Charlie Hides
{{Short description|British-American drag queen, impersonator, actor, and comedian}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Charlie Hides
| image = Charlie Hides.png
| caption = Hides, circa 2017
| alt =
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1964|7|12|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
| spouse = {{Marriage|James Hides|2004}}
| citizenship = United Kingdom, United States, Ireland
| education = Massachusetts College of Art and Design
| other_names =
| occupation = {{hlist|Drag queen|actor|comedian|impersonator}}
| years_active =
| known_for = YouTube
RuPaul's Drag Race
| notable_works =
| website = {{URL|charliehidestv.com}}
| module = {{Infobox YouTube personality|embed= yes
| channel_handle = CharlieHidesTV
| channel_display_name = Charlie Hides TV
| genre = Comedy
| logo = Charlie Hides text logo.png
| logo caption =
| logo_alt =
| logo_size =
| subscribers = 100 thousand
| views = 23.8 million
| years_active = 2011–present
| associated_acts = {{Flatlist|
| silver_button = yes
| silver_year = 2017
| stats_update = 12 July 2020
}}
}}
Charlie Hides (born 12 July 1964) is a British-American drag queen, impersonator, actor, and comedian. Hides is known for his YouTube channel, and his participation in the ninth season of RuPaul's Drag Race. Following live performances in London clubs, Hides started a YouTube channel in March 2011. He has produced hundreds of videos satirizing popular culture, and impersonating celebrities such as Cher, Madonna, Lady Gaga, and Lana Del Rey.{{cite web | url=http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/feature/the-many-faces-of-youtube-parody-star-charlie-hides-13156.html | title=The Many Faces of Youtube Parody Star Charlie Hides | work=Gay News Network | date=March 4, 2014 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Domingo, Reg | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227231715/http://gaynewsnetwork.com.au/feature/the-many-faces-of-youtube-parody-star-charlie-hides-13156.html | archive-date=February 27, 2017 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=http://hellogiggles.com/from-boy-to-diva-an-interview-with-charlie-hides/ | title=From Boy to Diva: An Interview with Charlie Hides | work=HelloGiggles | date=March 13, 2013 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Jankuloska, Maggie | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227153006/http://hellogiggles.com/from-boy-to-diva-an-interview-with-charlie-hides/ | archive-date=February 27, 2017 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=http://www.polarimagazine.com/interviews/charlie-hides/ | title=An Interview with Charlie Hides | work=Polari | date=February 1, 2012 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Bryant, Christopher | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920101137/http://www.polarimagazine.com/interviews/charlie-hides/ | archive-date=September 20, 2017 | url-status=live }}
Personal life
Hides was born in Boston, Massachusetts{{Cite web|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/39380929/why-rupauls-drag-race-is-more-than-just-a-tv-show|title=Why RuPaul's Drag Race is more than just a TV show|date=2017-03-24|website=BBC Newsbeat|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190426124337/http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/39380929/why-rupauls-drag-race-is-more-than-just-a-tv-show|archive-date=2019-04-26|url-status=live}} on 12 July 1964. He attended the Massachusetts College of Art and Design.
He currently lives in London and has multiple citizenship, being a citizen of the United States, United Kingdom, and Ireland.{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1I-FQMJ_t8 | title=10 Things About Me | publisher=YouTube | date=February 25, 2017 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170405153846/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1I-FQMJ_t8 | archive-date=April 5, 2017 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/01/30/interview-charlie-hides-on-becoming-a-youtube-drag-sensation/ | title=Charlie Hides on becoming a YouTube drag sensation | work=Pink News | date=January 30, 2013 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Watts, Laurence | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227150053/http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2013/01/30/interview-charlie-hides-on-becoming-a-youtube-drag-sensation/ | archive-date=February 27, 2017 | url-status=live }}
Hides is gay, and in 2004 married his partner James Hides in the town of Provincetown, Massachusetts.
