Bob 'Rose' Levine Has Been Doing Drag in Fire Island Since 1955
"There was no electricity, no lights. You had to use candles. There were no fancy washing machines or showers. You had to pump water to shower. It was a place where you could hide."
Today’s episode features a longtime fixture of Cherry Grove in Fire Island: Bob ‘Rose’ Levine.
I’m going to throw a lot of dates at you in this episode. Here’s a quick recap:
1933: the year Bob was born
1955: Bob goes to Fire Island for the first time and starts doing drag; his drag persona, “Rose”, is born.
1976: the very first drag queen “INVASION of the Pines” (more on this in our interview)
1981: The New York Times publishes their now infamous article with the headline, “RARE CANCER SEEN IN 41 HOMOSEXUALS”. The AIDS crisis changes Fire Island forever. (More on this, too, in our interview.)
1993-ish: Bob meets his partner, Michael. They are still together today.
2023: Bob meets a young homosexual with a podcast who convinces him to sit down for an interview.
In this week’s episode, Bob ‘Rose’ Levine talks about how much Fire Island has changed over the last 70 years, how much drag has changed, and why he says, despite growing up in the 30s and 40s, he never had to come out of the closet.
And here are some amazing photos from the drag Invasion in 1977 and 1985. (Courtesy of: The Fire Island Pine Historical Preservation Society)
I love the joy in these photos. Bob is on the right in the red scarf.
As always, if you enjoy this interview, please help us spread the word to your friends. A small social media post or text to a loved one makes a huge difference. We’ve found that a personal recommendation is the best way for new people to find our show, so thank you so much to everyone who’s been doing that.
And then I wanted to also mention that I was on The New Yorker Radio Hour last week talking to Erin Reed. She’s a journalist and trans and has been tracking the frightening number of anti-trans bills that have been sweeping the nation — there have been 500+ so far this year. Click here to listen to that.
See you next week.
Much love,
Jeffrey
@jeffmasters1
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