The Purple Cow

^[1]

An ad for the Purple Cow that ran in July 1969, before it changed ownership in September and changed from a New Orleans-style restaurant to a German restaurant. ^[2]

A bar that operated in the 60's and was home to some of the earliest drag shows in Colorado Springs. ^[3]

Key Dates

• July 4th, 1969 - The Purple Cow changes hands from Karen Muir Davis to Gerda Luck, and changes from serving New Orleans Cuisine to German. Under Gerda Luck's ownership, the club begins to host some of the first drag shows in Colorado Springs.
• December 27, 1969 - "The Family," under the direction of Robert Juleff, starts performing in Colorado Springs.
• August 1971 - The Purple Cow changed hands to Gabe Duenas and became "The Critic's Choice." It was also called "Beefeaters II." Gabe cites issues with the venue's reputation as a "loser's place" because of its changing ownership and history as a strip club. ^[4]

The First Drag Shows in Colorado Springs?

In a dialogue on the topic of "female impersonation" published in Out Front Magazine in June, 1976, Dawn Collier, "effeminist and former female impersonator" says the following:

"Four other gay men and | put on the first public drag show in Colorado Springs at a bar called The Rathskellar. Soon after that, the other drag bar in Colorado Springs was The Purple Cow, which {was Mafia-owned and} brought in a lot of the female impersonators from The Queen Mary in Los Angeles like Bobbie Scott, Tanya, and Bobbie Tremain. I'll never forget opening night at The Rathskellar. Somebody tried to sabotage our show by breaking into the bar and destroying our stage. In subsequent shows, somebody threw smoke-bombs down through the vent into our dressing

The Purple Cow opened in Colorado Springs on July 4th, 1969. The building formerly housed The Moors, a restaurant on the Stratmoor Hills golf course. It changed names and hands to Karen Muir Davis for a brief time as a New Orleans themed restaurant. With the new name came a new look, with the building painted purple, waitresses adorned to match.

By September, the restaurant changed hands again. ^[5]

It seems it was in the hands of the new owner, Mrs. Gerda Luck, that the restaurant would take on a different life as the site to some of the first recorded drag shows in Colorado Springs.

In December, Ray Herst, Gazette Leisuretime Editor released the following article.

The article details the performance as unique to Colorado Springs because it was a show of "female impersonators," specifically "The Family" led by Robert Juleff, owner of the Queen Mary nightclub in Los Angeles. While four of the performers were from L.A., specifically Al Wood, Tawny Tann, the show also included two local performers -

Questions

• Two local performers were also at the Purple Cow drag shows - Mister Ronnie and Patty. Who were they? Can we find out more about them?
• Was the Rathskellar and the Purple Cow one and the same? "If you like German music and dances, try the rathskeller at the Purple Cow, you know, the Old Moors." Don Collier names both as sites of early drag shows. ^[6]

References