The new book Dugan’s Bistro and the Legend of the Bearded Lady, by author/activist/grassroots historian Owen Keehnen, is a folklore-bio of the local disco era—a time that was key in the evolution of Chicago’s LGBT community.
According to a press release, “Dugan’s Bistro was the hottest gay disco in Chicago. From 1973-1982 the sign above the door and on the club’s matchbooks read: ‘Dugan’s Bistro, the Home of the Bearded Lady.’ A Chicago nightlife phenomenon, the Bearded Lady was a unique celebrity who, for over a decade, was covered regularly in gay newspapers and magazines, gossip columns of the ChicagoTribune and Sun Times, and several national and international publications. Despite his fame, much of BL’s life has remained a mystery, until now.”
Jeffrey Mark Bruce and Richard Knight Jr. provide additional insight.