Following in the footsteps of the late Charles Ludlum, founder of New York's Ridiculous Theatre Company, which honed camp and cross-dressing into a comic art in the 1960s and 70s, self-described "gender illusionist" Charles Busch drew inspiration from movie and stage divas of yore and created complex female characterizations, not just a cabaret drag persona, to place at the center of his trashy spectacles. In 1984, he formed Theatre-in-Limbo with a group of friends and began performing his wonderfully-titled plays like "Theodora, She-Bitch of Byzantium" and "Kiss the Blood Off My Castanets" at
Raised by his Aunt Lillian in Hartsdale, New York after his mother died when he was seven
After college, worked for two years in Chicago with a small company of unimaginative actors who resented him writing and starring in all their shows
Toured the country with one-man show, "Charles Busch Alone with a Cast of Thousands"; seeing this piece, Charles Ludlum provided him with the space to perform "Hollywood Confidential"
1978
Wrote and performed one-man show "Hollywood Confidential" in Greenwich Village
1984
Formed Theatre-in-Limbo with a group of friends (including Kenneth Elliott) and began performing plays at the Limbo Lounge, where the hit "Vampire Lesbians of Sodom" originated
