Description:
Douglas (Dougie) Byng (1893 – 1987) as “Camille”.
Dougie ‘Bawdy but British’ Byng was the UK’s notorious king of double entendre. His performance career as a cross-dressing society entertainer spanned film, stage, variety and cabaret for more than 70 years. Dougie dedicated himself to entertaining the troops throughout WWII in concerts as far afield as Myanmar, Singapore and India. The content of his shows was so risqué, he was repeatedly banned by the BBC. His act could be seen at West End venues including Café de Paris, the Celebrity Club and eventually at his own nightclub, The Kinde Dragon (off St Martin’s Lane in London). His friend Noël Coward described Dougie’s act as ‘the most refined vulgarity in London’. Pushing the envelope a little further in true Dougie style, he himself called it ‘refined filth’. Either way, his female impersonation was side-splittingly crude and clever in equal measure.
Dougie as Camille.jpg
