Drag queen helps make 50th birthday gold for a ‘Golden Girls’ super fan
The rollicking “Match Gayme: Live Action Game Show/Golden Girls of Drag Edition” was a consistent sellout draw Downtown and at Station Square before COVID19 shut down live entertainment like that. But the pandemic didn’t put a stop to all the joy.
The show’s local organizer and host, Joe King, recently heard that a “super fan” of the late 1980s sitcom “Golden Girls” was turning 50 and being given a COVID-19-safe drive-by birthday celebration. She lives in a community that serves people with intellectual disabilities. One of the party organizers happens to be a fan of “Match Gayme,” which is itself a tribute to the “Match Game” show that often featured “Golden Girls” star Betty White (who just turned 99).
Could the drag queen versions of Blanche, Rose, Dorothy and Sophia attend this person’s Jan. 9 party?
Mr. King reached out to the impersonators, and his friend Karl Rice, aka Sophia, “agreed without hesitation (or a booking fee),” Mr. King shared on Facebook.
“He wouldn’t even take gas money from me to attend,” says Mr. King, who also posted on Facebook, “I’m so thankful to have the opportunity to work with selfless people who share their gifts and talents so generously.”
Despite the fact that he doesn’t know the person, Mr. Rice spent two hours getting into character and drove 45 minutes from his home in McKeesport to her party. Instead of just driving by the house and waving from the car, he got out for some socially distant “selfie” photos with the birthday gal. She was wearing her “Golden Girls” cape for the occasion, which also was attended by cutout characters of the “Golden Girls” show as well as lots of family and friends. Sophia was wearing “my lovely little face shield.”
To the music cranked up in the car, Sophia sang her famous song, “Thanks for the Medicare,” and the birthday gal sang along. Everybody got a cupcake (safely wrapped), kisses (Hershey) and a Hug (the plastic bottled drink).
“It was WONDERFUL,” says Mr. Rice, describing how this brief experience made him feel. It was the same joy the 25-year veteran (his specialty is impersonating Lucille Ball) gets whenever he performs for others and makes them smile, no matter what they’re going through.
“That’s what I enjoy the most about what I do,” he says.
To be invited, especially during the pandemic, to a party? “I was so happy to be the smallest part of that!”