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- Francis_Leon abstract "Francis Leon (born Francis Patrick Glassey; 21 Nov 1844 – after 1883) was a blackface minstrel performer best known for his work as a female impersonator. He was largely responsible for making the prima donna a fixture of blackface minstrelsy.Leon was trained as a boy soprano by Rev. Dr. Cummings in Fordham, NY. He performed the first soprano part in Mozart's Twelfth Mass at St. Stephen's church in New York City at age 8. Leon entered minstrelsy in 1858. Only 14 at the time, he quickly rose to fame by specializing in portraying female prima donna characters, mulatto coquettes in yellow makeup and elaborate costumes. Leon's 300 dresses (which he refused to call \"costumes\") were a key piece of his act, and some cost as much as $400. He came to refer to himself as simply \"Leon\" or \"The Only Leon\". His influence was such that by 1873, every major minstrel troupe had its own Leon imitator. In 1882, he earned more than any other minstrel performer.The press loved him. In 1870, The Clipper raved, \"Leon is the best male female actor known to the stage. He does it with such dignity, modesty, and refinement that it is truly art.\" In fact, Leon's impersonation was so convincing that a reviewer in Rochester, New York remarked, \"Heaps of boys in my locality don't believe yet it's a man in spite of my saying it was\", and that Leon could \"make a fool of a man if he wasn't sure.\" Another critic raved, \"He is more womanly in his by-play and mannerisms than the most charming female imaginable.\" The idea that a male performer represented women better than women was echoed by another critic who noted, \"Just as a white man makes the best stage Negro, so a man gives more photographic interpretation of femininity than the average woman is able to give\".In 1864, Leon formed a minstrel troupe with Edwin Kelly. Leon and Kelly's Minstrels spoke of their freedom from vulgarity and featured elaborate scenery and refined operas with Leon as the female lead. Though these were at heart burlesques, Leon insisted that everything was quite proper. He claimed to have studied ballet from a respected dancer and to have practiced for \"hours every day\" for seven years. He further asserted that he took voice lessons from famous opera teacher Errani. Ultimately, however, Leon's performances were not enough to keep the company afloat. By 1883, Leon had joined the San Francisco Minstrels.".
- Francis_Leon thumbnail Harvard_Theatre_Collection_-_Francis_Leon_TCS_1.640_-_cropped.jpg?width=300.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageID "2990944".
- Francis_Leon wikiPageLength "4087".
- Francis_Leon wikiPageOutDegree "24".
- Francis_Leon wikiPageRevisionID "706083049".
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Ballet.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Blackface.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Burlesque.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Category:1844_births.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Category:19th-century_American_dancers.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Category:American_drag_queens.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Category:American_male_dancers.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Category:American_male_singers.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Category:Blackface_minstrel_performers.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Category:Year_of_death_missing.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Drag_queen.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Edwin_Kelly.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Errani.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Leon_and_Kellys_Minstrels.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Minstrel_show.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Mozarts_Twelfth_Mass,_K._Anh._232.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Mulatto.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink New_York_Clipper.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Opera.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Prima_donna.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink Rochester,_New_York.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink San_Francisco_Minstrels.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLink File:Harvard_Theatre_Collection_-_Francis_Leon_TCS_1.640_-_cropped.jpg.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageWikiLinkText "Francis Leon".
- Francis_Leon wikiPageUsesTemplate Template:Authority_control.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageUsesTemplate Template:Commons_category.
- Francis_Leon wikiPageUsesTemplate Template:Reflist.
- Francis_Leon subject Category:1844_births.
- Francis_Leon subject Category:19th-century_American_dancers.
- Francis_Leon subject Category:American_drag_queens.
- Francis_Leon subject Category:American_male_dancers.
- Francis_Leon subject Category:American_male_singers.
- Francis_Leon subject Category:Blackface_minstrel_performers.
- Francis_Leon subject Category:Year_of_death_missing.
- Francis_Leon hypernym Performer.
- Francis_Leon type Actor.
- Francis_Leon type Person.
- Francis_Leon type Singer.
- Francis_Leon type Actor.
- Francis_Leon type Queen.
- Francis_Leon type Singer.
- Francis_Leon type Thing.
- Francis_Leon comment "Francis Leon (born Francis Patrick Glassey; 21 Nov 1844 – after 1883) was a blackface minstrel performer best known for his work as a female impersonator. He was largely responsible for making the prima donna a fixture of blackface minstrelsy.Leon was trained as a boy soprano by Rev. Dr. Cummings in Fordham, NY. He performed the first soprano part in Mozart's Twelfth Mass at St. Stephen's church in New York City at age 8. Leon entered minstrelsy in 1858.".
- Francis_Leon label "Francis Leon".
- Francis_Leon sameAs Q5481723.
- Francis_Leon sameAs m.08j4w4.
- Francis_Leon sameAs Q5481723.
- Francis_Leon wasDerivedFrom Francis_Leon?oldid=706083049.
- Francis_Leon depiction Harvard_Theatre_Collection_-_Francis_Leon_TCS_1.640_-_cropped.jpg.
- Francis_Leon isPrimaryTopicOf Francis_Leon.