Danny La Rue - entertainer

Danny La Rue was born in Ireland on 26th July 1927, as Daniel Patrick Carroll, the youngest of 5 children. The family moved to London when Danny was 9 years old. When the London blitz started, Danny was evacuated to the tiny village of Kennford, just south west of Exeter. He later recalled working at the local farm collecting eggs. He left school in 1942 at the age of 15 and went to work in Colson's bakery where he took advantage of extra bread and tinned fruit. He moved jobs to Huttons (photo right) as a milliner's assistant and window dresser, on the corner of the High Street and Queen Street, only to find all the windows had been blown out by a bomb. Maybe this is where he got the taste for showbusiness and female impersonation as he liked to parade up and down, modelling hats to entertain the young female shop assistants.

Huttons offered him a job at their London store, as a window dresser, which he accepted. This gave him the chance to appear in a minor way in Forces Showboat. Danny spent some time in the Royal Navy and was involved in concert party entertainment. His path to showbusiness was set and after years of hard work in repertory and variety, he created the female drag act of Danny La Rue. Bob Hope once called him "The most glamorous woman in the world".