BenDeLaCreme

BenDeLaCreme

BenDeLaCreme performing in April 2014
Born Benjamin Putnam
(1981-09-24) September 24, 1981[1]
Occupation
Website bendelacreme.com

Musical career

Origin Seattle, Washington, U.S.

BenDeLaCreme is an American burlesque and drag performer from Seattle, Washington. He is known for being a contestant on Season 6 of RuPaul's Drag Race, for his solo shows Terminally Delightful and Cosmos, and as co-creator and host of burlesque revues Freedom Fantasia and Homo for the Holidays.

BenDeLaCreme's birth name is Benjamin Putnam.[2] His stage name is a play off the French term "Creme De la Creme", which, translated, means "Cream of The Cream" or "The Very Best", as well as a play off of his given first name.[3]

He commonly refers to himself as either "Ben" or "DeLa" to distinguish between his private, male persona (Ben) and public, female one (DeLa).[3] In an interview with Artes Magazine, he explained "I consider BenDeLaCreme to be the very best of Ben which is the name of the gentleman that I share a body with. DeLa is how I refer to the lady part of me. If you say Ben you’re talking to that guy. If you say DeLa you are talking to me."[4]

Career

BenDeLaCreme credits his interest in drag and burlesque to seeing Varla Jean Merman's Holiday Ham in Boston in 2001.[5] He was inspired by Merman's theatrical, character-driven approach to drag performance. His own career began in Chicago in 2002, while he was pursuing a BFA degree at the Art Institute of Chicago. Although his course of study focused on painting, he found himself more interested in performance art.[6][7] DeLa's first opportunities to perform came at drag revues at Chicago-area gay bars. Early on, he was exposed to a more explicitly feminist, message-driven side of drag culture by the Chicago Kings, a drag king troupe with which he frequently performed as the token "queen".[6] At the same time, DeLa made a conscious decision to present a more positive, cheerful persona during his shows, even when addressing serious subject matter such as prejudice, death, and depression.[4] DeLa considers drag to be "an inherently political act", an opportunity to encourage people to thinking about complex issues related to gender and sexuality through humor and theatre.[2]

DeLa's solo shows combines comedy, song, burlesque, dance, and video clips (often DeLa himself in other roles).[4] DeLa's costume style is reminiscent of iconic 1950's pin-up girl. He cites dancer and actress Ann Miller as an early influence.[8]

Since the mid-2000s, DeLa has been based in Seattle, Washington. He is the hostess for The Atomic Bombshells burlesque troupe and teaches at Seattle's Academy of Burlesque.[9] DeLa has collaborated with many members of the Seattle burlesque community, including Drag Race Season 5 winner Jinkx Monsoon.[10] He runs the theatrical production company DeLouRue Presents, creating and performing in popular holiday revue shows Freedom Fantasia and Homo for the Holidays, with burlesque duo Kitten La Rue and Lou Henry Hoover, his friends and frequent collaborators.[8]

DeLa's touring solo shows includeTerminally Delightful and Cosmos. He has also appeared in several films by filmmaker Wes Hurley including the documentary Waxie Moon, Waxie Moon in Fallen Jewel, and as a narrator of the series Capitol Hill.[11]

RuPaul's Drag Race

DeLa was the first contestant on Season 6 of RuPaul's Drag Race to win two main challenges. He won the main challenge on the very first episode, Episode 1 "RuPaul's Big Opening" Part 1, as well as episode 5, "Snatch Game".[12]

After being the first contestant on Season 6 to win the very first main challenge, winning the popular "Snatch Game" challenge, being the first of the season to win two main challenges, and receiving mostly positive critiques from the judges, BenDeLaCreme was considered to be a front runner by many fans and a candidate to become a Top 3 finalist.[13][14] After DeLa's elimination on Episode 11, following a second lip-sync against Darienne Lake, a firestorm was sparked on social media outlets by viewers.[15] BenDeLaCreme was awarded the "Miss Congeniality" title during Episode 14, "Reunited", the reunion special.[16]

Personal life

Putnam grew up with his father and mother in Connecticut.[5] During his performance on Drag Race, Putnam revealed that he was bullied as a child for being overweight, 'weird' and gay. His mother, who had been the positive voice to counteract this, died of cancer when he was age 13. Putnam was also open about his struggles with depression, revealing that his 'terminally delightful' drag persona helped him overcome this.[4]

References

  1. ↑ bendelacreme (15 March 2014). "haha! It's sept 24th!" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. 1 2 "RuPaul tour serves up enter-taint-ment - The Gateway". The Gateway. The Gateway: The Official Student Newspaper of the University of Alberta. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  3. 1 2 "BenDeLaCreme: Going Solo in 'Terminally Delightful' - ARTES MAGAZINE". ARTES MAGAZINE. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "The Newly Crowned Miss Congeniality BenDeLaCreme Takes Over NYC with 'Terminally Delightful' New Show". Drag Official. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  5. 1 2 "End Stage Happiness: BenDeLaCreme Makes Solo Provincetown Debut - Provincetown Magazine". Provincetown Magazine. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  6. 1 2 "Homo for the Holidays: An Interview With Ben DeLaCreme". The Stranger. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  7. ↑ Staff, Stranger. "The Lineup". The Stranger. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  8. 1 2 "Q&A with Ben Delacreme from RuPaul's Drag Race". Sacramento Press. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  9. ↑ "BenDeLaCreme Adds Performances to TERMINALLY DELIGHTFUL, 5/23-25". BroadwayWorld.com. Wisdom Digital Media. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  10. ↑ "Last Words With RuPaul's Drag Race's BenDeLaCreme | Advocate.com". www.advocate.com. 2015-10-01. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  11. ↑ http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wes-hurley/jinkx-monsoon-colby-kelle_b_7930328.html
  12. ↑ "RuPaul's Drag Race Season 6 Episode 1 Recap: "RuPaul's Big Opening" | G Philly". Philadelphia Magazine. Metro Corp. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  13. ↑ Abad-Santos, Alexander; Reid, Joe (2014-04-01). "'RuPaul's Drag Race' Power Rankings: On This Day, God Said 'Let There Be Shade'". The Wire. The Atlantic Monthly Group. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  14. ↑ Rezsnyak, Eric (2014-05-20). ""RuPaul's Drag Race" Season 6 Reunion/Finale: And the winner is…". City Newspaper. Retrieved 2015-12-12.
  15. ↑ "The Most Shocking and Controversial Moments of RuPaul's Drag Race". Queerty. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
  16. ↑ "Rising star: Ben DeLa Creme competed on 'RuPaul's Drag Race'". www.abqjournal.com. Retrieved 2015-10-26.
Preceded by
Ivy Winters		 RuPaul's Drag Race Miss Congeniality
Season 6 (2014) 		Succeeded by
Katya
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