October 2 0 .2 0 0 0
he most fascinating thing about
this person is how disparate
his two selves are. It’s about
as amazing as Clark Kent
morphing into Superman.
W hen you meet Jerry, you
encounter a mild-mannered, soft-
spoken, attractive man, 5-foot-10
with sandy hair. He’s articulate, has a
^
degree in psychology from Portland State
University and is the director of education
for a trade school. He’s a bit shy, and in his
youth he could’ve passed for the all-American
hoy next dcxir— as long as you didn’t mind that
he wore a dress on Halloween.
But give Jerry an hour and 15 minutes to
transform himself, and he emerges from his
cocoon like a gaudy tropical butterfly and
becomes possessed by the spirit of Snickers
LaBarr. A really big butterfly— when she slips
her feet into seven-inch heels and adds at least
another 12 inches of hair, plus double Ds out
front, you have yourself one towering babe.
And to further twist her story, this glam
gal grew up in a place where a new parka had
to pass for glamour. “I was up there before
Alaska got statehood,” she explains. And not
surprisingly, this accessory-obsessed clothes
horse recalls every detail of the first drag out
fit she wore to school as a fifth-grader on Hal
loween: “A pink shirtwaist dress with a belt
and a huge hat.”
In a territory known for attracting nigged
individualists, young Snickers didn’t get any
guff for donning some gay apparel. She smiles
as she remembers playing Barbies with her two
younger sisters. Gee, come to think of it, if Bar
bie could he inflated to larger-than-life size,
she’d hear a strong resemblance to the busty
7-foot-6 LaBarr.
St) when did the Snickers persona emerge
in physical form? “In college theater classes,”
she recalls. T hen once she turned 21 she start
ed going out to bars and clubs as Snickers.
And what about that name? “I didn’t want
it to be a real girl’s name, and when 1 first start
ed out I was quite a sight to look at, and people
snickered— so that’s how I got the name."
Eventually, she took up hairdressing as a
profession, which helped polish her image.
And once she had her act together, LaBarr
began performing in Portland clubs, including
a five-year stint at Darcelle’s.
lot less inhibited than Jerry. In
fact, Jerry has a long-term part
ner, interior designer Steven
Foust, who is a big help behind
mmm
the scenes of the show.
“He’s the main set
designer, does the lighting,
runs a camera, is good at
helping with costumes
clmts
and those all-
important acces
sories,” she says
with a chuckle.
But turning
serious, she
confides her
partner initially
by O k i an a G reen
struggled with
her role as a
professional drag
How does
queen. “It took a
she get along
long time to inte
grate Snickers into
with the other
our relationship.”
longtime drag stars
in town? “I do every
OK, what all
thing I can to avoid
the women want to
know is, how does a
being a bitchy drag
queen. I’d much rather
slim, regular guy m an
age to create such
have a cocktail than a
spectacular cleav
catfight,” she affirms
in her trademark
age? “The three
‘P’s: push, pull
dishy mode.
and powder,” she
From the club
reveals with a hearty
scene it was an easy
laugh. (T hat’s contour
leap— even in stilettos—
powder deftly applied to
to her own show on Port
the chest.) “It gives the
land cable access television.
illusion of the Appalachi
Lady Elaine Peacock was her
ans,” she says, adding proud
very first guest, and this month LaBarr begins
ly that she uses no duct tape hut plenty of
her eighth season. She creates nine half-hour
episodes of The Snickers LaBarr Show every
rubber cement and foam rubber.
year, and each one runs several times.
W hen people have the gall to
ask her age she simply tells them,
LaBarr has used her public platform to con
tinue to entertain hut also to help the commu
"My age and my bust measure
nity. She says the philosophy behind her show
ment are about the same.”
So what’s the worst thing
is that “I like to support anybody with a sincere
about dressing in drag? No hesita
cause. There is no aspect of life that members
tion here—“The shaving...but I
of our community are not involved with.”
actually like walking in high heels
She routinely invites various gay and les
and the aerial view it gives me.”
bian groups on the show to promote their
LaBarr is pleased her show has
events, and she gets involved outside the studio
been well-received by all kinds of
as well. She has served as hostess for the past
viewers. “The reaction has been
two Portland pride parades, is a frequent
overwhelmingly positive. I’m
celebrity auctioneer and is a tireless fund-raiser.
always surprised at the diversity
And LaBarr has more personal reasons for
of the audience that leave mes
adopting the alter ego. “Part of the attraction
sages on my voice mail.”
is the larger-than-life aspect of being Snick
The first seven years have
ers,” she says. “It’s not for fun per se; it’s my
been a labor of love, requiring
time to he ‘on’— it’s more for gathering atten
“lots of elbow grease and grease ^
tion and shedding inhibitions.”
paint,” she says. LaBarr has
i
She goes on to admit that Snickers is a
f Just Out
w ith a Portlaad
cable access star
and legendary
, drag queen
a da te:
I LU HU r r n i ITHI in
J u n i ■ 111 111 U J
First, find
,
s
Voice Personal Ads
*
just out 39
recruited a volunteer staff and crew and sunk
a small fortune into bugle beads and pumps—
her gowns and wigs require their own not-so-
small storage unit.
But this season, she expects her show will
reach a much larger audience and potentially
earn a profit, once it is picked up in Decem
ber by A T& T’s commercial cable system. At
that point she’ll be able to have sponsors and
earn advertising revenue. A nd the best part
is her show will have a regular time slot,
which is not the case on cable access.
Her eighth season premieres Oct. 20 with
an hour-long theme show she shot out at the
Multnomah Greyhound Park. She takes her
cameras behind the scenes to inform viewers
about her latest cause, Greyhound rescue.
It makes for some rather unlikely photo
ops, but LaBarr is a big dog lover. In fact, dur
ing her childhood her family raised sled dogs.
So what else does Snickers enjoy about
doing the television show? “I like th at once
it’s done it’s always there— you’re kind of
immortalized,” she explains. “It’s also good
for self-critique, though sometimes it’s a lit
tle cringy to watch yourself when you wish
you’d done som ething differently.”
But for now, anyway, it’s safe to say
Jerry/Snickers wouldn’t change much about the
way his life has unfolded. This is someone who
says he knew he was gay “in the delivery
room— the hospital gown was just fine.” Some
one who appears to have a full life and enjoys
his teaching career, his family and his hobbies:
artwork, reading and writing. “If I hung up my
wig for good I’d focus more on writing.”
A nd how will Snickers know when it’s
time to fade away? “W hen I d o n ’t feel good
in it, then it’s time to get out of it.’ ’
in
I
on p a g e 51
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