Career
Hides began as a successful drag act in Provincetown, Massachusetts in the 1990s. There he would incorporate live singing as well as comedic skits into his act. This success continued when he moved to London in the 2000s where he began performing on the London cabaret circuit in gay-venues, and legendary drag/cabaret venues, such as The Two Brewers and The Royal Vauxhall Tavern. As his success grew, he became a sensation across the United Kingdom and would regularly tour the UK.
Hides started a YouTube channel after high-definition video uploading became available on the website. Following the creation of his channel, he uploaded some of the videos that he used in live performances and comedy routines. Since Hides created the Charlie Hides TV YouTube channel in March 2011, he has uploaded over 200 videos. These include series such as Madonna/Lady Gaga Nightmares and Shit ____ Says.{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/user/CharlieHidesTV|title=Charlie Hides TV|website=YouTube|language=en|access-date=2019-03-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190309040716/https://www.youtube.com/user/CharlieHidesTV|archive-date=2019-03-09|url-status=live}}
In 2013, Hides uploaded a sketch that starred Australian singer and actress Kylie Minogue. He impersonated Cher during a telephone call with Minogue. In 2015, Hides starred on the TV show Big Brother's Bit on the Side, where he impersonated celebrities whilst commenting on Celebrity Big Brother contestants. Hides also had a cameo role in the film Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, as a drag performer. In 2014, The Charlie Hides Show aired on London Live as a pilot show, incorporating elements from his live performances and YouTube channel.{{cite web | url=http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/hes-not-really-be-cher-charles-hides-got-real-kylie-minogue-be-new-video300713/#gs.iXQdKtw | title=He may not really be Cher, but Charlie Hides got the real Kylie Minogue to be in new video | work=Gay Star News | date=July 30, 2013 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Hernandez, Greg | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227153144/http://www.gaystarnews.com/article/hes-not-really-be-cher-charles-hides-got-real-kylie-minogue-be-new-video300713/#gs.iXQdKtw | archive-date=February 27, 2017 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=http://bigbrother.channel5.com/tonight-celebrity-big-brothers-bit-stateside-19th-september | title=Tonight on Celebrity Big Brother's Bit on the Stateside | publisher=Channel 5 | date=September 19, 2015 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227063923/http://bigbrother.channel5.com/tonight-celebrity-big-brothers-bit-stateside-19th-september | archive-date=February 27, 2017 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=http://attitude.co.uk/pics-ab-fab-movie-shoots-scenes-at-royal-vauxhall-tavern-with-over-90-drag-queens/ | title=Ab Fab Movie Shoots Scenes at Royal Vauxhall Tavern With Over 90 Drag Queens | work=Attitude | date=November 16, 2015 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Stroude, Will | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160120135057/http://attitude.co.uk/pics-ab-fab-movie-shoots-scenes-at-royal-vauxhall-tavern-with-over-90-drag-queens/ | archive-date=January 20, 2016 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/charlie_hides_show/ | title=The Charlie Hides Show | publisher=British Comedy Guide | access-date=February 26, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227062332/https://www.comedy.co.uk/tv/charlie_hides_show/ | archive-date=February 27, 2017 | url-status=live }}
Hides has occasionally drawn the attention of some of the acts that he impersonates. In a 2013 interview with the Herald Sun, Cher said that Hides was her "favourite Cher impersonator". When Lady Gaga was in London, she sent flowers to Hides, alongside a note. Hides has also stated that Liza Minnelli, Elton John and Kris Jenner have been "very kind".