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Finding aid of the Maurice & La Monte
Papers
Coll2008-033
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Table of contents
Title: Maurice & La Monte papers
Dates: 1937-2005.
Bulk Dates: circa
1955-1980.
Collection number: Coll2008-033
Creator:
Jouron, Henry Joseph, 1930-2006
Creator:
Kugler, William Stewart, 1912-1993
Collection Size: 2 archive cartons + 1 oversize
archive box 0.75 linear foot
Repository:
ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives.
Los Angeles, California 90007
Abstract: Audio recordings, programs, photographs, and
ephemera relating to female impersonators and pantomime artists Henry Jouron
and William "Billy" Kugler (known theatrically as Maurice & La Monte). The
bulk of the collection consists of sound recordings used for Maurice & La
Monte's "Off the Record" pantomime act. The collection also contains
photographs of celebrities and other female impersonators, some of which are
signed.
Languages: Languages represented in
the collection: English
The collection is open to researchers. There are no access
restrictions.
Researchers wishing to publish materials must obtain permission in
writing from ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives as the physical owner.
Researchers must also obtain clearance from the holder(s) of any copyrights in
the materials. Note that ONE National Gay and Lesbian Archives can grant
copyright clearance only for those materials for which we hold the copyright.
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain copyright clearance for
all other materials directly from the copyright holder(s).
Maurice & La Monte papers, Coll2008-033, ONE National Gay and
Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California.
Gift of Robert Tymchuck, June 6, 2008.
Collection processed by Johanna Michael,
June 27, 2008.
Processing this collection has been funded
by a generous grant from the National Historical Publications and Records
Commission.
Biography
William Stewart Kugler was born Aloysius Kenney on June 22, 1912 in
Buffalo, New York. He was adopted at a young age and given the name William
Stewart Kugler. He performed as a female impersonator in New York and Chicago
in the 1930s.
Henry Joseph Jouron was born in Chicago on August 13, 1930. He also
became involved in the performing arts.
Kugler and Jouron met in the late 1940s while they were each performing
separately in Florida. They became a romantic couple, and shortly afterward
decided to begin performing together. They created the Maurice & La Monte
"Off the Record" pantomime act and staged their first shows in Florida. The act
paired music made famous by other performers (and used in the act with their
permission) with visual jokes and physical comedy. Maurice & La Monte wore
simple black costumes to emphasize the individual costume pieces they used to
create different characters (a colorful scarf, for example). Jouron made all of
the costume pieces for the shows (he also made costumes for other female
impersonators); they did each other's make-up.
The act toured in gay night clubs across the nation, with Kugler and
Jouron working their way north from Florida to New York, then west to Chicago,
and even further west to San Francisco and Los Angeles. Performing was
difficult for the duo because of laws against female impersonation,
particularly in California. Kugler and Jouron were plagued by police; they were
even jailed briefly for impersonating females.
In 1965, Maurice & La Monte performed with Judy Garland in her last
performance in Las Vegas, at the Thunderbird Hotel. Later, Maurice & La
Monte often performed with Judy Lynn, a lesbian and Judy Garland impersonator.
Maurice & La Monte performed through the mid-1980s, mostly in California
and Hawaii. Kugler died in Los Angeles on January 29, 1993. Jouron died on
March 11, 2006, also in Los Angeles.
Source:
Maurice & La Monte Papers, Coll2008-033, ONE National Gay &
Lesbian Archives, Los Angeles, California
Scope and Content of Collection
This collection consists of sound recordings used for Kugler and
Jouron's Maurice & La Monte acts, descriptions of those recordings,
programs from their performances and from theater performances they attended, a
framed collage of newspaper clippings relating to their act, a keychain-size
gun that fires blank cartridges and was used in their act, photographs of
celebrities and other female impersonators (some signed by the subjects), and
notes from fans. Miscellaneous materials include two publications on Mother
Mason, a book of poems given to Kugler and Jouron on their 28th anniversary by
Tymchuck and his partner, and a painting of a toucan, used as the backing for a
framed photograph.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this
collection in the library's online public access catalog.
Female impersonators--United States
Jouron, Henry Joseph,
1930-2006
Kugler, William Stewart,
1912-1993
Pantomime--United States