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From the top: Cheryl Spector, Will Gartshore and Queen Bambi (Blade photos by Henry Linser)
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Queen Bambi, née Philip Gerlach, is a former Miss Adams Morgan winner who has perfected his own brand of what he calls “character drag.” Instead of one monolithic Queen Bambi persona, he tailors the lovely lady to suit whichever event she is attending. At Chef’s Best and Dining Out For Life, two Food and Friends fundraisers, the Queen has created wigs containing food items. She has also put in appearances at the 17th Street high heel race and the Results Gym float at Capital Pride.
“I was thrilled [to be named Best D.C. drag queen],” says Bambi, who attributes her success to being “totally comical and over the top.”
“With the amount of drag talent there is in this city, and the abundance of it, it’s an honor.”
Harold Sanco is a local trainer with great abs and a heart of gold. The abs come from years of training: Sanco was the 1998 United States National Masters aerobic champion and two-time bronze medalist at the National Step Challenge Competition. The heart of gold comes from helping others achieve the type of body they desire.
Sanco is the owner of Elite Training, Inc., a company that provides fitness training and aerobics coaching. He is also the director of group fitness for Results the Gym.
Though Sanco is based in D.C., his efforts (and his muscles) have been given both local and national media attention. Already voted “Best Instructor” by Washingtonian Magazine and the Washington Post, his fitness classes have also been spotlighted in People, Allure and W magazines.
Sanco also has his own exercise video, “Prime Time Abs,” which is the closest most of us will come to welcoming him into our homes.
Beloved activist Cheryl Spector, who lost a brave battle with cancer this summer, will live on through her work.
Spector was celebrating her 20th year of activism in 2007 with a renewed spirit and a fresh body, having recently lost weight through gastric bypass surgery, when she was diagnosed with leukemia in July (on the heels of a fire at her condo that destroyed some of her gay archive materials).
Only 10 weeks after learning she had cancer, she died, but Spector, who was 49, has left an indelible mark on D.C. Her activism started in 1987 after her brother, Stan, committed suicide. In addition to early AIDS work, including Oppression Under Target and ACT-UP, Spector, an out lesbian since 1982, was also at the forefront of lesbian activism as a member of the Lesbian Avengers and played a crucial role in bringing drag kings to D.C.
Activists and heroes are perhaps best remembered for their spirit, and Spector’s eternal optimism and willingness to make a difference will not be easily forgotten.
Will Gartshore is in his prime and Blade readers know it. A winner of two consecutive Helen Hayes Awards (2006 and 2007) for his irresistible musical performances in Signature Theatre’s “Urinetown” and “Assassins,” the Canadian-born actor didn’t secure his local star status overnight. He’s been a familiar (and handsome) face on the D.C. theater scene for about seven years, first coming to notice in “Floyd Collins” and “A New Brain,” and later shoring up his bio with leading roles in musicals like “Allegro” and “Pacific Overtures.”
If his current star turn as a jaded, middle-aged composer in Signature’s “Merrily We Roll Along” (through Oct. 14) is any indication, Gartshore will be giving more award-winning performances for some time. D.C.’s leading man of musical theater is no academic slouch either — in 2006, after years away from the classroom, Gartshore graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s in history from the University of Maryland College Park.
JASON ROYCE |
Despite the evolution of the local nightlife scene, Jason Royce has a “Best Of” streak that won’t quit. Royce, who works as a DJ and promotions manager at Cobalt, has been a mainstay in the D.C. gay club scene since he started spinning in 2001. This is his third win in a row for Best DJ. Royce sticks to familiar music most ...
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