{{cite web | url=http://www.starobserver.com.au/artsentertainment/festival-guide/mardi-gras/charlie-hides-takes-on-australia-but-not-kylie-minogue-hes-too-tall/132452 | title=Charlie Hides Takes on Australia (but Not Kylie Minogue, He's Too Tall) | work=Star Observer | date=February 13, 2015 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Alexander, David | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227150056/http://www.starobserver.com.au/artsentertainment/festival-guide/mardi-gras/charlie-hides-takes-on-australia-but-not-kylie-minogue-hes-too-tall/132452 | archive-date=February 27, 2017 | url-status=live }}{{cite news | url=http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/music/things-cher-wants-to-share/news-story/9818048a7e8d7848ef0ddc62db360550 | title=19 things Cher wants to share | work=Herald Sun | date=October 2, 2013 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Adams, Cameron | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510105128/http://www.heraldsun.com.au/entertainment/music/things-cher-wants-to-share/news-story/9818048a7e8d7848ef0ddc62db360550 | archive-date=May 10, 2017 | url-status=live }}
In December 2015, Hides was accused of using blackface and ethnic stereotypes to represent one of his characters, Laquisha Jonz. An activist, Chardine Taylor-Stone, launched a petition on the website Change.org, calling for the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, and other venues, to cancel Hides' performances. Taylor-Stone claimed that the character was "a racist act based on misogynist stereotypes of black working-class women, it is outdated, offensive, shameful and has no place in the LGBT Community". As a result, Hides stated that he will no longer use the character in his performances.{{cite web | url=http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/12/14/blackface-drag-act-dropped-from-royal-vauxhall-tavern/ | title=Cabaret act accused of 'blackface' retires from performing at London venue | work=Pink News | date=December 14, 2015 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Patrick McCormick, Joseph | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218075230/http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2015/12/14/blackface-drag-act-dropped-from-royal-vauxhall-tavern/ | archive-date=February 18, 2017 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=http://www.divamag.co.uk/category/news/drag-act-accused-of-racism-will-no-longer-perform-at-rvt.aspx | title=Drag Act Accused of Racism Will No Longer Perform at London's RVT | work=Diva | date=December 14, 2015 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Lyell, Carrie | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170227135711/http://www.divamag.co.uk/category/news/drag-act-accused-of-racism-will-no-longer-perform-at-rvt.aspx | archive-date=February 27, 2017 | url-status=dead }}
In 2019, Hides' began regularly performing and hosting 'Drag Queen Bingo' and saw instant success with every show selling out that he began taking it across the United Kingdom. 'Drag Queen Bingo' would become Hides' regular show, taking over from his evening cabaret shows, and in 2020 he set up the company dragqueen.bingo.
''RuPaul's Drag Race''
{{main|RuPaul's Drag Race (season 9)}}
On 2 February 2017, Logo TV announced that Hides would participate as a contestant in the ninth season of American reality competition RuPaul's Drag Race. Aged 52 at the time of competing, Hides was the oldest contestant to participate in any Drag Race franchise. This record would be broken in late 2023, when it was announced that 57-year-old Kitten Kaboodle would compete on the fourth season of Canada's Drag Race. The season premiered on 24 March 2017, on VH1.{{cite news | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/02/02/your-guide-to-the-new-queens-vying-for-the-rupauls-drag-race-crown/ | title=Your guide to the new queens vying for the 'RuPaul's Drag Race' crown | newspaper=The Washington Post | date=February 2, 2017 | access-date=February 26, 2017 | author=Carey-Mahoney, Ryan | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170316114433/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/02/02/your-guide-to-the-new-queens-vying-for-the-rupauls-drag-race-crown/ | archive-date=March 16, 2017 | url-status=live }} In an interview with BBC News Newsbeat, Hides said:
{{blockquote|The label drag queen is not just a cookie cutter, one-size fits all type of label. There's pageant girls, there's comics, there's celebrity impersonators. There's every different type of queen under the sun. That's one of the things that Drag Race has definitely shown over the course of nine seasons. That there's so many different ways to express yourself using this art form.
