Guilda was the stage name of Jean Guida (June 21, 1924 – June 27, 2012), a French and Canadian drag queen who built a long and sustained career as a cabaret and variety entertainer.[1]
Guida claimed to have been the son of an Italian countess whose family surname was de Mortellaro,[2] although journalist Alan Hustak later found that he was unable to verify this as there was no record of the de Mortellaro surname in directories of Italian nobility.[1] Following World War II, he began his career as a female impersonatorinLe Carrousel de Paris, taking his stage name from the 1946 Rita Hayworth film Gilda.[3][4] In 1946, he had a small acting role in Yvan Noé's film Une femme coupée en morceaux [fr].[2]
In 1951, he toured internationally as a stage double for French cabaret performer Mistinguett;[5] discovered by American theatre impresario Lou Walters, he moved to New York City for a time as a headliner of his own show, before moving to Montreal once his American work visa expired.[1]
In Montreal, Guilda became a star performer at the Chez Paree club, becoming renowned for celebrity impersonations of Hayworth, Mistinguett, Marlene Dietrich, Édith Piaf, Barbra Streisand and Marilyn Monroe,[1] and performed regularly on Quebec television variety shows.[6]
In the 1970s, Guilda had a number of acting roles in the films of Denis Héroux, including The Awakening (L'amour humain), There's Always a Way to Find a Way (Y'a toujours moyen de moyenner!) and Don't Push It (Pousse mais pousse égal).[7] He also launched the theatrical revue Guilda's Follies, blending both musical and sketch comedy performances, in 1975,[8] undertook a performance tour of the United States in 1977,[9] and published his first autobiography Guilda, elle et moi in 1979.[2]
In the 1980s, Guilda appeared in an episode of Télévision de Radio-Canada's annual New Year's Eve special Bye Bye, portrayed the Chevalier d'Éon in an episode of Radio-Canada's dramatic anthology series Les Grands Esprits,[6] and appeared in André Forcier's 1988 film Kalamazoo.[7] In 1983 he launched the stage revue Viva Guilda.[10] In 1985, he acted in a production of Sylvie Lemay's stage play Qui a vendu la meche?.[11] He was the subject of the television documentary film Allez Guilda! in 1986;[6] in the same year, he also undertook a Canadian tour,[12] performing most notably at Expo 86inVancouver.[13]
Having largely retired from stage performing by the late 1980s, he also took up painting, and had a number of exhibitions of his artistic work in the early 2000s.[5] In 2004, he mounted a return show at Montreal's Théâtre National to mark both his 80th birthday and the 50th anniversary of his Montreal stage debut.[2] He published a second autobiography, Guilda: Il était une fois, in 2009.[1]
Over the course of his career, Guilda also recorded and released a number of albums of cabaret pop.
Guida died in 2012, at the age of 88.[14] Guida, who identified as bisexual, was married a number of times and fathered three children.[1]
