TV PRESENTER and one-time drag artist Paul O’Grady, 67, died unexpectedly yesterday (29) and drew tributes from the around country for his pioneering work as an artist who brought the LGBTQ+ minority more into the mainstream of entertainment and broadcasting.
O’Grady died “unexpectedly but peacefully” according to a statement by his husband André Portasio.
O’Grady made drag and queerness prominent in the British mainstream media for the first time.
He addressed issues impacting the homosexual community through his drag performance. He protested the implementation of Section 28 by Margaret Thatcher in 1988, and he frequently took part in charity events to raise money for HIV/AIDS research.
Most recently, he gained popularity as the host of the renowned talk show The Paul O’Grady Show and the creator of the animal-themed documentary series Paul O’Grady: For the Love of Dogs. Older admirers, however, knew him best for his drag identity Lily Savage, which he utilised to become well-known in the 1980s and 1990s.
O’Grady, who was born in Birkenhead on the Wirral in Merseyside in 1955, spent eight years performing as the legendary Lily Savage at a gay club in London.
“Paul was a dreamboat. He was one of those people that obviously had incredible fame in the 1990s and as a young out, queer person to reflect our culture on TV in that period was amazing to see,” said Nathaniel J Hall, It’s A Sin actor and HIV activist.
O’Grady is well known for how he handled a police raid on the Royal Vauxhall Tavern in 1987.
“Paul was preparing for his performance as Lily Savage and adjusting his wig. Suddenly, the police burst into his dressing room,” said LGBTQ+ rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
“Even after the partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967, thousands of gay and bisexual men were arrested for consenting, victimless behaviour in malicious, vindictive raids,” he said.
“That was so wrong, and Paul was angry that they’d never said sorry.
O’Grady recalled the raid in 2021, as he commented on a Royal Vauxhall Tavern Instagram post.
“It was 34 years ago when the cops raided the Vauxhall,” he wrote. “I was doing the late show and within seconds the place was heaving with coppers, all wearing rubber gloves. I remember saying something like, ‘Well well, it looks like we’ve got help with the washing up.’
Danny Beard, winner of the fourth series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, said O’Grady was “the most important person in British culture for drag” in an emotional tribute on BBC Breakfast.
“I don’t think there’s anyone who does the job that I do that doesn’t class Paul as an icon,” Beard explained.
A statement released on behalf of Queen Consort, Camilla, she was “deeply saddened to have learned of the death of Paul O’Grady, with whom she worked closely to support the work of Battersea Dogs & Cats Home and whose warm heart and infectious humour lit up the lives of so many”.
During his career O’Grady won a TV Bafta, British Comedy Award and a National Television Award for The Paul O’Grady Show.
In 2008, he was made an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to entertainment.
O’Grady, who lived in Aldington, near Ashford, was appointed one of Kent’s deputy lieutenants in November. The role is responsible for representing the King at events in the area.
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