You'd think it's just gay men, but it's got a huge following of women who are watching for the fashion. They're watching for the colourful sense of humour and then they're identifying with us. The contestants are human beings and not just seen as some dancing clowns or as freaks. We are definitely in need of laughter, sunshine, brightness and colour. Drag queens are defiant. We are the counter culture, the opposition party. We are everything that the moral majority and small-minded bigots fear.{{cite web | url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/39380929/why-rupauls-drag-race-is-more-than-just-a-tv-show | title=Why RuPaul's Drag Race is more than just a TV show | publisher=BBC News | work=Newsbeat | date=March 24, 2017 | access-date=March 24, 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325091821/http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/39380929/why-rupauls-drag-race-is-more-than-just-a-tv-show | archive-date=March 25, 2017 | url-status=live }}}}
File:Charlie Hides Essex Pride.jpg
On the fourth episode of the show, entitled "Good Morning Bitches", Hides was eliminated from the competition. He was placed in the bottom two by the judges, and therefore had to participate in a "Lip-Sync for Your Life" to Britney Spears' "I Wanna Go" against fellow contestant Trinity Taylor. Hides commented on the lip-sync, saying that the self-described "disaster" was a result of having a fractured rib, due to a cheerleading challenge several episodes prior. In the episode's challenge, Hides was critiqued for his performance in the talk show segment of the episode. The morning after his elimination, Hides uploaded a music video for his new single, "The Dame".{{cite web | url=http://www.chron.com/entertainment/tv/article/Charlie-Hides-11071745.php | title=Charlie Hides talks cracked ribs and that disastrous 'Drag Race' lip sync | work=Houston Chronicle | date=April 14, 2017 | access-date=April 14, 2017 | author=Guerra, Joey | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170415073526/http://www.chron.com/entertainment/tv/article/Charlie-Hides-11071745.php | archive-date=April 15, 2017 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=http://www.advocate.com/television/2017/4/15/last-words-drag-races-charlie-hides | title=Last Words With Drag Race's Charlie Hides | work=The Advocate | date=April 15, 2017 | access-date=April 15, 2017 | author=Reynolds, Daniel | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416044714/http://www.advocate.com/television/2017/4/15/last-words-drag-races-charlie-hides | archive-date=April 16, 2017 | url-status=live }}{{cite episode | title=Good Morning Bitches | series=RuPaul's Drag Race | network=VH1 | airdate=April 14, 2017 | season=9}}
Filmography
=Television=
=Film=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:left;" |
| Year
! style="width:15em;"| Title ! style="width:10em;"| Role ! style="width:15em;"| Notes ! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
|---|
| 2016
| Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie | Drag queen | Cameo role |
Discography and parodies
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1" |
| scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Year |
|---|
| scope="row"| "The Edge of Glory"
| 2011 |
| scope="row"| "MILF Gone Wild"
| rowspan="3"| 2012 |
| scope="row"| "Boyfriend" |
| scope="row"| "Turn Up the Radio" |
| scope="row"| "Woman's World"
| rowspan="5"| 2013 |
| scope="row"| "Roar"/"Wrecking Ball" |
| scope="row"| "Applause" |
| scope="row"| "Judas" |
| scope="row"| "Venus" |
| scope="row"| "Adore You"
| rowspan="4"| 2014 |
| scope="row"| "Booty" |
| scope="row"| "All About That Bass" |
| scope="row"| "Welcome to New York" |
| scope="row"| "Living for Love"
| rowspan="2"| 2015 |
| scope="row"| "You Fucked a Bad Gay" |
| scope="row"| "Don't Call Us"
| rowspan="2"| 2017 |
| scope="row"| "The Dame" |
Awards and nominations
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Award ! Category ! Result ! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}} |
|---|
| 2014
| Royal Television Society Awards | Best Low Budget Programme | {{won}} |
| 2016
| Best Cabaret Act | {{won}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category| Charlie Hides}}
- {{Official website|http://www.charliehidestv.com/}}
- {{IMDb name|nm8766496|Charlie Hides}}
{{RuPaul's Drag Race}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hides, Charlie}}
Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people
Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people
Category:American costume designers
Category:American people of Irish descent
Category:American people of British descent
Category:Comedians from London
Category:Comedians from Boston
Category:LGBTQ people from Massachusetts
Category:English LGBTQ rights activists
Category:American LGBTQ rights activists
Category:British LGBTQ screenwriters
Category:Male actors from Boston
Category:Male actors from London
Category:Massachusetts College of Art and Design alumni
Category:Television personalities from London
Category:21st-century American comedians
Category:American LGBTQ comedians
Category:British LGBTQ comedians
Category:Drag performers from London
Category:YouTubers from Boston
Category:YouTubers from London