ANDREW L. ERDMAN
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Author Andrew L. Erdman's Latest Biography is Beautiful

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A hundred years ago in America, a man in drag could face serious consequences—if he didn't look beautiful enough.




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Source: Miles Kreuger/Institute of the American Musical (Los Angeles)

Meet Julian Eltinge

America's most successful and highly-paid female impersonator from the 1900s to the 1920s. Enter a forgotten world of musicals and burlesques, when men from college to the boardroom to the military enthusiastically dragged up for lots of applause and little retribution. Visit backstage vaudeville, discover a blossoming Hollywood, and rub elbows with silent-film royalty.

Rich with detail, this first-ever biography about a gender-bending vaudeville mega-celebrity at the dawn of our era will appeal to history and theatre buffs alike. In a time when politicians weaponize gender and sexuality, Eltinge’s story offers complex insight into cultural ideas about masculinity and femininity, reminding us that humans have always contained multitudes.

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Discover More of Andrew's Work

Queen of Vaudeville

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Blue Vaudeville

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About the Author

Andrew L. Erdman is a historian and psychotherapist who revels in uncovering misunderstood aspects of cultural history and how they relate to misunderstood parts of ourselves. As a boy, he often visited Coney Island, the spiritual home of American cheap amusements. A doctoral program in theatre studies led him to a deepened interest in the history of popular culture. He stumbled across the remarkable female impersonator Julian Eltinge while researching his prior book about vaudeville’s Eva Tanguay. Andrew’s books and articles connect the broad sweep of history to our very real, inner lives.​

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Photo Credit: IM914 Photography

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  • Home
  • Books
    • Beautiful Julian Eltinge
    • Queen of Vaudeville Eva Tanguay
    • Blue Vaudeville
  • About Andrew
  • Events
  • Media
  • Contact