Miss Tillie Papers

Collection

Identifier: 2014-01

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The collection primarily consists of photographs, as well as oversized materials such as posters and photographs.

Dates

1947 - 1972

Creator

Tillie, Miss (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

No donor restriction. Standard restrictions apply (see G/H “Confidentiality Agreement” for archives use).

Biographical / Historical

Miss Tillie was a drag performer affectionately known as “The Dirty Ol’ Lady of Chicago.” Tillie moved to Chicago in 1961 from Dayton, Ohio. Her first show was at The Front Page, where she “screamed above a Sophie Tucker record.” Roby Landers was the one who added “The Dirty Old Lady” to her name. Tillie performed throughout Chicago in the 1960s and 1970s. She was one of the early performers at The Chesterfield and was arrested there in several bar raids in the early 1960s. She also frequently performed at House of Landers and later worked with Chuck Renslow to start a drag show at Sparrow’s. Tillie passed away in 2005 at which point Gerber/Hart received the collection as a donation. Tillie’s photos have been featured weekly on Gerber/Hart’s Instagram and Gerber/Hart’s 2019 exhibition “The City that Werqs: A History of Chicago’s Drag Revolutionaries.”

Extent

1.5 Linear Feet (2 boxes, 1 oversized)

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Arrangement

The collection is loosely organized into folders by date and subject, but remain largely in original order.

Physical Location

D5E (Row D, Bay 5, Row E)

Provenance

The collection was donated to Gerber/Hart in June of 2014 by Joey Sorman. At the time, the bulk of the collection was housed mostly in photo albums, but photographs have since been removed and placed in folders.