykes and rough trade." The 'D. H.' was a circus, an event, and rife with 'characters' and people who knew how to party! Some Gays put it down with elitest remarks such as, "Peasants have so much fun." Others would not patronize the place but would sneak down later for some of that rough trade. It was definitely "The Bowery," with its share of Drag Queens, but it was also known as a watering hole for the "real people," without class attitudes. It was bawdy but well managed and had the cleanest beer pipes in town. One of its well known characters was the irrepressible barmaid, Dee Dee. He recalls: "I greeted everyone with, 'Evening Hon.' I was bitchy and flashy. People liked me and tipped me well. I made so much money [that] my pockets were sore. One piss elegant queen complained about a full ashtray, so, I picked it up and dumped it on the floor, 'There you are dearie.' He left in a snit. I suppose to work on a vaccine in his basement. He probably sees the crucifixion when he masturbates and frets about his bed sheets that are made of a discontinued fabric. "Cross-dressers then rarely went out in public but I was brazen and went to jail for it several times. Each time I was beaten during the arrest, beaten at the police station, harassed and humiliated and spent days in jail in drag. There was a caste system among drags in the 1940s and 1950s. Professional drags looked down on street drags. They'd measure them by age, dress and attitude. They put me down a lot because I was a hustler. My best friend 'Vilma,' (after the silent movie star) one of the 'Queens of Pioneer Square,' would get so mad at me because I always wanted to make a 'dirty buck.' Yes, sex is dirty if it's done right! The Standard Hotel across the street from the Double Header charged $1.50 an hour for you and your trick, no questions asked. I turned a trick every time my stomach growled. I got along pretty well, except when I stuck my nose in places I shouldn't have been, like being kicked out of the high class Marine Room. "One night, I picked up this guy who had a wooden leg and, after we had sex, he wouldn't pay me. So, I grabbed his wooden leg and split. I threw the leg in a dumpster behind the Mocambo Cocktail Lounge and went down to the Double Header for a drink. The police came in and wanted to know where the money and the leg were. I said, 'I don't know what you're talking about.' One cop said, 'Dee, you're the only man cold enough to take that man's leg. He's stuck in that hotel room and can't get down the stairs without his leg.' Well, I told him where the leg was but the cop said, 'What about the $140?' I only got $80 so they took that, got the leg out of the dumpster and, surprisingly, they let me go. "I went down to Madame Peabody's one night and met a cop we called 'Hitler.' He said, 'I know what you're doing and I want a cut.' I said you're going to have to catch me. He never did. Another time, I was in this beautiful Crepe dress and I got busted for the first time. The cop grabbed my arm and asked where I was going. I said to Madame Peabody's. 'No you're not!' he said. I asked, would you come down and talk to my boss? He said, 'No, you're coming up to talk to mine.' That cost me 30 days, a good ass kicking and my fur stole was stolen. For a short time I ran a house, one man and two women, but I got busted and the police took everything, furniture, phone, booze, money, everything. "For awhile, I was taking care of this sweet 86 year-old woman, Clara, and her 90 year-old husband. They lived in two small rooms and I had the rest of the house to myself. They never knew I was hustling-traffic going in and out night and day-'Oh you have so many friends,' Clara observed. 'Yes,' I said, 'I have a lot of friends.' One of my beautiful hustling girls, 'Lana,' was a Lesbian and hated men, so, you know she made money. The old man was always coming on to her-he chewed snuff. Finally, she said it'll cost you $50. Lana was lying on the couch as he walked over and dropped the money on her lap and, at the same time, accidentally dropped a whole gob of nasty snuff between her breasts. She jumped out of that sofa, took the money and said, 'You'd better get the hell downstairs before I tell Clara!' He said, 'Well give me my money.' Lana replied, 'You just got 50 dollars worth!' "Another time I was managing the Astor Hotel. I kicked everyone out and filled the place with hippies and street people. It was one continuous party. The street people then were different than they are now. There was no violence and if one had money everyone got some. "I really enjoyed my years at the Double Header. I was there so long that sons of my customers came in to say hello to me. The 'D.H.' was not a violent place but there are always macho jerks who wanted to stir things up and prove their superiority. One night, a bunch of University students came in looking for trouble. I was at the service bar, turned around and one of them popped me in the nose. I hit the floor dazzed while the whole place erupted. The fight eventually went out to the street and student heads were being banged on the hoods of cars. The cops came and hauled the students off to jail-there were some tough queens at the D.H. and when they saw me get hit they exploded. "Another night, a guy came in and got into a fight with someone and somehow I got into it. I was all dressed up in a blue Chiffon dress and Franky Doll had just done my hair and we planned to go to a party after the bar closed. This guy poured a whole pitcher of beer on my head. Well, we hit the floor. I took off my shoe and started hitting him on the head with my stiletto heels. He backed off and tried to get out of the door but everyone was egging me on. I was furious. Next day, he came back and said, 'I don't know who that red headed barmaid is but that's the meanest bitch I've ever run into in my life! I ended up in the hospital-look at these holes in my head!' My heels went all the way to the bone. It's a wonder I didn't kill him." To be continued.