Craig Russell as Marlene Dietrich, Mae West and Peggy Lee from The Craig Russell Show

Craig Russell as Marlene Dietrich, Mae West and Peggy Lee from The Craig Russell Show 1980 in Amsterdam.

Russell Craig Eadie (January 10, 1948 October 30, 1990), known by his stage name of Craig Russell, was a Canadian live celeberity impersonator.
His impersonations included Carol Channing, Bette Davis, Mae West, Barbra Streisand, Tallulah Bankhead, Marlene Dietrich, Bette Midler, Anita Bryant, Peggy Lee and Judy Garland. While performing, he always spoke and sang in the voices of the celebrities he was impersonating.
As a teenager, Russell became president of Mae West's fan club, and briefly worked and lived in Los Angeles as West's secretary. He eventually returned to Toronto, where he moved in with Margaret Gibson and worked as a hairdresser while pursuing his career as a stage performer. By 1971, he was a regular performer in Toronto gay clubs and had a burgeoning international following.
Russell fathered one child, a daughter, Susan Allison ("Allison"), who was born January 6, 1973 in Toronto. Father and daughter developed a relationship in the years prior to his death.
In 1977, Russell starred in the film Outrageous!, based on a short story written by Gibson about their time as roommates.
Although he publicly identified as gay rather than bisexual, Russell married his close friend Lori Jenkins in 1982.
In 1987, Russell starred in the sequel to Outrageous!, appropriately titled Too Outrageous!
Russell remained married to Lori until his death in 1990 of a stroke related to complications from AIDS.
Craig was cremated and laid to rest in Port Perry, Ontario.
Lori Russell Eadie passed away August 15, 2008 at Toronto Grace Hospital after a long battle with cancer. Lori was laid to rest beside her beloved husband Craig at Pine Grove Cemetery (Prince Albert) in Port Perry.

Category:

Entertainment

[ketters100]

the best , nearly up to our lil

[MrFalconford]

rip craig we only loved thankyou

[wattever333]

his peggy lee is the funniest thing. a character in itself!

[Bonobo3D]

A great entertainer! Sadly missed, gone too soon. Craig's Mae West was aMAEzing!

[mimmim4]

เก่งมากกกกกกกก  คะ...

[ploplisphilin]

Quite a challenge to differentiate these three stars, and he did it with a lot of wit and subtlety.

[pullmedown1]

That Mae West intro... hilarious! Craig was absolutely incredible.

[2007jabez]

Just great!!!

[popazz1]

never heard of him,but he seemed popular!

[katcampbell1]

Chris was my neighbor at age 12 .What a nice guy and always kind .I think his performances will leave a mark on comedy as well the entertainment industry . I am so happy he went on to better things as i have myself .