His 1980s success as London LGBT drag queen Lily Savage helped him attain wider renown in the 1990s. After leaving, O’Grady presented radio and TV shows, including The Paul O’Grady Show, in the 2000s. O’Grady, a low-class Irish immigrant from Tranmere, Cheshire, arrived in London in the late 1970s to work as a Camden Council peripatetic care officer.
He created Lily Savage’s qualities from his female ancestors in 1978 for his drag performance. O’Grady started stand-up comedy in the 1980s while touring England with the Playgirls.
He played Savage at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), a homosexual pub in South London, for eight years, earning a loyal fanbase. He used his identity to promote homosexual rights, therefore some think he’s gay. Was Paul Ogrady Gay? Learn more about this.
Was Paul Ogrady Gay?
Was Paul Ogrady Gay? Paul O’Grady was gay and married twice. Paul and Andre Portasio, married since 2017, met and became close friends at London’s gay pub Showplace. Andre danced in Swan Lake and The Nutcracker with the English National Ballet.
After their opulent wedding at the Goring Hotel in London, celebrities including Ian McKellen and Julian Clary attended a champagne and canapé reception on a secluded lawn.
Despite their affection, the pair stayed apart until the Covid-19 lockdowns, when they moved in together. Paul wanted to sleep alone, so they had separate baths and bedrooms. Paul met a Portuguese model at a gay nightclub and married her for convenience before marrying Andre.
Paul was homosexual and Teresa Fernandes was a lesbian, so they married in 1977 to avoid deportation. After 28 years of marriage, they divorced in 2005, although Paul said he never loved her.
The Health of Paul Ogrady Before Death
TV personality and comedian Paul O’Grady died aged 67. Partner announces the actor’s ‘peaceful but unexpected’ death and drags Blind Date and Blankety Blank star Lily Savage. At 67, popular TV presenter and comedian Paul O’Grady died after performing as Lily Savage in drag.
His lover Andre Portasio said O’Grady died “peacefully but unexpectedly” on Tuesday night. O’Grady finished her spell as Miss Hannigan in Annie and was due to reprise the role in the UK and Ireland later this year.
LGBTQ+ rights campaigner Peter Tatchell called O’Grady “one of the loveliest people you could ever meet.” All who knew him liked his humor and appreciated his generosity will miss him.
Born in Birkenhead in 1955, O’Grady moved to London in his 20s and worked as a Camden Council social worker. By 1978, he was perfecting his drag identity Lily Savage, a loud-mouthed single mother and sometimes sex worker based on female relatives, at gay clubs. His daughter Sharon, husband Andre, and O’Grady have two grandkids.
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